New pay-per-mile car tax could mean £124 charge for entering UK city

Drivers driving back from Edinburgh to London, the capital city, at a 880 mile journey could be slapped with £124 for the privilege of returning to the capital.
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


New pay-per-mile car tax bands mean £125 for entering a major UK city. Drivers driving back from Edinburgh to London, the capital city, at a 880 mile journey could be slapped with £124 for the privilege of returning to the capital.

Think tanks and economists have urged a pay-per-mile tax to plug the yawning gap in the Treasury’s coffers and ensure drivers of all cars – both electric and petrol – pay their fair share. Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, is a former Department for Transport civil servant who helped work up proposals for road pricing schemes under the previous Labour government.

These were never fully implemented. The simplest solution by far, he says, is to charge drivers a flat rate per mile driven, which would then be checked on an annual or more regular basis. “You need something that can work for everyone”, explains Gooding. “This is potentially a system that is going to have to capture data from millions of drivers, making millions of decisions, smoothly, 365 days a year.”

READ MORE Drivers risk £5k fine and 'police action' if they ventured out on road yesterday

The average private car is driven about 6,500 miles per year, according to official data. The Resolution Foundation argued basic pay-per-mile should be adopted largely out of practicality, in conjunction with congestion charging in cities.

It also urged ministers not to “let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. It also urged the government to start charging motorists varying rates per mile depending on the roads you used and when you used them. You might be charged a higher rate per mile to use the M1 or M6 than if you had used A-roads and B-roads, it has said.

Alternatively, you might be charged a higher rate to use the roads during rush hour than if you travelled at quieter times of the day, it says.