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CHAPTER 5: CHARGING ON MOTORWAYS AND TRUNK ROADS
5.1 The Scottish Transport White Paper Travel Choices for Scotland described the UK Government’s intention to legislate to allow local road user charging schemes and then noted:
"We shall ensure that our proposed legislation is sufficiently broad to allow this type of charging for trunk road use and we shall consider how best revenues raised might be used for [trunk road improvements or improvements to alternative modes] that might otherwise be unaffordable. We would ensure that an appropriate proportion of the proceeds were recycled into transport improvements, including key trunk road improvements (as assessed in the Trunk Roads Review)."
The Partnership for Scotland document states:
"We will legislate to allow road user charging where it is sensible to do so."
5.2 Trunk road charging schemes might be executed on a self-standing basis or through joint schemes with local authorities if, for example, complementary traffic management measures were needed on local roads. These traffic management measures might involve traffic calming or, in some cases, local charging. There are also likely to be circumstances where local authorities’ schemes can only be effective if they incorporate traffic management measures on adjacent sections of the trunk road network.
5.3 In bringing forward proposals for charging on the trunk road network, the Scottish Ministers will consult with authorities whose areas contain the section of road to be subject to a charge on the purposes of the scheme and whether they should participate in it.
5.4 Many of the practical and technical issues raised by the introduction of charging on trunk roads mirror those relating to local road user charging set out in Chapters 3 and 4. However, the different context presented by trunk road charging means some different powers could be required (particularly a power to require local authorities to introduce complementary traffic control measures) and some other powers will operate in slightly different ways. The key powers relating to trunk roads will provide for:
Where appropriate, these powers could be exercised in conjunction with local authorities.
5.5 The other provisions of the primary legislation relating to local road user charging schemes, which were set out in Chapter 3, will apply equally to trunk road user charging. These provisions concern issues such as the penalty system, owner liability, installation of any necessary equipment or display of licence, tampering with equipment, admissibility of camera and video-based enforcement records and exemptions from a charge.
Is the proposed list of powers relating to trunk road user charging appropriate? (33)
5.6 When the Scottish Ministers are satisfied with the design of a trunk road user charging proposal, the Scottish Executive envisages that public consultation will follow. This would require the publication and deposit of plans and an accompanying explanation of the reasoning behind a scheme, details of how it would operate and assessments of its impacts, based on a full appraisal of the scheme. In general, the range of issues to be covered in proposals should be very similar to those which local authorities will be expected to cover when making the case for local road user charging schemes (see paragraph 4.2.3 above). A particularly important factor is likely to be an assessment of the extent to which the introduction of charging would lead to traffic diverting on to alternative non-charged routes, with possible environmental (air pollution and noise) and road safety effects. Quantifying potential diversion will be important not just in gauging the appropriate level of charge to set but in considering the need for measures on non-charged routes to discourage or accommodate diverted traffic. The Scottish Executive is also aware that there will be public interest in the use which will be made of the revenue to be raised from charging on the trunk road network. The Scottish Executive will set out initial proposals on this at the time of public consultation. All spending proposals will be subject to strict appraisal against the criteria of economy, safety, environmental impact, accessibility and integration.
Are there any additional issues to those set out above and in paragraph 4.2.3 which should be included in trunk road user charging proposals? (34)
5.7 There are a number of ways in which public consultation could be handled. Trunk road user charging has the potential to have significant strategic, as well as local, impacts. The Scottish Executive, therefore, considers that the consultation arrangements must be consistent, fair and equitable. They must also allow a real opportunity for parties with a direct interest and the public generally to be involved in the key decisions as a scheme evolves. The consultation arrangements should obviously involve national and statutory bodies, including those with a statutory responsibility for protecting the environment, relevant local authorities, bodies with responsibility for promoting local enterprise, public transport operators and bodies representing road users regionally and nationally, as well as others statutorily affected by a scheme, namely landowners or others defined as significantly affected by a scheme. In addition, the consultation arrangements must provide opportunities for local people, local businesses and other groups to have a say and thus provide an input to the design, planning and implementation of a scheme.
5.8 The precise public consultation arrangements to be used might depend on the scale of the scheme proposed. Some trunk road user charging schemes might be aimed at a specific problem spot or relatively short length of road. In this case, the simplified consultation approach raised as a possibility for some local charging/levy schemes might be appropriate. On the other hand, the scale of impact of a new road user charging scheme may, in many instances, be similar to that of a major road improvement scheme. In addition, the greater proportion of long distance traffic on a trunk road means that many users potentially affected would not be reached by simplified local consultation. The Scottish Executive considers that a trunk road user charging scheme should, if required, be subject to full examination in public through the Public Local Inquiry system. However, consultation procedures, in advance of any statutory examination, should provide significant opportunities for those with an interest to comment, in a meaningful way, on the proposals. Following formal consideration of the trunk road user charging proposals at Public Local Inquiry (where required), it would be for the Scottish Ministers to approve the scheme.
Are the Scottish Executive’s proposals relating to consultation on trunk road user charging schemes appropriate, particularly the suggestion that significant trunk road user charging proposals should, if required, be considered at a Public Local Inquiry? Are there any benchmarks (in terms of the scale of a proposal) which could be used to determine when a PLI would be appropriate? (35)
Exemptions
5.9 As with local authority schemes, the Scottish Executive proposes that the emergency services should be exempt from charging on the trunk road network when on duty. Beyond that, the Scottish Executive is open-minded. It could be argued that because trunk roads are often long distance, through routes, there are fewer of the accessibility and proximity needs which might justify some of the possible exemptions (eg for disabled people) canvassed for local schemes in Chapter 4.
Should there be any other exemptions from charging on the trunk road network? If so, who should qualify? (36)
5.10 Although the use of permits or toll booths should not be totally ruled out (they are already, for example, used on some estuarial crossings), the most likely means of charging on the trunk road network will be electronic. This is flexible and would facilitate differential charging in response to varied operating conditions. The Scottish Executive is conscious that variations in charging methods between local authority schemes and those on the trunk road network could be confusing for road users and create operational problems, for example in relation to the appeals and adjudication process. This factor underlies the proposal (paragraph 3.3.1 above) that the Scottish Ministers should have powers to specify any specialised equipment which local authorities propose to use for the collection of the road user charge.
What practical arrangements are necessary to ensure smooth interoperation between schemes on the trunk road network and adjacent local authority schemes? (37)
5.11 There may well be situations where a trunk road passes through an area which is subject to a local road user charging scheme (perhaps operating on a cordon charge basis). Paragraph 3.2.2 above acknowledges this possibility and notes that the Scottish Ministers should be consulted at an early stage by an authority considering proposals involving a charging area which included a trunk road. It would clearly be possible for a vehicle using such a trunk road to be subject to both a charge arising under the local scheme and to a national trunk road user charge. Similarly, there may be the possibility of a trunk road user charge and a local workplace parking levy applying in the same local authority area. In some cases, there may be legitimate reasons for both charges to be payable but it is proposed that the Scottish Ministers would seek, on a case by case basis, to avoid unnecessary duplication. However, the Scottish Executive invites views on this issue.
Should the aim be to avoid duplication, in terms of geographic coverage, between trunk road user charging and local road user charging or a workplace parking levy and thus avoid ‘double charging’? (38)
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