81% of the British public are against the idea of privatising the road network, a poll on TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk has found.
Of the 672 people questioned, just 8% were in favour of privatising the entire road network, while only 11% were in favour of new roads alone being built with private money.
While the government argues that privatisation will lead to better maintained roads and a boost to the economy, critics of the scheme argue that the tolls on these roads will be excessive and that owners will put profits ahead of improvements.
TheGreenCarWebsite's editor, Faye Sunderland, said, "It sounds although the Government is going to have a fight on its [hands] to change motoring taxation and the way which our roads are maintained. As the jaded motorist faces ever-increasing costs, is it any surprise that they are sceptical about privatisation?"
One thing is certain, however, and that is that the current VED system is out-of-date. The government is facing a huge loss in revenue from vehicle tax and it needs to plug the gap somehow. Road charging, therefore, seems almost to be an inevitability.
