Drivers face prospect of £700 annual ‘national road toll’

There’s no question that electric vehicles are becoming more popular among motorists.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that the number of new electric vehicles registered by drivers topped 4,500 in February, up by 34% on the same period last year. Indeed, registrations have risen for 22 consecutive months now.

There are plenty of positives for drivers to consider with electric cars, beyond the obvious drop in emissions levels.

While electric cars cost more up front, the costs of charging them up work out much cheaper than fuel vehicles. According to WhatCar, getting your motor up to 80% will typically set you back less than £4.50 if you do it at home.

There is also the fact that electric vehicles are not subject to road tax, so that’s another sizeable saving every year.

However, the embracing of electric may bring with it a costly sting in the tail.

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The tax we pay at the petrol pump is worth billions to the government (Getty)

The move to electric may be good for the environment, but it’s not so good for the Government’s coffers.

That’s because the Treasury pockets a small fortune from the duty we pay at the petrol pump. At the moment, we pay 57.65p per litre for petrol and diesel, though it’s worth noting that this rate hasn’t changed since 2011-12.

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According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government is set to take in a whopping £28.2bn in the 2018-19 tax year, which is the equivalent of 3.6% of all tax receipts. In fact, it averages out at around £1,000 per household.

So if large numbers of motorists move to electric vehicles, that’s going to leave a massive hole in the government’s finances.

A toll network

What’s the answer? According to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, this hole could be closed by opening up a nationwide system of road tolls.

The firm argued that the UK would need to introduce a mileage-based charge for motorists, hitting them with a bill of 7.5p for every mile by 2030, rising to 9.1p by 2040.

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With the typical household car travelling around 7,800 miles in 2017, that would see drivers forking out more than £700 on road toll payments in 2040.

Drivers hate tolls

Planned tolls are often the subject of fevered protest from drivers (Getty Images/Cultura RF)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, motorists are not huge fans of toll roads generally.

Back in 2006 the then-Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander backed the idea of ‘pay as you go pricing’ for drivers, but the subsequent outrage led to a petition signed by 1.8m people calling on the government to drop the idea.

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A handful of planned tolls for individual roads, such as on the A14, have been dropped following protests from drivers too.

The tolls we already have

There are currently 23 toll roads in the UK, with many of these covering river crossings.

The idea is that these tolls pay for the upkeep and maintenance of that specific bit of road, though the costs vary significantly between them. Here is what you will pay for using the various tolls on motorways and A roads.

• M6Toll (West Midlands) - £5.50

• M25 (Dartford Crossing) - £2.50

• A4 (Batheaston Bridge) - 70p

• A15 (Humber Bridge) - £1.35

• A19 (Tyne Tunnels) - £1.70

• A38 (Tamar Bridge) - £1.50

• A41 (Mersey Tunnels Queensway) - £1.70

• A59 (Mersey Tunnels Kingsway) - £1.70

• A57 (Dunham Bridge) - 40p

• A477 (Cleddau Bridge) - 75p

• A533 (Mersey Gateway Bridge) - £2

• A533 (Silver Jubilee Bridge) - £2

• A3025 (Itchen Bridge) - 60p

Avoiding paying the tolls

With the current system, the only way to avoid paying the toll is to come up with a different route. You’ll have to work out for yourself if adding extra distance and time to your journey is worth saving a couple of quid in toll payments.

If you use a toll road and fail to pay the charge, then you’ll be subject to fines, though again these will vary depending on the toll in question.

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With the M6 toll for example you’ll be sent a payment notice. You then have two working days in which to pay or else you’ll be issued with an additional £10 charge. Further fees will be added to your outstanding balance if you don’t cough up within 10 days.

But with the Dartford Crossing, you need to pay the toll by midnight on the day after you make your journey. Fail to do so and you’ll be walloped with a £70 fine, which you have 28 days in which to pay.

This is cut down to £35 if you pay within 14 days or hiked up to £105 if you fail to pay in time, while you’ll still have to pay the crossing charge as well.