For whom, the road tolls?

The RAC Foundation argues that tax and fuel duty could fall if roads were privatised and tolls set up. Is this a fairer system?
M6 toll booth
An M6 tollbooth. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

The RAC Foundation has called for Britain's major roads to be privatised and for drivers to pay tolls to use them, as a way of tackling growing risk of gridlock on Britain's already congested road network.

It points to an Ipsos-Mori survey indicating that 46% of the population would support a charging system, in order to reduce the £47bn bill drivers pay annually in fuel tax and vehicle excise duty. With an eye to the future, it might also be practical to move away from reliance on fuel tax for revenues as electric cars and hybrid vehicles become more affordable and popular.

On the other hand, nearly 2 million people signed an online petition against plans for road-charging in 2007. By paying duty on fuel, drivers are, in effect, already paying tax at a rate that escalates according to how many miles they drive. Tolls would also hit poorer families with smaller cars, who currently benefit from having less road tax and petrol duty to pay compared with those who drive larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

Do you think road tolls would be a step forward? Would you accept pay-per-mile charging – and under what conditions?