The only way to ensure the long-term health of the UK’s ailing roads network and plug a £10bn funding shortfall is to wrest control away from the government, a new CBI report has claimed.
With the economy already losing up to £8bn a year in congestion related costs, the report, titled: 'Bold thinking: a model to fund our future roads', makes the case for something along the lines of what has taken place in the UK’s utility sector.
This would see the introduction of a Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) model and creation of a regulator that would cap prices and ensure the private companies operating by geographic region meet the required performance standards.
Drivers would have a proportion of their motoring taxes converted to a user charge and could be subject to tolling down the line to pay for projects.
John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “It’s clear we need a gear change in how we manage and pay for our road network in the 21st century. A lack of investment means we are really struggling to increase road capacity, let alone adequately maintain what we already have.”
