10 Jul 2008

Plans for national road pricing should be abandoned, because higher fuel prices are already forcing drivers to cut congestion and emissions, according to the head of the AA, Britain's biggest motoring group.

Figures published yesterday showed that pollution from new cars is dropping faster than at any time in the last decade, as motorists swap even family cars for smaller models.

The figures follow a slew of evidence that record prices for petrol and diesel have spurred drivers to use their cars less, to swap to less fuel-hungry models, and to drive more slowly to squeeze more miles out of each tankful.

Edmund King, the president of the AA, who has previously spoken in favour of road pricing, said that with oil prices expected to stay high, ministers no longer needed to press ahead with unpopular plans for widespread or national road charges. "Do you need the bureaucracy, complexity and overheads of national pricing if you have got fuel prices at record levels?" he asked. "If they are likely to stay at record levels, it's doing the job of road pricing."

The Department for Transport previously shifted to regional trials after public outcry at a mooted national scheme, but an official said there was no change in policy. "The long term trend in traffic is upward."

Other experts said that the success of higher prices in cutting car travel showed that road charging was the best way to reduce congestion and pollution. Charges could target peak times and the busiest roads more effectively than blanket fuel prices, said Professor Stephen Glaister, a former member of the government's road pricing panel.

Average emissions from new cars fell 3.2% in the six months to June, more than the previous biggest annual drop of 2.2% in 2000, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and Clean Green Cars, a consumer advice website.

Continuing high fuel prices, mounting economic bad news and falling second-hand values for bigger vehicles meant the decline could reach 6% by the end of 2008, said Jay Nagley, the publisher of Clean Green Cars. "Anecdotal evidence from car dealers in the last six weeks is that more and more people are coming in with larger cars and saying 'we have got to get rid of this, sell me a smaller car'."

Fleet car buyers, who make up half the market, were also likely to demand smaller vehicles, and manufacturers face tougher EU limits, said Nagley.

Previous research by Imperial College London showed that for every 10% increase in fuel prices, traffic falls by 3% and with more careful driving as well, fuel consumption falls by 7%. However, over time economic growth drives mileage back up again, said Glaister

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