Main roads 'will have tolls by 2010'

Drivers will have to pay tolls on main roads in Britain by 2010 to avoid gridlock, a leading motoring organisation admits for the first time today.

Millions of motorists should brace themselves for charges of up to 12p a mile on busy roads such as the M25 and M4, says the RAC Foundation.

The alternative is roads descending into "disastrous" congestion by 2015.

One other option is a massive roadbuilding programme including new tunnels and bypasses at a cost of £750billion over 50 years, says the foundation in a major report to be officially released tomorrow.

It warns that unless the Government urgently embarks on a radical new course of action many roads in Britain - especially those leading into London - will become impassable.

The report, welcomed by Tony Blair, says the best course of action facing the Government is to combine the two options. The foundation "reluctantly" urges it to introduce limited road-user charging on 10 per cent of the network during peak hours within a decade, with drivers charged 2p a mile in slightly congested areas or 10-12p in heavily congested areas.

However it warns tolls will only be accepted by Britain's 50 million road users if introduced as part of a transparent package of measures including lower fuel duty, cuts in public transport fares and increased investment.

Even with these measures in place the Government will still have to embark on a vast programme of roadbuilding just to contain congestion at current levels, warns the report compiled by transport experts, environmentalists and academics.

Motoring Towards 2050 says that even with the introduction of tolls and improvements to public transport, the Government must spend about £170billion overhauling major roads and motorways and the same amount again updating minor local roads.

According to the foundation, for whom NOP interviewed 500 drivers, three-quarters would accept limited use of tolls on major roads if backed by a "transparent"' package of measures to guarantee free-flowing traffic.

The report shows that opposition is mounting fast to Ken Livingstone's plans for a congestion charge in London. In 1999 the prospect was accepted by 51 per cent of motorists. Today support has plummeted to 39 per cent, the foundation says.

Executive director Edmund King said: "The findings show that the Government does not need to be scared of congestion charging - but that it must come as part of an honest and open package of improvements.

"In London, charging is getting closer and people see it's not part of a viable package. They still can't get on buses or the Tube, trains are not running properly and roads often reach gridlock."

The study says that despite the rise of congestion, technological improvements on cars mean the impact on the environment will be reduced.

Chillingly, it says there is one further option - a return to the hated "fuel duty escalator" that saw taxes raised by six per cent in each Budget. Introduced indefinitely this would control congestion, but increase fuel duty fourfold by 2030 and tenfold by 2050.

Time to give up your car?