Transport secretary Ruth Kelly claims the government has "no current commitment" to introduce a national road pricing scheme. In a live webchat on the Downing Street website, Kelly also told a representative from the Forum of Private Business, (FPB) that the government was "actively thinking about" how to deal with future congestion problems.
Jane Bennett, FPB camp-aigns assistant, said her members - 25,000 small UK businesses - were "extremely concerned" a charge would force them to increase
their prices and therefore become less competitive. The minister added: "Sitting in traffic jams is no good for commuters and it's no good for businesses.
"This is a real economic issue facing our country, which will need to be tackled. Of course we will consult actively with everybody affected before any decisions are taken." But transport minister Rosie Winterton has told a road-pricing fringe meeting at the Labour party conference that road pricing could help cut congestion and increase economic growth as part of a package of measures to improve local transport infrastructure.
She adds that trucks and buses should be looked at in a similar way with regards to the allocation of road space, for example, more priority lanes for trucks and buses, rather than purely buses. Jack Semple, Road Haulage Association policy director, welcomed the minister's comments.
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