The prospect of vignettes being introduced to make foreign hauliers pay something for using UK roads receded even further last week, as the government's freight data feasibility study rejected them.
It has been clear for some months that the Department for Transport (DfT) was not keen on the vignette system and the study confirms this. Two main objections to the vignette have emerged: the first is that the study suggests the amount of money
raised would not merit setting up the system, while the second is that the DfT fears the EU could challenge the legality of the vignette system.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) says the DfT's estimate that the net benefits of a vignette system would be £1.7m a year "appears to undercook the benefits by several orders of magnitude". It is calling on the research to be reviewed by an independent third party. It adds that "it seems strange that a vignette is seen as practical in Germany and the Benelux, but can't be made to work in the UK".
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