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POLICIES * Australia - Henry the highwayman
Henry has two problems with using fuel tax and registration fees to pay for the country’s roads
(Image from mylifechangesnow)
Sydney,NSW,Australia -Business Spectators, by Karen Maley -24 Jan 2010: -- Treasury boss Ken Henry, has set himself an ambitious goal: he wants to shake up how we all think about roads... One of his major recommendations is that we move towards a ‘user pays’ system on the country’s massive road network... But Henry has two problems with using fuel tax and registration fees to pay for the country’s roads... In the first place, it does nothing to address the huge issues of traffic congestion in Australia’s big cities... The problem for governments is that it’s hard to build more roads in the cities. There are only a limited number of road corridors available, and the cost of buying land to build new roads is prohibitive... Henry’s solution is to treat roads like other utilities such as electricity, gas, water and telephones, and make users pay for using the service... As with electricity, users would have to pay more to use roads during peak periods when the roads are at their most crowded... One way to reduce congestion would be to charge motorists every time they drive a car or truck in one of the congested cities...
But Henry’s also has his eyes on the country’s long-haul trucking industry
(Image from mylifechangesnow)
Henry wants to see changes to the way heavy trucks pay for roads. Instead of paying registration charges and the fuel tax, He’s proposing to introduce a more exact levy that would see heavy vehicles pay for using the road based on the time of the journey, the distance travelled, the type of road, and the weight of the load being carried... One possible advantage to this approach is that heavy trucks may be allowed access to lower quality roads they were previously banned from using... The powerful trucking industry would likely support these changes if they result in a better, less congested road network, and if truck operators were certain to be compensated for the extra costs by the scrapping of the fuel excise...
But the loudest cheers for Henry’s charges are likely to come from the rail industry...
Rail operators believe that if heavy trucks are finally forced to bear the costs of the road damage they cause, rail will become the most cost competitive way to move high volume freight over long distances. Which should mean fewer heavy trucks on the nation's highways...
* IPA applauses PM’s push for transport reform
Melbourne,VIC,Australia -Road Freight News -25 January 2010: -- Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA) has applauded Prime Minister’s, Kevin Rudd’s, call to reform Australia’s road and rail transport... According to the peak infrastructure body, the reforms are needed to support and maintain Australia’s international competitiveness... IPA also believes the reforms will ease urban congestion caused by heavy vehicle transportation... IPA says by introducing a single national body to develop national freight policy it will also help the nation meeting emissions reduction targets...Labels: transport policies
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