‘Motorists unconvinced about road tolls’ - Road charging will be a hard sell

• Many drivers fear road user charging
• Build support for scheme now, says RAC Foundation
• Road tolls ‘should replace road tax’

Politicians face a huge struggle to convince motorists that they’ll benefit from the introduction of UK-wide road tolls, according to the RAC Foundation.

Nationwide road user charging is 10 years off, but foundation chairman David Holmes said the Government needs to try to build support for the scheme now.

‘People may fear that road pricing could actually mean changing jobs, where they live or where their children go to school,’ Holmes warned.

Using road charging instead of other taxes, not on top of them, would be the only way to gain public support, Holmes said. The system should also be overseen by an independent regulator and motorists will need to see real improvements to the road network and public transport.

In June, whatcar.com asked whether you thought road user charging was a good idea, on the day transport secretary Alistair Darling unveiled plans for charges of between 2p and £1.30 a mile depending on the road and time of day.

We received hundreds of responses, with 93% of you saying you were against the plans. Just 5% supported charging, while 2% were undecided.

We’ve posted another selection of your comments, both for and against, here.