Road user charging

One of the aspirational goals of environmentalists has long been for full road user charging to be introduced. This is essentially already possible in several different ways with contemporary technology, but there are different schools of thought as to which option to go for.

The most prominent form of road user charging, the London Congestion Charge, recently joined by the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) methodology, was based on technology (Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR)) that was soon antiquated compared to the technical possibilities that were in development as it was put in place in 2002/2003. ANPR obviously still works, and is used daily for other purposes than Congestion Charging, but it is now possible to track vehicle movements and calculate appropriate charges by means of in-car technology without the need for expensive infrastructure like the ring of cameras around the Central London Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ).

Here's an article about the Mayor of London starting to think about more systematic charging that gives a good summary of the current state of play:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/mayor-of-london-backs-plan-to-charge-drivers-levy-for-needless-trips-to-shops-a4240016.html

Related threads:

ULEZ: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/289497/

Congestion Charging:

Johnson scraps the Western Extension of the CCZ: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/139713 and https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/172175/ (2 threads)

Congestion Charge raised to £25: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/130489/

Isn't this regressive as it essentially forms a flat rate tax? It burdens low earners far more greatly than the middle classes...

Only if they drive a private vehicle in London. I suspect most low earners (which in London means anything up to 60k a year family income) take the bus/tube.

Road charging which scales with wealth would be pretty cool, but in this case the perfect may be the enemy of the good.

The primary beneficiary of road charging would be people who live on busy roads, or who benefit from increased government budgets. So that's helpful at least.

Only if they drive a private vehicle in London. I suspect most low earners (which in London means anything up to 60k a year family income) take the bus/tube.

Probably mostly true, but it would need looking at before introduction to avoid pinging low earners with more taxation.