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Charging for the user charge
Page 12
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David Harris reports on the runners and riders for the LRUC bonanza...
CUSTOMS & EXCISE last week announced a shortlist of 10 firms from which it will eventually pick the company to provide the technology to run the Lorry Road User Charge Scheme (LRUC).
The bidders include Capita, the company behind the technology that rims London's congestion charge; Serco, which since 1964 has been maintaining the early warning system for ballistic missiles at RAF Fylingdales; and other big names such as BT. IBM and Siemens.
Customs & Excise says the 10 companies will be further whittled down by the end of the year before the final decision is made on which company will get the contract. Critics of the charging scheme have included leading transport and logistics academic Professor Alan McKinnon, who believes the system is over-complicated, would be expensive for truck operators and is unlikely to cut congestion (0125 March).
The LRUC, which aims to level the playing field for British hauliers by taxing foreign operators who operate here, should be much simpler, says McKinnon. He warns: "As the system stands today well need five times the revenue we'll actually get from foreign trucks just to run the system."
The scheme, which is scheduled to start in 2008, is likely to involve on-board equipment using satellite or microwave technology to determine distances travelled.