Abstract
Electric vehicles provide an opportunity to introduce road pricing reforms, but ‘clean air tax’ lobbyists threaten to embed poor road-use habits.
Road pricing aims to put a value on motorists’ use of roads while providing market signals for constructing and maintaining the infrastructure. It also encourages efficient road-use behaviours by placing a direct charge on motorists’ actual use of roads.
Based on projections by BITRE, congestion associated with “business as usual” road use is likely to cost $30 billion by 2030. This cost is avoidable if a system of road-use charging is introduced, and Victoria’s electric vehicle (EV) road-use charge is an important first step. However, claims by the EV lobby that a charge on EVs is a tax on “clean air” that stifles the uptake of EVs are overstated and likely to embed inefficient road use behaviours for the foreseeable future.
Road pricing aims to put a value on motorists’ use of roads while providing market signals for constructing and maintaining the infrastructure. It also encourages efficient road-use behaviours by placing a direct charge on motorists’ actual use of roads.
Based on projections by BITRE, congestion associated with “business as usual” road use is likely to cost $30 billion by 2030. This cost is avoidable if a system of road-use charging is introduced, and Victoria’s electric vehicle (EV) road-use charge is an important first step. However, claims by the EV lobby that a charge on EVs is a tax on “clean air” that stifles the uptake of EVs are overstated and likely to embed inefficient road use behaviours for the foreseeable future.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 1-3 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Specialist publication | Pearls and Irritations |
Publisher | John Menadue |
Publication status | Published - 17 May 2021 |