Martin Glynn: AA policy director on whether the road user charges scheme should be rolled out to all vehicle users

The Government could make decisions on how to transition the light vehicle fleet from fuel taxes to road user charges as soon as next March.

The ministry is seeking information from businesses offering services that support the purchase, measurement or management of road user charges.

AA policy director Martin Glynn says more vehicles pay less fuel excise tax than ever - and this change needs to happen.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
We're talking about the ruck system. Should it be rolled
out to all vehicles? The government is looking deeply at this.
They are asking for feedback from businesses offering services that
support purchase measuremental management of road user charges. To chat
about this, we're joined by Martin Glenn. He's the policy
director at a get A. Martin, what's the.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
AA's view on road user charter charges? On like the
light vehicle fleet, You think it's a good or a
bad thing?

Speaker 4 (00:44):
You know, I always think it's going to happen. It's
it's just a question of power, lol. Mainly because when
petrol tests came in, generally the average cart used are
similar amount of petrol. And now we've got bag variation,
so it's become increasingly unfair. Owners of older and less
fuel sorry less fuel assiciate vehicles are paying much more
for same biage, so.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Change sorry And for the average driver, will it be
more than they're paying now?

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Uh? It will depend. So there'll be ones and leaders
more field new vehicles. The example that if they used
the brand news so I can probably expect to pay
more for older vehicles and and maybe your average everagehicles
will be about the same. So yeah, you really feel

(01:36):
the FLESSI vehicles will probably pay less that they're paying
a lot more. Now we see there's.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Pretty there in terms of an argument argument against it, Martin,
Is it fair to say that adding an extra admin
could be a challenge for some road users? You know,
these are people that might be forgetful or indeed don't
don't get war on a fitness and regail anyway, So
you're just clogging up that system more potentially.

Speaker 4 (01:57):
Oh, absolutely, yeah, I mean home keeps and I am there.
I do right, It's checked and that's that's important. The
sup of people think about that, pay their up when
you when you we need to getting warrants cheap. But
it's an extra thing people have to do. And you know,
petrol text now is really easy. Most people don't know,
they pay it at the pump, so it's just it's
just done. So yes, it's an extra task for people

(02:20):
and at the moment their administration costs and purchasing luck
as well, which we'd like to see go or if
that's not possible very much.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Come down Yeah, it seems harsh on the admin useless
like me, Hey, it seems fair because it doesn't hit
tractors and boats and forklifts and such that don't go
on the road. But surely that will end generators. But
surely that will lower tax take for the government.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
Sorry to see any question.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
So it's so it's not going to hurt tractors or boats,
or forklifts or or lawn mowers, which will probably a small,
small end of the scale generators.

Speaker 4 (02:55):
Generators, Yeah, I mean they generally exempt anyway, I see
anything with the government's probably likely to clap slightly more right,
let's feel the questions issue, but it's there to say,
you know, one of the things you're going to have
to fact radio the changes it's slightly easier to avoids

(03:16):
and people text people desk is possible to avoid. So yeah,
that's going to have to be.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Fixed to So so how do how sorry part of
my ignorance, but how does how do you avoid paying
the petrol tax on a on a tractor, for example,
or a fork lift?

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Well, the charges if it's petri generally diesel and they're.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Charges yet, are we going to get into trouble? Martin
do you think because already with e vs and there's
different types of evs, whether that's plug in, whether that's
h e V, whether that's full e V, that they
pay different rucks. Are we're going to get into that
situation where people pay different rucks than others.

Speaker 4 (03:58):
What what we'd hope is it may equalize the system.
So at the moment for road to charges, if you're
like vehicle that's required to pay it. So that's as
you say, these vehicles and evs, and then there's a
there's a single rate for that. So for petrol hyper
electric vehicles it's about half because the governor's recognizing that
those of the equirers obviously purchasing some petrol. We're be

(04:22):
really keen to see that the equalis because just about
every currently yander as a net bred of being under
three point five ton, so that they should all be
paying the same kind of per chorlometer rate.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
We're talking to Martin Glenn, policy director at a A.
How easy is it to get around these things are
dominant rollbacks and such?

Speaker 4 (04:40):
How much we should talking about on particularly with the
older vehicles, mechanics or somebody who's you know, pretty handy
it's it's really been about fidling with those cells. It's
much harder to do that with another vehicle, So pretty.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, probably good news. Yeah, Martin, thank you very much
for the expertise.

Speaker 4 (05:02):
Really good, no worries.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Martin Glenn Policy direct that at a A.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
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