Aberdeen plans road toll
Road pricing is being considered by councillors in Scotland to pay for a 17.5-mile route around Aberdeen. The Western Peripheral road, costed at pounds 80m, is unlikely to be financed by the Scottish Office; instead, councillors commissioned a report into alternative funding.
Simple "cordon tolls" - where motorists pay before joining a road - have been considered, as well as more sophisticated tolling technologies.
Making motorists pay for using roads has become a regular feature of councils' plans to raise revenue and tackle congestion. Authorities in Bristol, London and Edinburgh have all put forward road-pricing schemes.
However, environmentalists said that Aberdeen's move is "going about the problem in the wrong way". Simon Festing, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said: "Some of the money, preferably all of it, raised should be used to fund public-transport schemes."
Randeep Ramesh, Transport Correspondent
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies