The Confederation of British Industry has called for the introduction of a national time-sensitive road pricing scheme, as a way to reduce traffic congestion.

The CBI is keen to move towards a model where the Highways Agency is independent of government to bring transparency to the funding for the strategic roads network and help deliver better outcomes.

The report argues that in the long term, user charging could also help create revenue streams for the new agency as well as bring other economic benefits and help manage demand. They see this being done by tolling new roads and by combining tolls with lane widening, a system used in the US where drivers have the option to enter a free flowing lane if the non-toll lane is congested. They have also called for a real time traffic information system, a wider range of funding models and technological developments enabling low carbon vehicles to become mainstream.

Other suggestions include the introduction of more flexible working patterns and a national yellow school bus system to improve productivity and reduced congestion on the roads at peak times.

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