Britain needs new roads in the places where traffic has become a daily hostage situation. What it does not need is a fresh breed of private toll operator discovering that confused motorists are more profitable than moving traffic.
That is the tension running through the Highways (Financing) Bill. The proposed law would let private companies finance, build, operate and maintain selected strategic roads in England under a regulated asset base model. Those companies could become the highway authority for their stretch of tarmac, charge tolls and pursue unpaid charges. In return, the Office of Rail and Road would regulate the scheme.
Private money for expensive infrastructure is hardly a shocking idea. The interesting bit is how much authority the licence holder could acquire – and whether the driver protections are strong enough when the cameras misread a plate, a payment system falls over or a reminder letter takes the scenic route.
Barrier-free is better, until it isn’t
The Bill would also allow barrierless charging across existing tolled undertakings. The Department for Transport specifically notes that older operations such as the M6 Toll cannot currently adopt it. Removing booths should mean fewer queues, less stop-start fuel burn and no frantic hunt for a bank card while a barrier judges you from above. On the road, that is progress.
Off the road, barrierless charging shifts the burden onto the driver. Miss a sign or forget an online deadline and a modest toll can grow teeth. The Bill says the registered keeper would normally be responsible for payment. A tolling scheme could set penalty charges, discounts, surcharges, interest and administration fees, while also explaining how a charge may be challenged.
That last requirement matters more than the shiny cameras. A road-charge system is only as fair as its worst day. Drivers need plain signs before committing to the route, payment methods that work for visitors as well as regular users, prompt notices and an appeal route that does not feel like arguing with a vending machine.
The regulator needs real muscle
There are useful safeguards on paper. A private operator could charge only under a published tolling scheme that complied with the relevant ORR code. The regulator could intervene if the licence holder broke its obligations or collected tolls outside the rules, including directing it to stop charging until the problem was fixed. The government also expects this financing route to be used for only a limited number of large projects.
That is reassuring, but regulation is not a decorative badge for the website footer. The ORR will need clear performance data, fast access to complaints and the appetite to challenge an operator whose payment system technically functions while bewildering everybody who uses it. A regulated monopoly is still a monopoly; drivers cannot pop next door for a rival motorway if the service is poor.
The policy also deserves precision in the language used around enforcement. An unpaid toll could be recovered as a civil debt, while the published scheme could include penalty charges. Calling every demand a “fine” makes private enforcement sound like a court judgment and encourages motorists to pay first and understand later. The paperwork should make the legal position impossible to misunderstand.
Build the road, then earn the trust
The attraction for government is obvious. Major crossings and trunk-road upgrades swallow vast sums before the first car arrives, and private capital could get useful projects moving sooner. The Lower Thames Crossing is already identified in the government’s current road strategy as a candidate for private investment under a regulated asset base approach.
Drivers may accept paying for a genuinely useful new link, especially if it saves time and the charge is clear from the outset. They will be far less forgiving if an operator appears to rely on missed deadlines and escalating penalties. The difference between infrastructure funding and a roadside trap lies in boring details: signage, grace periods, receipts, accessibility and independent appeals.
So yes, let us have barrier-free tolling and new money for roads that Britain has spent decades discussing. But write the rules for the motorist having a rotten day, not the investor enjoying a confident forecast. If the road works brilliantly and the penalty department is bored, the scheme has succeeded.
Sources
- Gov to let private firms run UK toll roads and enforce fines
- Overview: Highways (Financing) Bill
- Highways (Financing) Bill as introduced
- Major renewal of ageing English roads delivered with £27 billion investment
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