Cardiff Council has launched a consultation on a new vehicle user charge for the capital. It’s a brave call, and will no doubt draw criticism , but I believe it is the right one for a number of reasons and not least addressing the serious health issues caused by vehicle emissions and the economic damage of road congestion.
The consultation will identify the type of scheme (s) that will be implemented, including a road user payment scheme, congestion zones and workplace parking levies.
The council, which said any charge wouldn’t be introduced until 2027, has moved away from a former position that it should only apply to non Cardiff residents. Such a strategy would have seen its cost falling substantially on people commuting into Cardiff for work and rightly would have been labelled as an unfair ‘Valleys tax’ - a move which could also have unravelled more than a decade of regional collaboration, although not always harmonious, through the Cardiff Capital Region made up of the 10 local authority areas of south east Wales.
