‘Rethinking transport finance and funding’, says that such a charge could work if users are able to choose their type of vehicle and can guarantee their journey time. But any scheme will have to be promoted in a way that convinces people they are seeing a positive return from a payment – and not simply paying another tax.

Report co-author Arup’s chief economist Alexander Jan told a conference at the London Transport Museum on Thursday that road user charging could be presented as part of a “laundry list of charges” that you may see on an airline ticket.

He was asked if road user charging should be introduced at a national level, or by the regions. “It is right that there should be some sort of charging framework for the country that is set nationally, but I’m not too worried about the idea of letting city regions get on with things,” he said.

For a charging scheme to be successful, it will need to be “fair and equitable” and have a “strong narrative as to why it is the right thing to do”, he added. “We need to explain to people what the benefits are and the reasons it is being done.”

Last week’s report – produced in association with the London Transport Museum, law firm Gowling WLG and technology specialist Thales – makes the point that city, metro and national governments in the UK must act now to rethink how they pay for future transport infrastructure developments.

Research shows that despite population, employment and economic growth, changes in the way people are living, working and travelling mean that daily trips are in some cases declining, putting pressure on traditional revenue streams such as the farebox.

Alexander Jan also told the event that a reduction in the number of commuters taking the train to work every day means that more people may decide not to use public transport for discretionary travel.

“One of the big advantages of a season ticket is that your leisure journeys are effectively at zero cost. Whereas buying three tickets a week means those journeys are quite expensive at the point of use. I wonder if a reduction in season tickets means people will not make discretionary journeys by a form of transport we would prefer people to take, rather than the car.”

To view the report, click here.

(Photograph: London Transport Museum)