Lorry road-charging scheme pushed back to 2008

Capita, IBM and Siemens have been shortlisted to run the IT infrastructure for a complex multibillion pound lorry road-user charging system but the government has delayed its introduction by almost two years to allow for thorough testing of the technology.

The charging scheme will automatically bill haulage firms based on the recorded mileage of their lorries on all UK motorways and roads and the charge will also apply to foreign lorries on UK roads. The government is promising to soften the extra cost by offsetting the charges with tax cuts for the industry.

A combination of on-board units, satellite positioning and mobile communications tracking technology will record the mileage of all lorries using UK motorways and roads. This data will be sent to a central services function, which will process the customer account management and billing.

There are likely to be different rates for motorways and trunk roads and for different times of the day. The government said it is also closely watching developments with similar schemes in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

The government had hoped to introduce the charging system by 2006 but the last progress report by HM Customs & Excise, which is running the project, said this has been pushed back to allow for a "comprehensive testing phase with thorough monitoring of how the systems are operating and whether objectives are being met".

Pilots will take place during 2006 followed by the rollout of the technology to the haulage firms and along the UK's road network, with the charge coming into force in early 2008.

The scheme has been split into three contracts, which are charging data services, enforcement services and central services.

Capita, IBM and Siemens have been invited to bid for the central services contract, Serco, Siemens and T-Systems International have been shortlisted for the charging data services contract and Autostrade, Serco and the Tracs consortium will bid for the enforcement services deal.

Contracts are expected to be awarded by the end of 2005.