Take control of your own streets

Councils the length and breadth of Britain are smelling the money Red Ken is making and talking of introducing congestion-charging schemes. Interest groups are starting to complain at the introduction of yet another tax on motoring. But there are better models than Ken’s, which could bring real benefits.

Charging for road use is hardly a new idea. Beginning in 1663, a series of Private Acts of Parliament gradually transferred responsibility for highways from parishes to private Turnpike Trusts, which collected tolls and invested in roads. Over two centuries, about 10,000 miles of highways were thus privatised. Economic historian Dan Bogart has shown that Turnpike Trusts led to major improvements in the road system and — though unprofitable in their own right — increased economic growth by approximately 0.6 per cent.

In the 19th century, traffic shifted from highways to railways and the loss-making Turnpike Trusts could no longer maintain the highways.