A second stage evaluation report of the Road User Charges Act 2012 by Allen & Clarke, which was agreed by cabinet as part of a three cycle evaluation, has found that light diesel owners have relatively limited knowledge of the RUC system.
The second stage of the evaluation was completed by Allen & Clarke for the government in October 2014 and particularly focussed on how the RUC system works for light diesel vehicles.
The evaluators identified that it is common for this group to overrun the distance covered by their RUC licences due to limited knowledge of the system.
The Road User Charges Act 2012 brought about the most significant changes to the road user charges (RUC) system since its establishment in 1978.
The first evaluation completed by Allen & Clarke in August 2013 found that changes to the RUC system have been relatively successful in simplifying the system and reducing opportunities for evasion.
The second evaluation also focused on the medium term effects of the changes for transport operators and the Government.
Earlier findings regarding greater administrative simplicity and reduced evasion have been confirmed and the new RUC system is also supporting productivity gains through increasing uptake of high productivity vehicles permits and electronic RUC payment systems.
The report is available to view here
