A simple pay-as-you-go road pricing system with hypothecated proceeds could fill the looming revenue black hole from the switch to electric vehicles, the president of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) has argued.

Speaking at Road Expo Scotland, Neil Johnstone said it would also provide a long-term funding stream for local road maintenance.

He reminded visitors of the review of local highway maintenance carried out in 2018 by one of his predecessors as CIHT president, Matthew Lugg, which called for reliable, long-term funding.

On the issue of funding for the transport network, he said: ‘There is a black hole going to loom over the coming years. The Institute for Fiscal Studies indicates that it could be up to thirty-five billion as petrol and diesel cars are phased out and we see electric vehicles proliferate.

‘Of that figure, last week in the budget statement, £7bn of the thirty-five may be partially recovered through an EV tax, on electric vehicles annually. But the £28bn, which is what we get from Fuel Duty at the pumps, there's no plan to replace that.

‘So what I'm suggesting is that we need to revisit all options, and road pricing – for which a recent survey said public acceptability was now nearing 50%. I think if a simple pay-as-you-go proposal was put forward we may get somewhere but I would argue we have to link that to hypothecation so that those monies stay in the transport sector.

‘That is not the normal Treasury route; they don't like doing that.'

Referring back to the earlier CIHT review under past president Mr Lugg, Mr Johnstone concluded: ‘But I think if we could make the case for doing that, and get those revenues hypothecated, you would then have your long-term funding stream. So that is my bit, that I have added on to the report I was talking to.'