The new transport secretary Douglas Alexander pledged to take road pricing 'off the drawing board and make it work'.
On a visit to officially launch York's Ftr service, Alexander announced he would invite bids for demonstration projects for the technology that could be used. Several pilots would be staged over the next three to four years, whilst councils draw up local schemes for 'real streets'.
It was crucial that a national system is as simple as possible, he said, which meant motorists 'not being required to have multiple tags, passes or accounts for different schemes as they drive around the country'.