I used the term road tax to OP, because it was the term OP used. In my post, I also referred to VAT, VED and fuel duty.
Please provide a reputable source for your assertions.
Here is the RAC’s analysis:
https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/economics
As you can see, they put fuel duty at around £24 billion, VED at around £7 billion, and VAT on fuel and new cars at £12 billion. Then there’s the tax on insurance. Against that income of over £43 billion, they put spending on the roads at £13 billion in 2023/4.
The vehicles that do the most damage to roads individually must be lorries. I totally agree all freight should go by rail.
Road pricing will come in, because the Exchequer will have to replace the lost income from fuel duty, when electric cars become compulsory.
However, I don’t agree people should have to walk everywhere under 5 miles. It’s totally impractical to suggest a parent should carry the weekly shopping for a family on a four mile walk, especially with young children in tow. Or, that frail elderly people should have to walk several miles to the doctor’s and back. It might be ok in London, but not in rural areas, where public transport is slow, expensive and limited.
To survive global warming, we need to go back to a society like in medieval times, where people work in the area they live sustainably (ie no more capitalism and endless consumption) to cut down on all this travel; but there’s too many of us; and I can’t see it happening in time.