Road pricing fears for small firms

Half of small businesses believe they would have to raise their prices if road pricing were to be introduced.

A new survey has found that 68% of smaller firms do not support road pricing, with as many as 62% believing that their profits would be adversely affected by such a scheme.

The poll by Alliance & Leicester highlighted the importance of road travel for many of the UK’s small business, with 86% relying on it. However, the bank has raised concerns that businesses may suffer if they were forced to raise prices, with consumers starting to feel the effects of the interest rate hikes.

Steve Jennings, director of business banking at Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, commented:

“Small businesses need to think hard about how they are going to prepare themselves for road pricing. For many, simply passing the cost onto customers or reducing their customer base is not going to solve the problem of road pricing, especially when we know that consumers are already reining in their spending as interest rates are at their highest level in six years.”

Businesses are also worried that a road pricing scheme may affect their potential customer base, with 28% believing that the extra costs may force them to remain more localised.

The survey also found that fewer than one in five (17%) of all small firms say a significant amount of time is wasted due to congestion, and more than half believe congestion does not affect their business.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007