Double trouble for heavy transport as RUC and diesel increases hit hard

20 September 2022

Heavy vehicle operators are facing the double whammy of increasing diesel prices and increasing road user charge.

Transport operators are bracing for the increase in diesel prices when the 50% fuel excise reduction is removed at the end of the month, which will see 25.3cpl of tax added back onto the price of fuel. The fuel excise was halved in March 2020 to provide some relief to motorists in the wake of unprecedented global pressures on prices. This cut was always intended to be temporary, and despite the cost of living squeeze the relief will be removed on 29 September 2022 and the full excise, a tax that goes directly to the government, will be applied, which will have an almost immediate upward impact on fuel prices.

This return of the full fuel excise has been known and expected, but transport operators were hit with the double whammy when the Transport Minister Catherine King confirmed that there would also be an increase in the Road User Charge that applies to heavy vehicles. The change will see the Road User Charge increase by 0.8cpl to 27.2cpl.

In announcing the change, the Minister noted “the road user charge is intended to recover the greater cost of maintenance and repair as a result of the use of heavy vehicles on our roads” and that this increase comes following a detailed consultation process.

There is some relief for heavy vehicle operators as the Minister also announced the return of the Fuel Tax Credits and an increase in those credits to 18.8cpl. The Fuel Tax Credits will return from 29 September 2022 (the day the full fuel excise applies again)