The transport consultancy, Halliburton, has said that if nothing is done to drastically reduce congestion, the M25 will see a 33% increase in traffic by 2016.

Recommendations include the levying of tolls to pay for road widening and the provision of a frequent orbital coach network which would connect key towns in the M25 corridor.

The Orbit Study's final recommendations will be submitted to regional planning bodies and the Mayor of London in the autumn for consideration.

Will tolls help to tackle congestion on the M25? Would you be ready to pay for less congestion?

This Talking Point has now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

Britain should get out of the 9 to 5 mentality

Stephen G, UK

The best way to end 'rush hour blues' would be for companies to become more flexible in their working hours. I suffered for over twenty years with the headache of commuting by road to and from work. However, this changed with a simple change to the working day. Yes, I still hit some traffic, but I get to work a lot quicker and lot more refreshed. Britain should get out of the 9 to 5 mentality first before charging the poor old user more money
Stephen G, UK

Wait till you hear of the ironic antics of the Singapore government. They've been trying to increase the prices of cars, road taxes, road tolls and they've been going around telling people to go public. On the other hand, they raise the public transportation prices. Maybe we should all start cycling to work, as they do in Beijing, China.
Janine, Brit in Singapore

If everyone pays for less congestion, and everyone then uses roads expecting them to be less congested wont they be exactly the same except we'll all be out of pocket?
Jordan S, North Lincolnshire - England

I think the best ways to ensure less traffic would be to:
(a) make MOTs a lot stricter, thus ridding the roads of many un-roadworthy vehicles.
(b) Pass a law which gives an age limit to driving, say 70. I know of three elderly car owners, all of whom are over 70 and in all honesty when they take to the roads they are all accidents waiting to happen.
(c) 17 is far too young to drive or own a vehicle. The minimum age should be raised to 21.
(d) If you can afford a big flash car then you can also afford higher road and car taxes.
Vaughan Griffiths, UK

Every year there are several periods when the roads are almost empty - school holidays. Why does no-one look at this situation to work out a strategy to reduce congestion. This is the most polluting of traffic, the half-mile journeys in the family 4x4 and MPV.
David Shawe, UK

Fact is, because most of the problems are caused by commuting you're going to wait a long time for a reduction in congestion whatever the government do, unless you take matters into your own hands and move closer to work, get another job nearer home, use public transport where possible, or, again where possible, take to a cycle (motorised or not). Otherwise you'll just suffer until some semblance of a consensus is reached on what should be done and how much money should be spent on it.
Steve, UK

It will all fail while we think of ourselves above society as a whole.

David Phillips, UK

I'm not sure whether tolls are the right answer, as it would simply encourage people on short journeys to use local free roads. However, the main problem is that no government or individual or corporation could ever sort out the problems. The majority wants more roads but no one wants them in their back yard so they don't get built. The majority want better transport (public and car) but like all things it costs money (which cannot be simply created by anyone) which people do not want to pay. British people have a fundamentally different mindset to our continental neighbours and without this community conscience/understanding, no problems in this country will ever be sorted out by a government either Conservative, Labour or Loonies. Road tolls, more roads, more trains, more public transport - it will all fail while we think of ourselves above society as a whole.
David Phillips, UK

There seem to be two common threads in this discussion: One - most people want better public transport. Two - most people don't want to pay any more tax (whether via road tolls or by other means).

It's been said a thousand times before, but let's try again. Countries like France, the Netherlands and Germany, with "good" public transport systems, pay around 50% of GDP in Tax. this tax is spent by the Government on "Useful" things like transport and health. Here in the UK we pay around 40% of GDP in Tax, so the government has much less money at it's disposal for things like public transport. If we want to improve things, we've got to pay for them! Road tolls seem like a good place to start.
John, England

Building new roads will only attract more traffic - even if it is at additional expense. Instead invest in rail centres near the main UK ports for cargo only with direct rail links to large regional distribution centres thus taking trucks off the main arteries.
Clive, UK

You should have to pay for destroying our environment.

Catherine, UK

What a lot of selfish nimbys you lot are!!!!! You should have to pay for destroying our environment. I do not drive and I intend to hold out and use public transport and walking for as long as possible. Train fares are increasing all the time, why should car divers not have to pay some tolls? However I would like to note that most car journeys in the UK are less than three miles long. You lazy car drivers should start walking and cycling more.
Catherine, UK

A tax by another name is still a tax. We have toll bridges and toll roads all over the USA, and they haven't done anything to "reduce congestion," although the tolls are oftentimes pitched to promote such. For the money raised is oftentimes quietly siphoned off to the city and state general accounts to compensate for governmental mismanagement and waste or pay for a politician's latest election year pet project, yet the transportation infrastructure is still in the same state of disrepair. If they institute this tax on the M25 and elsewhere, there better be fast tangible results, if not (which is almost certain), call it what it is, a stealth tax, and hold the politicians accountable for their "it'll reduce congestion" lie.
Stephen, USA

No I would never agree to pay tolls in a bid to ease congestion, as it just wont work, it's just another means of stealth taxation. But I would willingly pay to use alternate super highways that had no commercial vehicles or buses, and a much higher speed limit on the overtaking lane.
Baz, UK

They must ensure there is a reliable and competitively priced public transport system as an alternative

Chris Q, UK

The government should have the courage just to increase the cost of petrol, which would make people look for alternative means of transport rather than alternative routes. Of course, before they do this they must ensure there is a reliable and competitively priced public transport system as an alternative.
Chris Q, UK

The real problem is too many cars. Other people's cars.
Graham, UK

It's about time that car drivers started to pay more for ruining the planet's atmosphere than they have so far - and much more too. (A cyclist exclusively for nearly two years now - it can be done).
Simon Devine, England

Car use is a luxury

Andrew, UK

In London, where I live, many car users blatantly don't need to drive. Making car use more expensive is likely to convince some of them that public transport is a preferable alternative. Car use is a luxury and if it becomes so expensive as to limit other luxuries, people will be forced into a choice. I believe road tolls, congestion charging and so on do stand a chance of reducing traffic, and letting us all breathe easier.
Andrew, UK

The problem with the M25 is that it falls between two usage patterns. On the one hand, you have people using it for its true purpose, which is to get past London without having to go through the city. On the other hand, you have a very large number of local people who just go one or two junctions for no better reason than that it is convenient. People in the first group are being massively inconvenienced by road users in the second group.
David Hazel, UK

Why cannot the government use the money already collected through road tax, and VAT on petrol to raise a second tier on the M25 orbital road?
LK, UK

If we all stopped driving today they'd just find something else to tax

Neil, Scotland

Anyone who genuinely believes the government will use the money to benefit either the taxpayer or the environment is really gullible. The motorist is a cash-cow who will be milked until all our pips squeak. If we all stopped driving today they'd just find something else to tax, and feed us the appropriate spin to justify it.
Neil, Scotland

What everyone fails to remember is that when the M25 was originally designed it was the outer orbital road and there was to be an inner orbital. Another fact is that the M25 is the only way from the channel ports to the Midlands and further north, and that it connects all the London airports. Why is it that one of the major cities in Europe has only one orbital - in Paris they have several, and they're all free. It's all a typical UK joke!!!
Eamonn, UK

I have recently changed from a job where I travelled 5 miles to one where I travel 25 miles. This was not my choice, there are no jobs for someone with my skills nearer my home and I can't afford to move closer to my new job. I would happily use public transport but it would take me over two hours each way. I am, however, taking my own steps to reduce congestion - I'm learning to ride a motorbike. Until the government gets serious about tackling the causes of congestion, a motorbike is the only way to speed up my journey to work.
Tony, UK

Cars are fast becoming environmentally sustainable

B. Essada, UK

The root of problem is 'not too many cars' it's 'too many people' packed into the South East of England. Cars are fast becoming environmentally sustainable. Why not build a series of new towns, like Milton Keynes, with a good road network, separate foot/cycle paths and plenty of space for people to live.
B. Essada, UK

If public transport were reliable and comfortable, like I know it is in Holland, France, Germany and many other countries, I would happily abandon my car and use it. However, any form of charging for car use with public transport in the tragic mess that it is in, is nothing more than another tax which people will be forced into paying. Whether they can afford it or not seems to be unimportant.
Dan, UK

I really don't understand why the government thinks that making people pay to use roads will stop them using them. I live in London and don't have a car. Although it can be very frustrating, I only ever use public transport. However, there is no way I could avoid using a car should I move out of London as the public transport is awful where I originate from. As for the trains, they are always busy and always expensive.
Paula, UK

How many more "consultancy" firms are the government going to pay to back up their ludicrous assertions that paying more road tax is going to reduce congestion? Everyone knows that even if tolls were to be introduced, congestion would not improve. All that would happen is that this extra revenue would end up swelling Gordon's war chest and be put to use funding who knows what?
Shaun, Teignmouth, UK

The government needs to look at incentives like tax breaks if people work from home

James, UK

The majority of traffic is people going to work right? Well, to reduce this congestion the government needs to look at incentives like tax breaks if people work from home. Seems a simple solution to me, but as usual the government likes to empty Joe Public's pocket instead of solving the problem!
James, UK

We already pay enough for roads through road tax yet hardly any of it is spent on transport of any kind. The government should justify its mis-spending of the road fund licence revenue before charging us again for services we have already paid for many times over. As for the environmental impact of building new roads, anyone who has flown over the UK can see that our motorways are nothing but flimsy strands of tarmac surrounded by vast acres of empty fields. Adding a couple more lanes to either side would not have any real impact to the grass worth worrying about.
Paul B, UK

I agree with Paul. If the money we pay the government through road tax already isn't enough to pay for the upkeep of the roads then I doubt paying more in the form of tolls will make any difference to anything apart from motorists! This just sounds like another ruse to get more money from taxpayers.
Jacky, England

We already pay to use the roads in this country - it's called Road Fund Licence (renamed to Vehicle Excise Duty in an attempt to obscure the fact that this tax was originally introduced specifically to pay for the building and maintenance of the country's road network). If the government really wants to reduce congestion it needs to improve public transport so that it becomes an attractive, viable alternative to the private motor car. The government won't do this because all it really wants is to extract even more money from the cash cows that are Britain's motorists!
Paul, England