A chartered surveyor from Worcestershire has been chosen to take part in a unique road charging experiment for 大象传媒 Television. The aim is to put to test the Government's radical proposals to cut traffic congestion - possibly by charging for road use per mile and according to how busy they are. Nick Waddington, who lives outside Worcester, is one of four motorists from the Midlands who have agreed to have a Navman satellite navigation system installed in their vehicles so that 大象传媒 News can monitor every journey they make.
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 | | Pay points like this could appear all over the UK |
The news crew will even be following him by helicopter at certain times. The minute by minute results are being evaluated according to a road charging model drawn up by transport specialists at University College, London. The 大象传媒 team, lead by Transport Correspondent Tom Symonds, intend to present each motorist with a 'bill'听at the end of the month-long experiment. The results are being shown on 大象传媒1's Six O'Clock and Ten O'Clock News, as well as 大象传媒 Online. | "He's remarkably genial even first thing in the morning so that makes him an ideal candidate for being pursued by a news film crew!" | | Sue Emmett, Senior Producer, 大象传媒 News |
大象传媒 News' producer Sue Emmett says Nick Waddington had been selected because he chose to take the long daily commute to work by car: "Nick could take the train to work, so we wanted to see if he would think about going by public transport, or entering into a car share if he had to pay out of his own pocket for using the roads at peak hours. "He also has to use his car for work, as he visits a lot of industrial and commercial sites which are not exactly on a bus route, so road charging could have an impact on his employers' costs. "An added bonus is that he's remarkably genial even first thing in the morning so that makes him an ideal candidate for being pursued by a news film crew!" Father of two, Nick says: "I would definitely like the advantages of less congested journeys.
 | | Traffic always builds up on the M5/M6 link |
"But I can't dictate when clients want me to look round their buildings so I can't plan my journeys to make them cheaper." He would be prepared to tolerate a slight invasion of his privacy in exchange for the benefits of quicker journeys and joked: "My wife might be glad to know where I am, too!" But it would take half an hour longer each way by public transport and would probably also involve taxi journeys to and from the station because of a lack of buses where he now lives. The other motorists are a 'white van man' from Hinckley听in Leicestershire, a 'school run mum' from Solihull in Birmingham and a rural florist from Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. | 
