Congestion Charging

[fiddleabout]

Re: subsidies

> If it is completely free you find that there is a large increase in "joy riding"

On buses - you just have to be joking.

The last time I used a bus was maybe 20 years back (after some scumbag nicked my car from a car park) it was the most drawn out and uncomfortable 3 or 4 miles I've ever travelled - I certainly wished I'd not been such a bloody cheapskate and taken a cab or been even more af a cheapskate and walked. I seriously doubt that they've improved much.

UK Buses are, in the main, for those without the choice of something better.

[TonyEnglish]

Re: subsidies

"I would suggest such a driver does get penalised for driving on a busy stretch of road: when stuck in a jam they burn more fuel over the journey than if the road was empty, also they have to set off earlier to get to work at the right time."

But they don't get penalised to the tune of £1.34 per mile.

I agree that road charging is bollox and think it could have a worse outcome for the govt who implement it than the poll tax (no ability to pay link - yet!). At the end of the day this system has sod all to do with congestion and everything to do with taxation. They know that sales of diesel and petrol will be well on the way out in 10 to 15 years time and that they need a new model for taxing drivers. I just cannot understand why people seem to have accepted this scheme without much objection.

[fiddleabout]

Re: subsidies

> I just cannot understand why people seem to have accepted this scheme without much objection.

Have they then? They certainly won't if/when the bills start coming in.

[TonyEnglish]

Re: subsidies

But nobody in the media seems to be kicking up a stink about the prospect of £1.34 per mile charging for going to work. Darling stated that this would only affect 0.5% of the cars on our road. This is a sh1t load of cars being charged the highest rate every day.

[Lucifer Box]

Re: subsidies

But they don't get penalised to the tune of £1.34 per mile

Look on the bright side, if you're stuck in a traffic jam you won't be racking up many miles and, by the time you get out of it, off-peak rates will apply.

Silver lining and all that.

[tim123]

Re: joy riding

Fiddle, you are not the average spotty teenager with nothing to do on a wet afternoon.

This is the sort of person who just goes for a free bus ride because they can.

And your analysis of the type of person who might use a bus is crucial here. You correctly point out that the percentage of the population that do use a bus is small, so it doesn't need a very large percentage to increase using them to generate the need for more buses.

tim

[NumptyCorner]

Re: joy riding

Did anyone see question time last night? Apparently they may add these fees without scrapping fuel duty

[Lucifer Box]

Re: joy riding

Apparently they may add these fees without scrapping fuel duty

It's only "fair" you know.

[IR35 Avoider]

Why don't they just increase the fuel tax.

why dont they just increase fuel tax

Lots of people seem to be saying this - even a column in the London Evening Standard.

If a charge of £1.34 a mile is needed to get traffic flowing smoothly on the most congested roads, how much do you think fuel prices will have to increase until your car is costing you that much more per mile to run? And why should people on the other 99% of the road network also have to pay that amount per mile?

One quote I heard on the radio is that to achieve the congestion charge effect via fuel-tax would require a 15 times increase. So you think (rough guess) a £8 per litre price for fuel is a more attractive option than congestion charging?

[SupremeSpod]

Re: Why don't they just increase the fuel tax.

We don't need congestion charging!

Free at use public transport!

If you provide it, it will be used!