Vehicle tracking/Road Pricing policy petition
 

Downing St have set up on their website an area for e-petitions. One is currently running to petition against road pricing/vehicle tracking policy. The petition can be found here:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

More stuff can be found here:

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/tr...973997,00.html

Cant hurt to add names if you object and may actually cause the politicians to think before they act.

I dont think its that bad an idea. I never drive by car in congested roads so will pay the smaller rates. I get the tram and use park and ride.

Personally, I can see arguments for and against road pricing.

For:
Will cut congestion in towns and cities
Will make people think before hopping in their cars for short journies
Will make businesses think twice before making their reps cover huge distances
etc

Against:
Govt will use it as a way of revenue raising - no way do I trust them to make it revenue neutral (i.e. cutting VED and fuel tax to compensate)
Will disproportionately affect those in rural areas
etc


However, I see vehicle tracking as something potentially very sinister and open to abuse by those in power. Where I go and at what time is my business.

I recon they'll bring in road pricing regardless. And I doubt if they will use the cash to pay for public transport.

Problem here is that there is no public transport that I can reliably use to do thye 40 mile round trip to work. IF they put the infrastructure in place first it would not be quite so bad, but as usual here, they won't.

My problem is I use congested roads but on the bike I just filter through it no fuss no problems and don't add to the congestion or get slowed down much but now I'll pay for the privelage :(

Maybe if they allow bikes off the charge like london congestion charging :)...AND scrap fuel and road tax :lol: :lol:

Well I can dream....

I'm torn by this...

I don't agree with this at all. Have a little black box that tracks all your movements? No thankyou very much. You can be sure it will be used to monitor your speed etc.

Also, its all very nice to say it will cut congestion etc but what do people use instead? The trains certainly couldn't cope with it so how are people supposed to get to work?

I do a 62 mile round trip on the M25 every day. If they charge a £1 a mile (which is being discussed) then I would have to pay £62 a day to get to work, I certainly can't afford that. Its too far to cycle or walk, there are no buses and to use the train we are talking 4 hours commuting a day instead of under 2 and I would have to use 3 trains each way.

So if this was brought in I would have to work somewhere else, the options are London, London or London so again we are talking road charge or trains. I can't afford the £20 a day road charge or even the £150 monthly train ticket so how am I supposed to work?

Its all very well reducing congestion and emissions but for me it means I'm out of work.

Well said Kate.

I signed. Im not torn by the idea at all. People need to get to work. People need to be able to do this in the most cost and time efficent manner. If thats by car/bike currently then so beit.

What they need to do is remove road tax from all vehicles, and add it to petrol. That way the people who use it more pay more simple. This country has a good transport system, its just that it can not cope with the volume of poeple that use it. We have some of the oldest Rail networks in the world. Its going to need replacing. It just needs more thought and of course money, to sort it efficently.

Its one of those things that will have wider implications. This country is at breaking point as it is. Its gonna pop soon.

And at a pound a mile, I'd be paying ooo, about £19000 a year. Thats almost what i earn.]

Would you pay £200 to go on a rideout? How many of you would sell your bikes...oh hold on, you wouldnt be able to as no one would be able to afford to run it. THINK ABOUT IT!! Its not good.

Just signed it myself - totally against it

That sounds so simple and with no obvious flaws. Bang in line with "the polluter pays" and all that so why don't the govt do it?

I can only think of three reasons:

1. The industry lobby........it will make movement of goods more expensive and the 1000s of motorway miles pounded by reps in Mondeos will become very expensive
2. The govt will find a way of using it as a revenue-raiser
3. The VED system provides a simple check for insurance and MOT purposes. Okay, its not perfect but its better than nothing and swapping for another system will be expensive.