Road user charging
Discussion
Just reading this headline on the BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politic
Motorists should be asked to pay to drive on the nation's road network, a report commissioned by the government has recommended.
This quote on the anticipated 'benefits' says it all for me:
"Road charges will put some people off driving entirely, cut congestion and carbon emissions and could raise up to £16bn a year in payments, Sir Rod says"
Apart from the debateable greenie benefit (just how much of global warming is a direct consequence of light vehicle pollution again...? I can't recall the exact very small number), this seems to say "let's reduce congestion by making it too expensive for poor people to drive anywhere, and boost government coffers by £16bn a year." Way hay - that's progress for the people!
Umm.... how about just building more/better roads?
We don't have many long distance roads that could be tolled in NZ (too many turn-offs) today, but if pay per mile becomes the standard in the UK I bet it wouldn't be long til we get compulsory satellite trackers with a meter attached.
Motorists should be asked to pay to drive on the nation's road network, a report commissioned by the government has recommended.
This quote on the anticipated 'benefits' says it all for me:
"Road charges will put some people off driving entirely, cut congestion and carbon emissions and could raise up to £16bn a year in payments, Sir Rod says"
Apart from the debateable greenie benefit (just how much of global warming is a direct consequence of light vehicle pollution again...? I can't recall the exact very small number), this seems to say "let's reduce congestion by making it too expensive for poor people to drive anywhere, and boost government coffers by £16bn a year." Way hay - that's progress for the people!
Umm.... how about just building more/better roads? We don't have many long distance roads that could be tolled in NZ (too many turn-offs) today, but if pay per mile becomes the standard in the UK I bet it wouldn't be long til we get compulsory satellite trackers with a meter attached.
Ffirg 005 said:
...(just how much of global warming is a direct consequence of light vehicle pollution again...? I can't recall the exact very small number)...
I seem to remember either 0.8% or 0.08% being quoted somewhere reasonably reliable, not completely sure though. The one global-warming-hype type stat I can really state reliably is sea level rise, which is at about 1.6mm per year, and has been for the last 100+ years (ie as long as the sea level gauges have been operating and considered reasonably reliable), and is showing no sign whatsoever of accelerating.
But anyway, road charging, damn stupid idea, have they forgotten that about 60% of petrol price goes to the govt as it is? gloody money-grabbing b@stards, them and their $14 billion dollar surplus or whatever it is these days.
I've done some work on three toll-road models and as stand-alone projects the administration & charging overheads should kill them in terms of any objective assessment of economic efficiency.
Don't like the idea of my velocity being able to be calculated so easily either
If necessary I'd buy my own carbon sink to balance my carbon-bu11sh!t-footprint and then 'emit' as much as I liked
Don't like the idea of my velocity being able to be calculated so easily either
If necessary I'd buy my own carbon sink to balance my carbon-bu11sh!t-footprint and then 'emit' as much as I liked
Another British Labour party way to stick it to the low end of the economic spectrum. I bet the situation there is similar to what has happened in NZ- the rich continue to get richer but the poor are no better off, even under a Labour government. Taxing the arse off cars will only decrease quality of life for those who can just afford cars now, while it won't affect those who can properly afford them.
The whole global warming thing is looking like a way for lefties to lift more tax from the economy.
The whole global warming thing is looking like a way for lefties to lift more tax from the economy.
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