View Full Version : Road Pricing
Well what is good or bad about this radical shake up of funding the transport network?
Personally, I give a cautious 'Yes' but where I am confused by it all is that a figure of £1.34 per mile has been quoted for the most congested roads. How can the Government quote such a definite figure when they say it won't be implemented for another 10 years?
I remember similiar spin done about the Poll Tax, but when the tax bill came through the door, the reality dawned with a thump...
In Caithness, we never get congested, (ok we may get in a hold up for a few moments in Thurso, but for those that haven't travelled on the M25, I repeat, we never get congested in Caithness. ) so surely the tariff should reflect a suitable road pricing so that we will be better off under this new tax?
Also, tourists will be more inclined to tour the 'cheap' roads of north Scotland rather than the expensive roads of Southern England, do we agree with that? This could bring unexpected wealth to our non existent tourist trade.
BTW Does Allistair Darling dye his eyebrows black or his hair grey, surely it's not natural?
Caledonia
10-Jun-05, 07:59
Tourists of the non-British variety won't be paying.
Unless the scheme goes Europe wide, even European tourists won't be paying.
I think the whole idea of tracking devices in every car is 110% Big Brother, hopefully the Scottish Parliament can resist such a plan for Scotland as we take more control of our transport system.
This is a real intrusion on civil liberty, in my opinion, and enough of an issue to make Gordon Brown's job of winning a second term very hard indeed.
If they instigated a zoning scheme similar to the Congestion Charge where needed, based on cameras reading plates, it would be far cheaper and broadly as effective at combatting congestion. I wouldn'y have any objection, having experienced first hand the improvement in London.
;)
I understand your concern over the Big Brother thing, but I don't think civil liberty will be threatened any more by this because I understand that Big Brother can track anyone with a mobile phone anyway. Well we can always get rid of them or switch them off can't we? :roll:
However, I have a much more practical solution to the UK's congestion problem.
It has all these benefits:-
You will save money, I would estimate about at least £1000 per person per year.
You will slow down Global Warming.
You will live longer if you make it part of your lifestyle.
You will look healthier and more appealing the opposite sex
It reduces the stress of daily life
You will gain the knowledge of mechanics whether you want to or not
It significantly improves mood and depression.
You will reduce noise pollution significantly
The running costs are totally tax free
It is perfect for shopping and trips under 10 miles
In congestion you will beat the queues
You will gain a greater appreciation of the world around you.
If you smoke, it will give you the extra incentive to stop
Life will get easier as you go along
The Answer?
Norman Tebbit had the right idea....
So did Freddie Mercury and Queen
Ok all is revealed
GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!!
If the technology works as intended then the proposed system should be beneficial to those in rural areas with limited access to public transport.
I do however see a basic flaw; at the moment the road haulage industry is up in arms about european trucks filling up long range tanks at French prices and then coming over here to do work within the UK, I don't have a problem with this as there is nothing to stop UK hauliers crossing the Channel to fill up, the finances work out the same.
Under the proposed system there would have to be laws forcing foreign trucks to fit a tracking unit and then pay what is owed everytime they leave the country otherwise the playing field will be sloping very much in the foreign hauliers favour.
Regarding continental trucks filling up over there, it wasn't that long ago that continental drivers ran on vapours until they got to the filling station at Dover, things will come around...I hope.
I can see that there may be a two tier pricing system at the petrol station where if you can prove that you are on the road pricing tariff then you get your fuel duty free. If it is impossible or you have refused to fit a black box then you pay the duty at the pumps. This is also open to abuse I suppose, ultimately, I think road pricing is a pie in the sky, good in theory but not very practical.
I think what they are proposing is a good idea, whether they can get it to work is another matter. It would certainly cut costs for most people up here, especially if we didn't have to pay fuel duty/tax etc.
Bobinovich
10-Jun-05, 22:59
I'd like to think that, with the right technology in place and a fair scheme for all (aye, right!), that it would work. It would be especially beneficial to those of us in the Highlands, where every road would surely be classed as minor rural and would therefore attract the lowest charges.
Other benefits which I didn't see in the list were built-in car tracking in the event of theft and, if adequately databased, pinpointing cars in a particular area at the time of an accident, murder, etc. thereby assisting the police.
These kind of benefits in addition to the potential savings would not worry your average law-abiding citizen, and I believe the cost of having the 'black box' fitted would be reaped back quite quickly.
Similarly I don't mind the idea of ID cards but I would really resent having to pay for them - where's the benefit for us???
The Answer?
Norman Tebbit had the right idea....
So did Freddie Mercury and Queen
Ok all is revealed
GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!!
Ah, if only Freddie had left it at bikes, he might still be with us.
Ah, if only Freddie had left it at bikes, he might still be with us.
Gee what an assumption to make. Who's to say he wouldn't have got AIDS another way. It doesn't just affect gay men you know .... you only have to look at Africa to see that.
Oops, another hijacking of the original post!!!!! :D
Ah, if only Freddie had left it at bikes, he might still be with us.
Gee what an assumption to make. Who's to say he wouldn't have got AIDS another way. It doesn't just affect gay men you know .... you only have to look at Africa to see that.
Oops, another hijacking of the original post!!!!! :D
Well - I thought it was funny. [lol] [lol] [lol]
Too many dreary posts that could do with lightening up.
The technology exists so it is hardly "pie in the sky".
Ah, if only Freddie had left it at bikes, he might still be with us.
Gee what an assumption to make. Who's to say he wouldn't have got AIDS another way. It doesn't just affect gay men you know .... you only have to look at Africa to see that.
Oops, another hijacking of the original post!!!!! :D
Well - I thought it was funny. [lol] [lol] [lol]
Too many dreary posts that could do with lightening up.
It was funny! and you're right - we need to be able to make a wee joke now and then without haveing someone jumping down our throats!
Ah, if only Freddie had left it at bikes, he might still be with us.
Gee what an assumption to make. Who's to say he wouldn't have got AIDS another way. It doesn't just affect gay men you know .... you only have to look at Africa to see that.
Oops, another hijacking of the original post!!!!! :D
Oh, another paranoid Politically Correct poster. Gee, what an assumption YOU make. You assume I know very little about AIDS . It's pretty safe to assume that you know nothing about me, whereas I know a fair bit about Freddie. I like Queen and admire Freddie for his performing abilities but the reality was that he was a deeply sad man who led a pretty squallid lifestyle which almost certainly brought about his early demise.
It will be a pretty sad day when every little joke or remark has to be run by the world to make sure we are not offending some sensitive soul in Outer Mongolia.
Scorrie, I totally agree with you.
I didn't intend to take a shot at you personally, I just thought a joke about someone who died of AIDS wasn't funny, that's all.
I didn't intend to take a shot at you personally, I just thought a joke about someone who died of AIDS wasn't funny, that's all.
Aye, we should be all free to decide what we think is funny. I would ask how many of us have never laughed at a joke, that someone else might consider to be sexist, racist, stereotyping, or in slightly bad taste. Freddie lived a lifestyle that made him more likely to contract AIDS, his death was sad but not tragic or unexpected. If a child contacted AIDS from a blood transfusion then I would see that as tragic and a different scenario altogether. The human race is never going to be perfect and laughing at ourselves and our failings is OK in my mind as long as it is consistent and not a case of finding one thing funny but not seeing it the same way if it happens to be from the other side of the fence. eg Donald Finlay's joke is funny but not if it had been from the other camp.
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