Environment and tax

[peter macdonald]

here we go again ..the government in Edinburgh wants to keep the tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges to help the environment ....Im not sure I can make the connection here because if you dont go over the bridges you have to make a 30 mile detour at least !!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6340183.stm

Another wee point about taxes and the environment is that Gordon Browns tax hike on air travel has not been ringfenced to help the environment but has gone into the Treasury pot like all the other tax revenue

these guys can fairly rob a good cause cant they!!!

[Angela]

here we go again ..the government in Edinburgh wants to keep the tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges to help the environment ....Im not sure I can make the connection here because if you dont go over the bridges you have to make a 30 mile detour at least !!


I suppose their argument could be that people may make extra journeys, causing more congestion especially at the approaches to the Forth Bridge...?
There certainly are very long delays there at peak travelling times.

I'm not convinced by that argument though! :roll:

Having lived for a few years in Fife recently - I did feel unfairly penalised for making essential car journeys to Edinburgh and further south, and to Dundee and further north.

I did travel by train when possible, but the service was far from great, as well as being expensive. If the rail service was improved, more people would use it.

[Cattach]

I have often had to move slowly in traffic up to the bridge as lots of car drivers wait to pay the tolls. I think I cause more pollution idling away in low gear, often for a considerable time, when a clear run in fifth gear for all traffic with no need to stop would save fuel and create less pollution. I would also inhale less fumes as I get a fair amount of rubbish breathed in with the window open approaching the toll booth.

[Angela]

I have often had to move slowly in traffic up to the bridge as lots of car drivers wait to pay the tolls. I think I cause more pollution idling away in low gear, often for a considerable time, when a clear run in fifth gear for all traffic with no need to stop would save fuel and create less pollution. I would also inhale less fumes as I get a fair amount of rubbish breathed in with the window open approaching the toll booth.
That's certainly true.
You can be queuing a very long way back, but the bridge itself and the road beyond can be relatively free of traffic -the tolls cause a bottleneck there wouldn't otherwise be...as well as quite a lot of frustration which probably doesn't improve people's driving [evil]

[Bobbyian]

I

I did travel by train when possible, but the service was far from great, as well as being expensive. If the rail service was improved, more people would use it.

my sentiments.
I´m not sure of their argument of using the bridghe tolls.
A thought came to mind , I used to travel a lot on the train from Thurso to the south OK it was usually then also v e r y slow ... but nowadays, I think that we expect everything almost instantly or even from yesterday that makes us assume that the communal services are so poor
I Agree they must be a way to make them more Usable (At best cheaper) to get more people on to thjis form of transport

[Penelope Pitstop]

China would appear to be a major world offender in pollution, hosting 5 of the worlds top ten polluted cities. I don't think the folk crossing the Forth Bridge should be penalised for that![disgust]