Road pricing insanity finally dropped.

[Satch]

Might almost think there was an election on the way

Motorists' victory as Government drops plans for local road pricing scheme

"Ministers have dropped proposals for urban congestion charging across the country, in what will be regarded as a victory for motorists.

It follows the Government's abandonment of a proposed pay-as-you-drive national road pricing scheme.

But the aborted congestion chargning policy has still cost the taxpayer £41.7 million, triggering accusations from opposition politicians of incompetence.

The final surrender of one of Labour's flagship policies will be hailed by drivers who could have faced bills of at least £20 a week to drive to work into some urban parts of the country.

As a result, only drivers in London and Durham will face a congestion charge of any sort for the foreseeable future.

Proposed schemes for Reading and Cambridge – the only remaining candidates – are now expected to be discontinued following the overhaul of the Government's "congestion busting" Transport Innovation Fund, which was only open to councils willing to introduce some form of local road pricing.

Now, under plans announced by Sadiq Khan, a transport minister, councils will no longer have to bring in tolls to receive a slice of the rebranded Urban Challenge Fund.

Instead they will only have to demonstrate that their transport strategies will cut congestion - even without charging - by promoting alternative modes of transport."

Motorists' victory as Government drops plans for local road pricing scheme - Telegraph

 

[Benzowner]

They probably can't afford to pay for providing a better public transport service to give the motorist an option.

 

[Charles Morgan]

The plans will be put in the top drawer at the Department of whatever, and will be revived under the next government of whichever party. Bureaucracy does not lightly surrender its long term plans.

 

[prm]

They probably can't afford to pay for providing a better public transport service to give the motorist an option.

The £40 million odd might have helped that this useless govt have wasted

 

[st4]

The plans will be put in the top drawer at the Department of whatever, and will be revived under the next government of whichever party. Bureaucracy does not lightly surrender its long term plans.

True, the cynic in me doesnt see this going away but its such an election loser that if it were reintroduced, an opposition party would win by promising to scrap it.

 

[stevieb15]

This whole issue goes to one of my personal bugbears, governments should do needs not wants,basically that which is absolutely necessary and unavoidable,therefore if a decent road system and decent public transport are deemed needs then the government should provide.
The money for this could easily be provided from the pots that currently cover wants, for instance arts, sports, overseas aid, overseas wars, independent nuclear deterent, integrated NHS computer, EU membership and I'm not even going to start
on the DSS budget.
Unfortunately which ever version of liberalism wins the next election we are unlikely to get any major changes in the shape or direction of taxation and public spending that recognises the private sector will always find ways of providing for wants by defining marketing opportunities that people are willing to pay for.

 

[st13phil]

The plans will be put in the top drawer at the Department of whatever, and will be revived under the next government of whichever party. Bureaucracy does not lightly surrender its long term plans.

I tend to agree, and not least because there has been much commercial interest in these schemes from potential operators (which in itself shows how distorted the thinking is behind it). There's also the rather expensive European-wide Galileo Project to consider which, in the absence of income from pay-as-you-drive taxation schemes, starts to look like the very expensive folly it is.

What was interesting about the now abandoned scheme was that Westminster had sought to distance itself from unpopularity by coercing local goverment into taking the brick-bats that the introduction of such a deeply unpopular policy would bring. Despite Manchester doing their level best to rig the ballot that they unwillingly offered the electorate on the matter it became clear that the electorate would punish hard anyone who pressed ahead with the scheme and it's been in a sort of holding pattern ever since.

Perversely, the most likely way that pay-as-you-drive taxation will be delayed as long as possible is through there being a hung parliament as it would leave no major party in the position where they could say they were against it were it to be introduced. However, I'll be astonished if it doesn't surface again in some form or another in the not too distant future.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I live 2 miles out of the Cambridge town centre, in a street with nothing but houses. Should the Cambridge Con Charge even get a green light, I will have to pay £5 or more to even leave my house as the cut off point is 100 yards further out.

Hopefully this news will prevent this... for the forseeable future at least!

 

[Palfrem]

Mororists already cough up £50 mllion in taxes - we've already paid to use the roads!
Where does it go?

 

[Dryce]

Perversely, the most likely way that pay-as-you-drive taxation

The fuel duty is already effectively a 'pay as you drive taxation'.

Road pricing extends that to 'pay where you drive' taxation.

 

[Palfrem]

sorry £50 billion

 

[janner]

How does 'thinking' about introducing a new tax cost £41 million?

 

[st4]

How does 'thinking' about introducing a new tax cost £41 million?

Because that keeps people in government employment which buys loyalty for people to vote for them to keep them in power.

 

[st4]

The fuel duty is already effectively a 'pay as you drive taxation'.

Road pricing extends that to 'pay where you drive' taxation.

Fuel duty works as pay where you drive too. Urban driving uses more fuel and as that is mainly tax an urban user with a like for like car compared with a motorway user pays more tax/mile.

Parking charges also act as a pay where you stop tax.

Tax, tax and more tax.

 

[Benzowner]

The £40 million odd might have helped that this useless govt have wasted

Don't you beleive it, our council spent £140m to improve bus services by widening the pavements so the buses don't have to pull in so cars can now not overtake a stationary bus It also involved overhead gantries to monitor the buses alledgely with hidden cameras inside for future use

 

[mattc]

Don't you beleive it, our council spent £140m to improve bus services by widening the pavements so the buses don't have to pull in so cars can now not overtake a stationary bus It also involved overhead gantries to monitor the buses alledgely with hidden cameras inside for future use

so
a) increase congestion thereby making the argument that some form of charging is required to help reduce traffic!
b) have a significant portion of the infrastructure already in place to then do the monitoring/charging!!

And politicians (local or national) wonder why they are not trusted? Perhaps they should all take the political equivalent of the Hypocratic Oath (do no harm) and in the event of being found out as lying, cheating, devious, mendacious bar stewards we can legitimately stake them down near a wood ants nest and smear honey over their genitalia (I am now off to a darken room to calm down)

 

[stevieb15]

we can legitimately stake them down near a wood ants nest and smear honey over their genitalia

I think you may be on the wrong forum!

 

[s500colin]

Why Durham Strange or what

 

[st13phil]

The fuel duty is already effectively a 'pay as you drive taxation'.

Road pricing extends that to 'pay where you drive' taxation.

You're correct of course, but don't forget to look at the bigger picture.

Think about the scenario a few years hence when there are a significant number of electric vehicles on the road. They won't be pumping hydrocarbons into their fuel tank to convert to motive power, so the opportunity to charge based upon fuel purchased / consumed disappears. Oh dear, how are governments going to continue to tax mobility (for that is what the fuel duty is) and protect the massive revenue stream they currently enjoy from that? Answer: Road Tolls. Congestion charging was nothing more than trojan horse to disguise the deployment and testing of the required infrastructure.

Now where did I leave my tin-foil hat?

 

[Charles Morgan]

I live 2 miles out of the Cambridge town centre, in a street with nothing but houses. Should the Cambridge Con Charge even get a green light, I will have to pay £5 or more to even leave my house as the cut off point is 100 yards further out.

Hopefully this news will prevent this... for the forseeable future at least!

Living in Central London, I pay £210 a year for the residents' discounted (90%) congestion charge. I also pay £140 ish a year to park. When Ken Livingstone suggested a £25 a day (undiscounted) charge for cars emitting over 225g CO2, I sold my E500 as I believed it was inevitable the charge would come in, I would sometimes forget to pay, and would be screwed by extra fines in addition to the £25 a day charge. Then the government leaked the idea of a charge of up to £1.10 or so per mile on the busiest roads (so the A4/M4 out to Heathrow would no doubt be thus classified) so to see my sister in Windsor, it would cost me £69 for a 40 mile round trip. That or a 3 hour round journey on public transport.

And they wondered why so many people objected and/or voted for Boris....