£150 Annual Motorway Charge!!!
£150 Annual Motorway Charge!!!
Author
Discussion

fordyx

Original Poster:

205 posts

230 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

276 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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That should be exciting in multi-car households!

DanielSan

20,044 posts

197 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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Government tells people to buy green cars and then realises when everyone chooses to do it that less road tax is being paid and they need to find an alternative idea. I'm strangely not surprised by this.

LADANIVA

1,500 posts

165 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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We currently pay road tax.

We will continue to pay road tax.

The amount will go up what ever system is adopted.

End of really

SuperchargedVR6

3,138 posts

250 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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DanielSan said:
Government tells people to buy green cars and then realises when everyone chooses to do it that less road tax is being paid and they need to find an alternative idea. I'm strangely not surprised by this.
Wasn't that driven by Brussels? But anyway, yep, all those Fiat 500s paying £0 VED. Kind of shot themselves in the foot there smile

I'd be happy to pay £150 to use the DCs/Mways if they were fit for purpose.

Gixer

4,463 posts

278 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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The C02 tax banding brought in by the last lot was complete bks IMO. We already had a system that encouraged us to buy economical cars - it was called duty on fuel. Why did they have to confuse things in the first place. Now we have a ridiculous system where a weekend car with a big engine can cost loads more to tax than a smaller engined car that does 40-50k a year. Absolute hypocrisy and how a motorbike can ever cost more to tax than a car is beyond me.

Garlick

40,601 posts

270 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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If we could have roads that are as well maintained, traffic free and with the same level of driving standards as the French Autoroutes then I would happily pay an annual fee.

The good thing about the French roads is they always offer a decent free alternative if you don't want to pay, but when you do pay you can be guaranteed of fast progress, regular services and good lane discipline.

Paul O

3,167 posts

213 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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I don't mind paying a bit more providing that this money is entirely, completely, comprehensively used to upkeep roads - including side roads and potholes not just main roads. Because UK roads are st.

I personally still favour the idea of scrapping all this road-tax, pay-as-you go nonsense and just stick an extra 10p a litre on fuel. Think of all the admin it would save. Increased revenue overnight for the government and less hassle for the consumer.

smile

long time lurker

302 posts

180 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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I was going to say lots of bad things about the government and the idea of a motorway charge, then read it was daily wail and decided it wasn't worth wasting my time!

(I guess they are also saying immigrant's would be let off any motorway charges?)

surveyor

18,705 posts

214 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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It was worth the link for this..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-22769...

Reminds me not to look at DM links on contentious issues.

Gixer

4,463 posts

278 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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Garlick said:
If we could have roads that are as well maintained, traffic free and with the same level of driving standards as the French Autoroutes then I would happily pay an annual fee.

The good thing about the French roads is they always offer a decent free alternative if you don't want to pay, but when you do pay you can be guaranteed of fast progress, regular services and good lane discipline.
And they don't pay road tax. Trouble is France has a very low population for it size, we are the other way around so we wll either end up with more expensive just as busy motorways or alternative cheaper routes jammed solid. Would be great to have French quality roads over here though.

ChrisDB7

163 posts

185 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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I'm not going to worry too much, its a Dail Mail article!

If its revenue neutral then why is there any incentive to change the system?

Its a stupid idea that wouldn't work in practice. Imagine the cost of setting up a camera network at every motorway junction in the country. They'd have to set up some sort of system where you could buy a motorway day pass as well (i.e. road pricing by the back door). It just sounds like a bks article to get website traffic I think

Garlick

40,601 posts

270 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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Gixer said:
...so we wll either end up with more expensive just as busy motorways or alternative cheaper routes jammed solid.
True enough, we'd have to knock down homes to create a fast road.

That said, I'd still pay for smooth tarmac and policed lane discipline

Kentish

15,169 posts

264 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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Gixer said:
Garlick said:
If we could have roads that are as well maintained, traffic free and with the same level of driving standards as the French Autoroutes then I would happily pay an annual fee.

The good thing about the French roads is they always offer a decent free alternative if you don't want to pay, but when you do pay you can be guaranteed of fast progress, regular services and good lane discipline.
And they don't pay road tax. Trouble is France has a very low population for it size, we are the other way around so we wll either end up with more expensive just as busy motorways or alternative cheaper routes jammed solid. Would be great to have French quality roads over here though.
The money would never be spent on the roads other than remedial pot hole filing every couple of years; the whole idea is to boost revenue meaning that they would not want to spend out the extra they create.

New roads on the other hand are likely to be good initially but then fall into the same state as the others and new roads will all be built down to the most competitive price so are likely to be of a lower standard and longevity.


Gixer

4,463 posts

278 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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ChrisDB7 said:
I'm not going to worry too much, its a Dail Mail article!

If its revenue neutral then why is there any incentive to change the system?

Its a stupid idea that wouldn't work in practice. Imagine the cost of setting up a camera network at every motorway junction in the country. They'd have to set up some sort of system where you could buy a motorway day pass as well (i.e. road pricing by the back door). It just sounds like a bks article to get website traffic I think
I wonder if they have already been setting it up. There are ANPR cameras at many junctions already. Certainly at my junction with the M2. I believe this is the technology they will be using on the Dartford crossing when they remove the barriers (to continue collecting the toll that was going to end once the bridge was paid for) and am sure I read somewhere that companies bidding for the contract will have to have the technology to cope with widespread charging.....

Of course, once there's a network of ANPR logging our trips it's only one small step for them to log a speeds along that journey.

Kentish

15,169 posts

264 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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I might start charging the council £150 to pop down our private road and collect the rubbish wink

Kentish

15,169 posts

264 months

Monday 11th February 2013
quotequote all
Gixer said:
I wonder if they have already been setting it up. There are ANPR cameras at many junctions already. Certainly at my junction with the M2. I believe this is the technology they will be using on the Dartford crossing when they remove the barriers (to continue collecting the toll that was going to end once the bridge was paid for) and am sure I read somewhere that companies bidding for the contract will have to have the technology to cope with widespread charging.....

Of course, once there's a network of ANPR logging our trips it's only one small step for them to log a speeds along that journey.
I saw that part of the article where it mentioned ANPR cameras to penalise thos who had not paid to drive on the roads.

Why do it that way?

Many an innocent driver could fall foul of straying onto an unexpected road (esp with satnav redirection etc); this way the Gov't would make more money from large fines.

It would be more fair to use the ANPR to collect the actual toll for driving on those roads but that would not bring in so much cash......

MKnight702

3,440 posts

244 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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EFA

LADANIVA said:
We currently pay road tax.

We will continue to pay road tax.

The amount will go up what ever system is adopted.

End of really
It doesn't matter what they call it, tax is tax, it all goes to the same place then is spent wisely by those people elected by us, specifically to benefit us the taxpayer.

Hey it could be worse, they could waste it!

Gixer

4,463 posts

278 months

Monday 11th February 2013
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Garlick said:
True enough, we'd have to knock down homes to create a fast road.

That said, I'd still pay for smooth tarmac and policed lane discipline
Very true, I drive along these newly widened 4 lane motorways wondering why the hell they bothered. You just end up with 2 empty inside lanes instead of one.

If it wasn't for France I probably wouldnt update my maps or GPS maps. Constantly building new motorways and not to mention the speed in which they build them. Then when they have built the new road, the old one is left as an alternative.

Over here we build a new road and then either dig up or ruin the original, leaving no alternative. Look at the A13 at Dagenham was a NS DC before they built the new A13, now a one lane 30mph with bus lane and hundreds of traffic lights. The A2 is even more mind boggling. What did they achieve by digging it up at one side of the Tolgate( making a cycle park) and laying another on the other side of the Tolgate? should have kept the original for local traffic and isle of Grain and brought the M2/A2 split further up to Gravesend for coast traffic.

Gixer

4,463 posts

278 months

Monday 11th February 2013
quotequote all
Kentish said:
I saw that part of the article where it mentioned ANPR cameras to penalise thos who had not paid to drive on the roads.

Why do it that way?

Many an innocent driver could fall foul of straying onto an unexpected road (esp with satnav redirection etc); this way the Gov't would make more money from large fines.

It would be more fair to use the ANPR to collect the actual toll for driving on those roads but that would not bring in so much cash......
Same as they've done in Chatham. Remove the flyover, make 95% of alternatives all bus lanes overnight with piss poor signage and then reportedly make £500 a day on fines. Hmmm.

Then the same council is on the news trying to work out why our town centres are dying..... Hmmm I wonder.

The really worrying thing with ANPR being used or direct charging is ringing. How many people are going to copy plates? Happens enough now.