Tonys Email

[gozzer]

OK, we are now paying about 95p a litre, add the road tax, say 2p, add the new tax say 3p, It would make the fuel about a £1.00 a litre - no too expensivefor those who genuinely NEED to use their vehicles, but if it is going to cost mummy about £2.00-£4.00 A DAY just to take the little darling to school, they may think twice!! I have to put about £20.00 a week in my vehicle a week just for medical appointments, which means that I will be paying about £1.10 a week for van.

Mummies 4x4 will cost them an an extra £15.00/£20.00 a week, just to show off!!

And remember all those road tax dodgers are no more and possibly more important, those driving without insurance will have no disc for the car and can be stopped before someone gets hurt.

 

£2-£4 a day extra? At 5p extra tax per litre, that's 40-80 litres A DAY!

How far do they travel to school?

 

If there's no road tax, I think that there would be more people driving without insurance. You have to show insurance doc's to get road tax.

 

John.

[Steve Walker]

But if someone can afford the finance and depreciation costs on a £40k 4x4, another 5p a litre isn't going to hurt them. It might hurt someone who can barely afford to run their car, though. Fact is, putting fuel tax up to levels that would drive stockbroker's wives out of their X5s would mean that ordinary people couldn't afford cars at all.

[chesters1]

Go on then, Kleinboet, how much should petrol cost per litre? How much do you think it would have to cost per litre to drive people in the prosperous South East out of their cars, and do you think that it would be fair to make people living in rural Scotland pay that much?

theres plenty of poor in the "prosperous" south east and as the cost of living is higher they are poorer than the poor north.

benefits are the same country wide there is no distinction to the cost of living region by region and the benifits adjusted to the difference.

its the same difference to towns and rural ,you dont get more because you cant walk to the shops and have to use some form of transport.

[Steve Coppolo]

I got the same email from Tony. Here's the reply I sent back.

 

Stick it up your ar*e.

 

I don't know if he'll get to see the replies personally, but it made me feel better.

[snotty]

I have noticed TB keeps referring to 'national' road pricing schemes. That is to say he isn't ruling out 'local' road-pricing schemes, I think there is probably more to fear from 'crazy councillors' down at the town hall imposing their private versions of utopia than central government.

 

Two ideas to reduce congestion:-

1) remove speed humps, artificial chicanes and similar 'calming(?)' schemes where necessary to encourage through-flow of traffic and avoid bunching of vehicles.

 

2) get Tony's army of traffic officers away from the m-ways onto the local traffic hotspots, take a long hard look at the phasing of traffic lights at different times of the day to reduce the effects of congestion wherever posssible. How many of you know a junction near you which would benefit from a left hand filter lane or re-phased lights during rush-hour to stop that 10 second hiatus when all the lights are on red or the only green is the side street that sees two cars per hour using it.

[Andy_1984]

I have noticed TB keeps referring to 'national' road pricing schemes. That is to say he isn't ruling out 'local' road-pricing schemes, I think there is probably more to fear from 'crazy councillors' down at the town hall imposing their private versions of utopia than central government.

 

Two ideas to reduce congestion:-

1) remove speed humps, artificial chicanes and similar 'calming(?)' schemes where necessary to encourage through-flow of traffic and avoid bunching of vehicles.

 

2) get Tony's army of traffic officers away from the m-ways onto the local traffic hotspots, take a long hard look at the phasing of traffic lights at different times of the day to reduce the effects of congestion wherever posssible. How many of you know a junction near you which would benefit from a left hand filter lane or re-phased lights during rush-hour to stop that 10 second hiatus when all the lights are on red or the only green is the side street that sees two cars per hour using it.

 

 

3) more filter lanes, those things are awsome

[kleinboet]

How much do YOU think the road pricing scheme is going to cost YOU £100.00pm?

If tony put the congestion charge that high he will be lynched!! To all of you knocking MY forecast, let's hear what YOU think! It's easy to poo poo others suggestions, tell us what YOU would do!

[Steve Walker]

How much do YOU think the road pricing scheme is going to cost YOU £100.00pm?

If tony put the congestion charge that high he will be lynched!! To all of you knocking MY forecast, let's hear what YOU think! It's easy to poo poo others suggestions, tell us what YOU would do!

 

Stop planning to increase taxes on driving. People don't drive in congestion for fun, they do it because they can't structure their lives in such a way that they don't have to. Address the root of the problem by reducing the need to travel at peak times. Also, address other contributing factors to congestion.

 

1. Big tax breaks for employers who allow staff to work from home (and for staff who take the offer up).

2. Ditto for employers which allow flexible hours so that staff don't need to travel during peak times.

3. Ditto for employers who base their businesses outside of congested areas.

4. All government jobs which don't need to be in congested areas moved out.

5. American style school bus services. Usage to be mandatory unless excused by the headmaster (policy should be always to excuse where reasonable grounds exist, but assumption should be that kids get the bus).

6. Kids to go to their local school. If the local school is crap, sort it out.

7. Road improvements and new roads to be completed where necessary. Swampy and his mates arrested if they get in the way.

8. Roadworks by government agencies to be expedited.

9. Roadworks by non-government agencies subject to large daily charges subject to the congestion caused (so we won't see the high street dug up three times in six months by different utility companies)

10. On the spot fines for people who clog motorways up with poor lane discipline. They cause a massive reduction in capacity because they are too stupid or lazy to drive properly, and they also contribute to the kind of accident where lane 3 comes to a sudden halt and someone fails to stop. Which then causes more congestion while the mess is cleaned up.

[kleinboet]

I will agree with items 7-10.

1-3 This is already implemented (after a fashion) and we now have "rush Hour" from 3.30pm to 6.30pm!

4. In a lot of cases this is not possible!

5-6 In some 90% of the cases, the child lives less than 1/2 a mile from the school! (try educating the parents - they claim the lack of police allows their little darlings to become targets for muggers!)

[Steve Walker]

1-3 This is already implemented (after a fashion) and we now have "rush Hour" from 3.30pm to 6.30pm!

 

Where do I apply for my rebate (I work from home, I drive in to the office once or twice a month, and I refuse to drive during busy periods)?

 

4. In a lot of cases this is not possible!

But in many it is!

 

5-6 In some 90% of the cases, the child lives less than 1/2 a mile from the school! (try educating the parents - they claim the lack of police allows their little darlings to become targets for muggers!)

 

We need to restore public confidence in the safety of the streets then.