Pay-as-you-go: A good idea?

Lord Nikon

Original extract from SkyNews

SkyNews wrote:

Pay-as-you-go: A good idea?


Nationwide pay-as-you-go road tolls move another step closer this week as the Government prepares to charge motorists up to £1.34 a mile.

Transport secretary Alistair Darling has already given his support to charging on all UK roads in principle, and will formalise the Government's plans this week.

Fuel duty and road tax will be reduced or scrapped and varying charges introduced. Black boxes fitted to all cars will be tracked by satellites to rack up individual bills for drivers based on their journeys, with mileage rates on rural roads starting from as low as 2p.

Darling said this kind of system has to be introduced to avoid what he calls 'LA-style gridlock' on UK roads within 20 years.

Pilot projects will probably start next year with some regions using the charging in the next five to six years. The remainder of the UK could be online within 10 to 15 years.

The influential Commission for Integrated Transport first proposed a satellite-based nationwide system of tolls early in 2002, but maximum charges were pegged at just 30p a mile.

Sounds Interesting. But you wouldn't want to be driving too far too often. Also, don't like the idea of having my car tracked. You would probably save money on your Insurance too, cause it would have a GPS system.

jhegarty

neuromancer wrote:

Original extract from SkyNews

Sounds Interesting. But you wouldn't want to be driving too far too often.

It will mean that busy roads at peak times will be (£1.37 a mile i think) keep free for the rich... keep the poor out of the way on back roads where there is more accidents (that will save on welfare payments too)...

Dades

I would be very surprised to see this functioning within 20 years. There are just too many privacy issues. Fitting everybody's car with a GPS tracker? Why not just give everyone neck implants.

Imagine the craic you could have strapping someone's black box on a London bus.

Dagon

I can definitely see traffic becoming a big problem in Ireland in the next 10 years or even less. More and more kids are getting cars now when they turn 18, and if you ever watch moving traffic it seems to be one-car-per-person. Nobody gets lifts anymore, every person wants to be independant, and our small towns and badly thought out traffic systems simply can't cope.

The only option is to build a new traffic system in the sky - lots of ugly flyovers

Lord Nikon

The Atheist wrote:

Imagine the craic you could have strapping someone's black box on a London bus.

Nice.

bazz26

Another interesting theory is that if big brother can monitor your distance travelled, does that mean they can also monitor your speed?

kermit_ie

yes

Lord Nikon

bazz26 wrote:

Another interesting theory is that if big brother can monitor your distance travelled, does that mean they can also monitor your speed?

True, but won't they see how fast people move down the M50 (and surroundingareas) at peak times?

lomb

the very concept is a gross intrusion on personal privacy, a ridiculous form of taxation and will bring the economy to its knees as well as seeing a lot of travelling salesmen reduntant.

technology gone mad......

blastman

....and yet there will be a large body of people willing to accept it.

Blitzkrieger

They were talking about this on Top Gear :

Hammond : They seem to think we're all on the road at eight o clock just to be annoying. It isn't! It's because we all have to be in the same place at the same time!


I wouldn't own a car if I didn't need one...........That's not true actually - I'll start again.

When I lived in London I left the car at home (in Cork) because I didn't need it to get to work. I didn't need it to get to the shops, to visit friends or go to the pub. Now I'm back home I need the car to get to work every day. Public transport in this country is awful. It's not like people have a choice to take the car or get the bus - a bus is almost never a viable alternative.

Lord Nikon

The bus doesn't go to where I work, so i need to use the car. i could get the bus, but that would mean getting the Bus Eireann into town, and then a double decker back out to Leixlip.

Sleipnir

We already have a pay-as-you-go. It's called PETROL!!!!!!

lomb

Sleipnir wrote:

We already have a pay-as-you-go. It's called PETROL!!!!!!

correct!!!

unkel

Sleipnir wrote:

We already have a pay-as-you-go. It's called PETROL!!!!!!

Not only that, there is room left to drastically increase fuel excise duty by say €0.30 per liter so we can abolish motor tax too!

netwhizkid

I have a debate about this going on here in the commuting/transport forum, I am very much opposed to pay-per-drive by the way.

Regard netwhizkid