GabiOsz

Appologies if this is a re-post, but this is quite important.

Apparently there is only a week or so left to register your objection to the 'Pay As You Go' road tax. The petition is on the 10 Downing St website but they didn't tell anybody about it. Until recently only 250,000 people had signed it and 750,000 signatures are required for the government to at least take any notice.

Once you've given your details (you don't have to give your full address, just house number and postcode will do), they will send you an email with a link in it. Once you click on that link, you'll have signed the petition.

The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about £200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was £28 for a rural florist and £194 for a delivery driver. A non working mother who used the car to take the kids to school paid £86 in one month.

On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit in time you can probably expect a Notice of Intended Prosecution with your monthly bill.

If you are concerned about this Orwellian plan and want to stop the constant bashing of the car driver, please sign the petition on No 10's new website (link below) and pass this on to as many people as possible. Sign up if you value your freedom and democratic rights -

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax

Turbo Jonny

If this was an alternative to road tax it might have some merit , there again ferraris might be more reliable than Porsches and Bush and Blair are really wired up to heaven and doing Gods will..

tjr

Thanks & signed. 1,204,723 and counting. Perhaps President Blair will listen for once...

Pesty

Not a chance TJR. I heard the transport minister on radio 4 this morning. basically he will ignor it. came out with about 6 bull**** reasons after being pressed repeatedly on the subject. usual mealy mouthed evasions

the gist was apparently we have only joined the petition because we are missinformed by rumour and spin.
In polls that the labour governement have run 80% of people were for reducing congestion. therefore they will do as they like.
are you supprised?

GabiOsz

I'm not surprised in the least. Take a look at the London Congestion Charge expansion, there was a public consoltation where the residents voted overwhelmingly againt the expansion, and yet, possibly due to a shortfall in the 2012 Olympic fund, the expansion goes ahead regardless.

It could well be time for a revolution! (if anyone can be arsed).

DaveK

Erm..... I would be one of those 80%. I think something does need to be done - I don't know whether this would be a solution, but I do think things need to improve.

Pesty

I would too Dave, but congestion charging would not be my first choice.

it would not matter to this guy if 5 million people signed that pettition. he has done his reaserch and he knows what he wants to do.

jeffnudd

Its not us that is the problem we simply have too many people crammed into this little country, if i remember rightly there are 1000 people leaving the country each day and 1500 coming back in every day, and that is without the illegals being counted

The figures are as follows:

500 extra per day (Easily figured out that one) or
3500 per week or
182000 per year or
by the year 2017 we should be around 1.8 million extra in the country, thats only 10 years away.

GabiOsz

Well, building new roads, widening existing roads and improving public transport sufficently may be a good start.

I did read recently that apart from local access roads (i.e. to new housing developments) the usable road network in the UK has actually shrunk since the 1970's.

CraigyB

I don't know if any of you have visited Japan, but I spent 4 weeks there working, and never used a car.. no need, with fantastic public transport. But still lots of people own cars, they just use them more for trips at weekend etc.

DaveK

The public transport is fantastic in Japan - I'm not sure the UK is ever likely to achieve that. Although even in Japan, I used taxis quite a lot because the trains didn't run after midnight - and sadly, the times I was there working I rarely finished before midnight.

kos11-12

Hi, thanks for reminding us,done for me Konstantin

DaveK

Blimey - I'm out of touch with our ministers. I just saw the transport guy on the news. What is he - 12? Is he even old enough to drive himself?????

jeffnudd

Public transport will never be any good here because the transport system is so dated, in order to get it up to scratch is to invest billions this is where we become stuck, taxes will just continue to rise for the average motorist and the goverment taxation bank account just get fatter.
However yes something has to be done about conjestion on our roads and it got to start now before its too late, there has been suggestions for shared driving but noone has really bothered, increasing roads to carry the traffic and increase petrol prices and not forgetting the subject thats being discusted, all of the options are possible but yet again the goverment clobbers the motorist in taxation again and again and again. Will it ever stop?

madmoog

Petition up to somewhere around 1.35 million now.

Perhaps this may also be of interest to the good folk on here?

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/scrapcam