flyingbanana Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 just received a email back Thank you for taking the time to register your views about road pricing on the Downing Street website. This petition was posted shortly before we published the Eddington Study, an independent review of Britain's transport network. This study set out long-term challenges and options for our transport network. It made clear that congestion is a major problem to which there is no easy answer. One aspect of the study was highlighting how road pricing could provide a solution to these problems and that advances in technology put these plans within our reach. Of course it would be ten years or more before any national scheme was technologically, never mind politically, feasible. That is the backdrop to this issue. As my response makes clear, this is not about imposing "stealth taxes" or introducing "Big Brother" surveillance. This is a complex subject, which cannot be resolved without a thorough investigation of all the options, combined with a full and frank debate about the choices we face at a local and national level. That's why I hope this detailed response will address your concerns and set out how we intend to take this issue forward. I see this email as the beginning, not the end of the debate, and the links below provide an opportunity for you to take it further. But let me be clear straight away: we have not made any decision about national road pricing. Indeed we are simply not yet in a position to do so. We are, for now, working with some local authorities that are interested in establishing local schemes to help address local congestion problems. Pricing is not being forced on any area, but any schemes would teach us more about how road pricing would work and inform decisions on a national scheme. And funds raised from these local schemes will be used to improve transport in those areas. One thing I suspect we can all agree is that congestion is bad. It's bad for business because it disrupts the delivery of goods and services. It affects people's quality of life. And it is bad for the environment. That is why tackling congestion is a key priority for any Government. Congestion is predicted to increase by 25% by 2015. This is being driven by economic prosperity. There are 6 million more vehicles on the road now than in 1997, and predictions are that this trend will continue. Part of the solution is to improve public transport, and to make the most of the existing road network. We have more than doubled investment since 1997, spending £2.5 billion this year on buses and over £4 billion on trains - helping to explain why more people are using them than for decades. And we're committed to sustaining this investment, with over £140 billion of investment planned between now and 2015. We're also putting a great deal of effort into improving traffic flows - for example, over 1000 Highways Agency Traffic Officers now help to keep motorway traffic moving. But all the evidence shows that improving public transport and tackling traffic bottlenecks will not by themselves prevent congestion getting worse. So we have a difficult choice to make about how we tackle the expected increase in congestion. This is a challenge that all political leaders have to face up to, and not just in the UK. For example, road pricing schemes are already in operation in Italy, Norway and Singapore, and others, such as the Netherlands, are developing schemes. Towns and cities across the world are looking at road pricing as a means of addressing congestion. One option would be to allow congestion to grow unchecked. Given the forecast growth in traffic, doing nothing would mean that journeys within and between cities would take longer, and be less reliable. I think that would be bad for businesses, individuals and the environment. And the costs on us all will be real - congestion could cost an extra £22 billion in wasted time in England by 2025, of which £10-12 billion would be the direct cost on businesses. A second option would be to try to build our way out of congestion. We could, of course, add new lanes to our motorways, widen roads in our congested city centres, and build new routes across the countryside. Certainly in some places new capacity will be part of the story. That is why we are widening the M25, M1 and M62. But I think people agree that we cannot simply build more and more roads, particularly when the evidence suggests that traffic quickly grows to fill any new capacity. Tackling congestion in this way would also be extremely costly, requiring substantial sums to be diverted from other services such as education and health, or increases in taxes. If I tell you that one mile of new motorway costs as much as £30m, you'll have an idea of the sums this approach would entail. That is why I believe that at least we need to explore the contribution road pricing can make to tackling congestion. It would not be in anyone's interests, especially those of motorists, to slam the door shut on road pricing without exploring it further. It has been calculated that a national scheme - as part of a wider package of measures - could cut congestion significantly through small changes in our overall travel patterns. But any technology used would have to give definite guarantees about privacy being protected - as it should be. Existing technologies, such as mobile phones and pay-as-you-drive insurance schemes, may well be able to play a role here, by ensuring that the Government doesn't hold information about where vehicles have been. But there may also be opportunities presented by developments in new technology. Just as new medical technology is changing the NHS, so there will be changes in the transport sector. Our aim is to relieve traffic jams, not create a "Big Brother" society. I know many people's biggest worry about road pricing is that it will be a "stealth tax" on motorists. It won't. Road pricing is about tackling congestion. Clearly if we decided to move towards a system of national road pricing, there could be a case for moving away from the current system of motoring taxation. This could mean that those who use their car less, or can travel at less congested times, in less congested areas, for example in rural areas, would benefit from lower motoring costs overall. Those who travel longer distances at peak times and in more congested areas would pay more. But those are decisions for the future. At this stage, when no firm decision has been taken as to whether we will move towards a national scheme, stories about possible costs are simply not credible, since they depend on so many variables yet to be investigated, never mind decided. Before we take any decisions about a national pricing scheme, we know that we have to have a system that works. A system that respects our privacy as individuals. A system that is fair. I fully accept that we don't have all the answers yet. That is why we are not rushing headlong into a national road pricing scheme. Before we take any decisions there would be further consultations. The public will, of course, have their say, as will Parliament. We want to continue this debate, so that we can build a consensus around the best way to reduce congestion, protect the environment and support our businesses. If you want to find out more, please visit the attached links to more detailed information, and which also give opportunities to engage in further debate. Yours sincerely, Tony Blair
Rick Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 yea i got that too. i say no negotiating full stop, Britain is shafted left right and bloody center by the government and my rent and council tax have both gone up 5% so im even more angry this week. dont see wages going up 5%????
60ftman Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 It made clear that congestion is a major problem to which there is no easy answer. Yours sincerely, Tony Blair Well Tone, there is an easy answer to congestion - a realistic and affordable public transport system. It costs me about £12 a day to commute to work in my car. If I were to use a train it would cost me FIVE TIMES that. Oh, and it wouldn't get me to work on time because the bl**dy trains don't run frequently enough. If there was a reliable service and it cost me a £15 a day I'd use it and leave my car at home, therefore preventing the massive morning congestion on the A3 into London. So would tens of 1,000's of others all over the country. What Tone is really saying is "congestion is a major problem to which there is no easy answer if we still want to collect the billions of pounds in revenue that the driving public contribute." Hypocritical bastards the lot of them.
Morley Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 The Motorist is an easy target for revenue... Unless every motorist out there fights this and refuses it, it will go through and we'll just take it on the chin. Some facts for you... Buy a car new, you pay duty on it To drive the thing on the road each year, you pay duty on it, The sickening part of it is... Go to a petrol pump, where petrol is, for example 89p a litre Shell take 5p out of that and manage to announce record profits last year (£12.9 billion) The government take 53p in every litre as duty and a further 13p in VAT... Work that lot out based on Shells profit figures alone... then take into account all of the other Fuel companies... I'd say that they get more than enough out of us the motorist... Public transport isn't an option... To commute to my office from my house would mean me getting a train into London and back down to Sevenoaks... We are meant to live in a democracy, if this tax by the mile thing comes in, i say its becoming a dictatorship...
Burns Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 i've no problem using public transport (no other option at the moment being a student) but for me to get from my door to my girlfriends door (leeds to nottingham, bout 80 miles) takes roughly 5 hours, now when she visits me, it's about a 1 to 1:30 drive for her (dependent on traffic) so which one would you choose Tony me ol chum?
Admin Vista Posted February 21, 2007 Admin Report Posted February 21, 2007 The Motorist is an easy target for revenue... Unless every motorist out there fights this and refuses it, it will go through and we'll just take it on the chin.Some facts for you... Buy a car new, you pay duty on it To drive the thing on the road each year, you pay duty on it, The sickening part of it is... Go to a petrol pump, where petrol is, for example 89p a litre Shell take 5p out of that and manage to announce record profits last year (£12.9 billion) The government take 53p in every litre as duty and a further 13p in VAT... Work that lot out based on Shells profit figures alone... then take into account all of the other Fuel companies... I'd say that they get more than enough out of us the motorist... Public transport isn't an option... To commute to my office from my house would mean me getting a train into London and back down to Sevenoaks... We are meant to live in a democracy, if this tax by the mile thing comes in, i say its becoming a dictatorship... In fairness though, of the £12.9 billion profit that shell make very little of it comes from the pump and the motorist. Well Tone, there is an easy answer to congestion - a realistic and affordable public transport system. It costs me about £12 a day to commute to work in my car. If I were to use a train it would cost me FIVE TIMES that. Oh, and it wouldn't get me to work on time because the bl**dy trains don't run frequently enough. If there was a reliable service and it cost me a £15 a day I'd use it and leave my car at home, therefore preventing the massive morning congestion on the A3 into London. So would tens of 1,000's of others all over the country. What Tone is really saying is "congestion is a major problem to which there is no easy answer if we still want to collect the billions of pounds in revenue that the driving public contribute." Hypocritical bastards the lot of them. I think 60ftmans statement is the most obvious flaw in TB's polished political rhetoric. Most people would indeed use public transport, if it was clean, regular enough, reasonably priced, ran on time and perhaps most importantly at the times you need. I can now drive into town and park far quicker and for less than the cost of the bus fare from where I live so where's the incentive to use public transport?
Stu_B Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 I'd have to get 2 bus's (one which only runs twice a day, 3 times a week) and a train to get to work at the moment, or I can drive 30miles round trip (as well as then walking a mile to work from where I park). If you live in a rural area public transport is virtually non-existant! I'm gonna join the thousands of motorists who drive with no tax, MOT, or insurance every year!! the fines would be cheaper than most speeding tickets!!
Rick Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 I'm gonna join the thousands of motorists who drive with no tax, MOT, or insurance every year!! the fines would be cheaper than most speeding tickets!!
escort21 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 Fitting a tracker to my car is against my human rights....isn't that right Mrs 'letterbox mouth' Blair
Morley Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed...
Stu_B Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 Remember 'Demolition Man' When Sly get's the old muscle car and bursts out onto the street? Thats gonna be me!
Morley Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 Remember when someone started a "post a poo" campaign... No, we so should... If every motorist posted a whole poo to TB, he might get the hint Just an idea
MightySprocket Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... oh sh1t, i've got three cars
flyingbanana Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... oh sh1t, i've got three cars ditto
60ftman Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... That's easy. Walk out of your job and go on the social, then the government will end up paying for it themselves!!!! Works for houses
MightySprocket Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... That's easy. Walk out of your job and go on the social, then the government will end up paying for it themselves!!!! Works for houses lmao if you change to an eastern european national they will buy you a car and pay for your weekly shopping
Rick Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 Remember when someone started a "post a poo" campaign... No, we so should... If every motorist posted a whole poo to TB, he might get the hint Just an idea im a postman, please dont i take enough shit good idea though, just make sure its well wrapped
60ftman Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... That's easy. Walk out of your job and go on the social, then the government will end up paying for it themselves!!!! Works for houses lmao if you change to an eastern european national they will buy you a car and pay for your weekly shopping RESULT.............
Morley Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... That's easy. Walk out of your job and go on the social, then the government will end up paying for it themselves!!!! Works for houses lmao if you change to an eastern european national they will buy you a car and pay for your weekly shopping RESULT............. I'm in
MightySprocket Posted February 21, 2007 Report Posted February 21, 2007 What about the £600 per car that WE have to pay to have these black boxes installed... That's easy. Walk out of your job and go on the social, then the government will end up paying for it themselves!!!! Works for houses lmao if you change to an eastern european national they will buy you a car and pay for your weekly shopping RESULT............. I'm in its easy, change your name to Morlefski... morrisons vouchers are in the post
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