It will be game over in the UK one day

[STEED]

NOT THE DAILY MAIL SO READ ON...........:p

'Spy-in-the-sky' paves way for road pricing

Motorists are being warned they may face "pay as you drive" road taxes as ministers launch the first ever trials of a scheme that could see them charged for every mile they drive.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...d-pricing.html

Labour is re-elected in 2010 and this will be your second nightmare after the ID Card.

Vote Labour and keep those Nasty Conservatives out of power for another five fantastic years of the greatest labour government ever.

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Mikhayl

I don't really understand, is this meant purely to tax the hell out of you Britishs or is it meant as a way to discourage people from using their cars, to promote more "environment friendly" transports ?
If #1, then maybe labour is tired of running the country and is begging to get thrown in the bin ?
If #2, hum, why not, but they should make alternative "green-friendly" transports available before trying to get rid of cars. I've heard public transportation isn't the best in England (?)

You can bet your ass it will not be in Labours manifesto, care to note folks that is what they will do in the first year in office. So with three to four years to play around with they will bring in forward by the second year.

[DeepIron]

They do this now to truckers in the US. We have to account for every mile we drive in every state we cross and pay the road usage taxes. We also pay extra for turnpikes and expressways we use...

Because people are driving less, the FED and DOT are wondering where the $$$ will come from to pay for the upkeep on the public roads. Truckers already pay hefty fees. It'll only be a matter of time until the 4-wheelers get hit too...

[Kapitan]

Wow if we do have to pay does it go into the public transport system which i might add is falling apart and is over priced and bursting at the seams as we speak !

In a morning on my bus i go past loads of people a good 100 people simply because i am full the service is every 20 minuets so some people are there waiting an hour or more for a dam bus the trains fare no better.

Down town baghdad has a better public transport system then the UK !

[Zachstar]

If that is the case then I agree taxes are badly needed.. As long as it goes directly into bus and trains and ways to make them use less gas..

[SUBMAN1]

Well, politicians are known for bleeding people dry. What will they say when less people are driving because of it, and it impacts businesses because people aren't driving to them, and then they get less tax revenue because of it? Oh, they will use the buses. Have any of you tried the bus lately? It would take me 2 hours simply to go 15 min worth of driving. I'd rather stay home and listen to music or something.

What they are proposing is to completely eliminate the UK economy in a way, or to seriously impact it negatively.

Here is you problem with politicians - they are way too short sighted to see the big picture down the road. This is what I look for when I go to vote. If a politician can see the big picture, regardless of party, and I agree with that picture, then my vote is cast for them. They are a rarity these days however.

-S

[Zachstar]

They will be fine Subman.. Read above where there is not enough Bus transportation for demand...

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

They will be fine Subman.. Read above where there is not enough Bus transportation for demand...

Try the bus. Doesn't work here. 2 hours is a minimum to get where you are going. And you have to stop at at least 1 transfer station and get on another bus. Then you have to wait to get back home.

I'd say to get to anywhere worth going, you are looking at a 6 hour ordeal just to take the bus. 4 hours both ways to get somewhere local.

-S

[Zachstar]

Look up Sportran.. I ride that every day and it is fine.. You are 100 percent wrong about the "6 hour ordeal"

Boo hoo about the transfer... If that is the reason you don't ride the bus then I can only laugh..

Bring on those taxes!

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by DeepIron

They do this now to truckers in the US. We have to account for every mile we drive in every state we cross and pay the road usage taxes. We also pay extra for turnpikes and expressways we use...

Because people are driving less, the FED and DOT are wondering where the $$$ will come from to pay for the upkeep on the public roads. Truckers already pay hefty fees. It'll only be a matter of time until the 4-wheelers get hit too...

There's a reason truckers pay more. Most highways and roads aren't built to support the weight of 18-wheelers. Vehicles weighing somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 lbs exert a considerable amount of pressure per square inch of traction surface-area. This, in turn, causes considerable damage to roads.
Logically, that translates into more fees to support the upkeep of said infrastrucutre.

Of course as an employee of, and therefore a proponent of the rail industry, I can say the best thing that ever happened to us was the surge in gas prices. Since companies often cannot afford timely shipping of goods by truck, they are forced to use the competition-starved and therefore inefficient and overly expensive railways.
The only thing that could mess us up was if rail lines were de-regulated in the same way that power was de-regulated in Texas. If anyone could use our rails, we'd have to shape up a bit. Luckily, we have a lot of well-paid lobbyists.

www.bnsf.com/careers

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

Look up Sportran.. I ride that every day and it is fine.. You are 100 percent wrong about the "6 hour ordeal"

Boo hoo about the transfer... If that is the reason you don't ride the bus then I can only laugh..

Bring on those taxes!

Again, be nice!

I just did it showing my grandmother how to get around without using her car (which she just totaled). We do not have a Sportran or whatever you call it.

She can't be that long on a bus to start with. Its too long for the elderly even. This was just an experiment to show her how to go shopping for groceries!

They have another thing for elderly people, but it stops so many places, it is no better.

-S

[Zachstar]

I ride with the elderly all the time on these sportran busses.. They have zero issues using the bus and half the time are more friendly than the people you meet at your destination..

You did it wrong.. Sportran is a local .gov operated bus service and a tribute to the efficiency of modern Shreveport.

So private bus services ought to be even higher quality..

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

I ride with the elderly all the time on these sportran busses.. They have zero issues using the bus and half the time are more friendly than the people you meet at your destination..

You did it wrong.. Sportran is a local .gov operated bus service and a tribute to the efficiency of modern Shreveport.

So private bus services ought to be even higher quality..

That's neat, but it doesn't exist here. Seems to be an LA thing so I cannot comment on its pluses and minuses.

You guys aren't that spread out down there either.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

By the way, here is what is happening in other cities - http://cbs4denver.com/local/rtd.cutt....2.759768.html

DENVER (AP) ― Metro residents who plan to take the bus or light rail to avoid $4 a gallon gasoline prices could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The Denver area's Regional Transportation District is considering cutting service to some areas because of its rising fuel prices and declining sales-tax revenue, The Denver Post reported Sunday. RTD depends on a sales tax tacked on to purchases in the metro area to pay for most its operations.

Follows exactly with what I wrote above - less tax revune from sales tax snowballs everything.

-S

[DeepIron]

Since companies often cannot afford timely shipping of goods by truck, they are forced to use the competition-starved and therefore inefficient and overly expensive railways.

Actually I'm quite happy to see the RR's getting "back in the game"... I've been a big fan of the rail transportation sector for many years. If I'm not mistaken, the cost per lb/mile is about the lowest when compared to other freight transport industries. I'd love to see a second "Railroad Renaissance" in this country like we had from the 1900's throught the 1950's.

The thing that hurt the railways IMO, were the all the years and huge amount of $$$ the FED used to "subsidize" AMtrak... I think the public in general attached negative views to this and the image of RRs suffered.

My consolation, as a truck driver, is that practically no matter where you look, it'll still take a truck to get goods to the retailers somewhere in the supply chain.