If you drive a car, please read -

Sarah Kennedy was talking about this proposed car tax scheme on Radio 2.

Apparently there is only until the 20th February 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. Therefore at the time of Sarah's comments only 250,000 people had

signed it and 750,000 signatures are required for the goverment 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

 

 

 

only got to midnight tonight 20/02/2007

Signed. ;)

signed over a million now, it said on the news tony blair will be emailing everyone saying why its so important to do this, what you reckoning the little 5hit wont take any replies?

get the bloody freight off the roads and back on the rail, that will sort a major problem of over crowded roads, its the government who took the freight off the rails and on to the roads in the first place with their greed for road tax when the railways where privatised, they make these fook ups and we pay for their mistakes

have to admit i thought this was just another petition, but rest assured that my signature is there too!

signed for sure. the thing that worries me is that they are gona have to fit something to all vehicles to measure the mileage. But whats to say that the same device cant measure speed aswell. it'l be like having a gatso straped to your car. no more fun on the roads, anywhere.

Done

get the bloody freight off the roads and back on the rail, that will sort a major problem of over crowded roads, its the government who took the freight off the rails and on to the roads in the first place with their greed for road tax when the railways where privatised, they make these fook ups and we pay for their mistakes

 

 

Precisely..... and bloody dangerous, car 1.5 ton, lorry 40 + ton !!

get the bloody freight off the roads and back on the rail, that will sort a major problem of over crowded roads, its the government who took the freight off the rails and on to the roads in the first place with their greed for road tax when the railways where privatised, they make these fook ups and we pay for their mistakes

 

Some of us earn our living driving that bloody freight!!!

Anyone recieve the email yet? http://uk.yahoo.com/

Anyone recieve the email yet? http://uk.yahoo.com/

 

Yep, me.

 

E-petition: Response from the Prime Minister

The e-petition asking the Prime Minister to "Scrap the planned vehicle tracking and road pricing policy" has now closed. This is a response from the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

 

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

 

 

In other words "we'll do whatever we like". :slap:

Signed it ages ago when some people thought it was just some idot making it up, but having already seen the news item about it months before the petition so I signed up straight away and moved it onto other site's.

 

Most people in this country own/drive a car if we all got to together instead of being apathetic and bury our heads in the sand then we could stop Blair and any one else in Whitehall in their tracks. Remember they are there to respresent what we the voters want and not the other way around. We can even get laws repealed look at our history.

 

Sorry rant over

at the end of the day we can look at this a few ways 1st shit happens and lets deal with it, if you dont have money you dont drive simple. 2nd it will reduce the dickheads that drive about and make our insurance go through the roof. 3rd it will catch all the ****ers that drive round with no tax or insurance. 4th less accidents on the road IF people make limited journeys. 5th safer trips for school children walking to and from home. 6th IF and this is a big IF people dont drive as much that will mean they will have to use other means or share cars, which will then help out our O zone layer.

 

me personally i dont give a shit i work abroad and earn good money and am only allowed back to the uk for 90 days a yr so its not really gunna offect me lol.

My argument is I work 30 miles away from my house the journey takes an hour by car, Theres no busses which go to or even near my work, nor is there trains. So how does he propose i get to work?

Live in London? Great you've got buses/trains every 5 mins to wherever you want to get to.

 

Live anywhere else and the public transport system is virtually non existent, pushing people outside BUMDON to use their cars. Yet again the rest of the country will have to pay for the london villagers overpriced lives....

I have just got a new job, although it is only approx 5miles from where I live, it is in the middle of nowwhere with no public transport, so will have to use the car. Also problem where I am is that yes, we do have a sort of public transport, either bus or train and it is subsidised by the local authority, but they are cutting costs and reducing the services, so many of the country bus routes are being axed, vicious circle ain't it.

I have just got a new job, although it is only approx 5miles from where I live, it is in the middle of nowwhere with no public transport, so will have to use the car. Also problem where I am is that yes, we do have a sort of public transport, either bus or train and it is subsidised by the local authority, but they are cutting costs and reducing the services, so many of the country bus routes are being axed, vicious circle ain't it.

 

 

dont mean to be funny in anway mate but you could cycle that every day for the rest of ur life mate, 5 miles each way, there is no way i would drive that. sorry if this offends u, im not meaning it to sound that way.

 

karl

 

 

also as for Mr Duffs comment about ppl living like londoner's, and london having good transport yes ur right in a way my friend however, you guys must have sumthing like a park and ride service, tram service, i lived in clapham junction (shithole) and i cycled every day to westminster to do a 12 hr shift in a shirt and tie, thats when i was working at the treasurey on parlimant street.

so u see it can be dun and thousands do it, we just need more ppl to stop making reason why they carnt get up off there fat arses and kill to birds with one stone (exercise and look after the O zone) its not hard, i understand for ppl that work far away from work then yes u have to drive but dont forget, u dont get charged for minor roads.

Good points Karl.

Part of the reason I'm working my a*se off at the moment is for lifestyle reasons. Already I only drive to work a couple of days a week and work at home the rest. Also I can do what ever times I want so I can usually avoid the rush hour. I'm hoping to eventually be able to work from home for the majority of the time and avoid the rushhours completely. There's something fundamentally wrong happening when you see the UK population at rushhour times. Something needs to be done about it. I've signed the petition sometime ago, primarily because I don't want any 'black box' in my car but a solution that helps cut down rush hour traffic is deffo needed.

How many cars with room for 5 people do you see driving through rush hour with only one person in? I'm sure 50% of those people could do perfectly ok on a moped but for the 'I want to be 'I'm not driving a moped factor'. The only reason I don't have one is becuase I have too much stuff to carry when I go to work.