[Technology] Pay by the mile road pricing...

[LamieRobertson]

Just call it road tax and then tax per car, flat rate and stop linking it to pollution.

The issue with whacking up tax on fuel is what happens to people who have no choice but to drive to work such as admin staff at schools (and teachers), other key workers like nurses etc. They can’t all move to live in some areas so then what happens? For example, villages can cost a shed load to live in so teachers can’t afford to live near the school so they have to drive to work. If they pay per mile or have to pay loads of tax on fuel then will those schools be able to get staff? Yes a niche example but that would apply all over the place.

Not just the motorist either...when u look at the wider picture...it would also be inflationary...last thing we need is a dose of that ...having said all that something has to be done

 

[Lincoln Imp]

Mileage-based vehicle tax would obliterate the Tory vote in rural areas and the pork barrel politicians running our affairs would never do it.

The nearest little Co-op to my sister in north Lincolnshire is a 12-mile trip away. Charge her a quid in road tax to get there and she'd never vote for Boris again.

(Rubbish example as my sister ended her Tory-voting habit in 2015 anyway, but the principle stands.)

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

polluting the environment.

I’m planning a start-up to harvest and harness Gammon steam. My research is going well and I have identified some key areas in Kent and up north where this pollution free energy source is in abundance. I’ll post a link to my funding page shortly.

 

[Chicken Run]

I’m planning a start-up to harvest and harness Gammon steam. My research is going well and I have identified some areas in Kent and up north where this pollution free energy source is in abundance. I’ll post a link to my funding page shortly.

Typical socialist, full of great ideas but wants everyone else to pay for it....

 

[nicko31]

Mileage-based vehicle tax would obliterate the Tory vote in rural areas and the pork barrel politicians running our affairs would never do it.

The nearest little Co-op to my sister in north Lincolnshire is a 12-mile trip away. Charge her a quid in road tax to get there and she'd never vote for Boris again.

(Rubbish example as my sister ended her Tory-voting habit in 2015 anyway, but the principle stands.)

The great thing about variable road pricing is you can charge lower rates in rural areas when public transport is poor (or least until the situation is improved)

 

[maffew]

We will all end up having to pay clean air tax, Oxygen Tax, if you like to keep the coffers full.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

We only have a car because Mrs Not Andy Naylor refuses to walk anywhere or - and this is insane - take a bus even though she has a bus pass. This is the sort of thing that any government will be up against.

 

[beorhthelm]

The money has got to come from somewhere, pollution or no pollution consumer needs to pay

What's more its a way to control congestion, ie higher charges in peak hours and in congestion. The technology is there, just need to work with vehicle manufacturers to get trackers onboard as OEM fit

yep, it can be done already and will be done.

there's no practical way to cover the revenue elsewhere (especially with other budget holes to fill). people will need to stop thinking of fuel duty as environmental tax and as general taxation (always was). its inevitable we'll have road pricing, its a matter of how its introduced, ideally tax neutral so as road pricing increases fuel duties drop. it already cost at least a quid for a 10 mile round trip in fuel duty, in ref to point few posts above.

the challenge will be if we accept the congestion charges to penalise people for having to get to work at a certain time, various towns and cities wanting to charge more to enter the centre so on.

 

[studio150]

I assume therefore that ALL road users will be asked to pay this tax.

If all cars are electric and therefore no longer polluting the environment I assume cyclists would also be in line to pay this tax.

At least those with electric bikes should.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

I'd love an electric car, but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford one. If I could, I don't have power in my garage to charge one. I don't think all electric by 2030 has been thought through.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Mileage-based vehicle tax would obliterate the Tory vote in rural areas and the pork barrel politicians running our affairs would never do it.

The nearest little Co-op to my sister in north Lincolnshire is a 12-mile trip away. Charge her a quid in road tax to get there and she'd never vote for Boris again.

(Rubbish example as my sister ended her Tory-voting habit in 2015 anyway, but the principle stands.)

Do we not already pay per mile travelled given the duty on fuel? Potentially it wouldn't change anything would it?

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Just call it road tax and then tax per car, flat rate and stop linking it to pollution.

The issue with whacking up tax on fuel is what happens to people who have no choice but to drive to work such as admin staff at schools (and teachers), other key workers like nurses etc. They can’t all move to live in some areas so then what happens? For example, villages can cost a shed load to live in so teachers can’t afford to live near the school so they have to drive to work. If they pay per mile or have to pay loads of tax on fuel then will those schools be able to get staff? Yes a niche example but that would apply all over the place.

Bit of an obsession with this "key worker status". Anyone who has to travel for work will equally suffer. My job role takes me all over the place. I can't do it from one location. As I look after beer many will see that as key.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Bit of an obsession with this "key worker status". Anyone who has to travel for work will equally suffer. My job role takes me all over the place. I can't do it from one location. As I look after beer many will see that as key.

I think I'm right in saying UK fuel is taxed at 57.95p per litre. Lets call it 58p. Average litre of fuel say £1.16 or so. If you do 25,000 miles (40k km) per year, and your car does average of about 5.6 litres per 100km, that is 2240 litres of fuel per year. 2240 litres at 58p tax is £1300 in tax you have paid effectively per mile in your motor vehicle for a year's motoring at 25k miles per year. That doesn't even take into account VAT.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Would be good if the roads were as quiet in lockdown #2 as they were in lockdown #1. But it's pretty much normal levels of car usage out there so far as this pedestrian can see. Seems like the only thing that private motorists respond to is punitive pricing. If that's the case, bring it on, maybe focus their minds a bit. Best of all would be a BN1 congestion charge. Would capture hearts and minds overnight, a bit like supermarkets charging 5 pence for a carrier bag. Demand would evaporate

 

[beorhthelm]

I think I'm right in saying UK fuel is taxed at 57.95p per litre. Lets call it 58p. Average litre of fuel say £1.16 or so. If you do 25,000 miles (40k km) per year, and your car does average of about 5.6 litres per 100km, that is 2240 litres of fuel per year. 2240 litres at 58p tax is £1300 in tax you have paid effectively per mile in your motor vehicle for a year's motoring at 25k miles per year. That doesn't even take into account VAT.

glad you did the sums, yes there is effective road use pricing already. hence a new direct road pricing will need to offset against fuel duty and VAT to be fair all round.

Would be good if the roads were as quiet in lockdown #2 as they were in lockdown #1. But it's pretty much normal levels of car usage out there so far as this pedestrian can see. Seems like the only thing that private motorists respond to is punitive pricing. If that's the case, bring it on, maybe focus their minds a bit. Best of all would be a BN1 congestion charge. Would capture hearts and minds overnight, a bit like supermarkets charging 5 pence for a carrier bag. Demand would evaporate

evidently they dont respond to pricing - see above. lockdown was quiet because all workers, office, trade, delivery, stopped with serious effect on the economy. the roads contribute a very large portion of economic activity indirectly.

 

[blockhseagull]

I'd love an electric car, but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford one. If I could, I don't have power in my garage to charge one. I don't think all electric by 2030 has been thought through.

I’d happily drive one if it was able to do the miles required for my job on a daily basis.

The point I always return to is how are people going to charge them once they are the mainstream ?

Lots of people can’t even park outside their house so how are they meant to charge their car up ?

The thought process and the practicality behind the grand idea is pretty poor.

 

[mr sheen]

I’d happily drive one if it was able to do the miles required for my job on a daily basis.

The point I always return to is how are people going to charge them once they are the mainstream ?

Lots of people can’t even park outside their house so how are they meant to charge their car up ?

The thought process and the practicality behind the grand idea is pretty poor.

Thats one element I wonder about. I live on a street of terraced house, narrow pavements. Probably room for, at most, one car outside each property. Going to need to be quite some shift to see each of those houses having one small car that they run a cable over the pavement to. Presumably the tech will come.

 

[Icy Gull]

Not sure if this has been floated? We need to start taxing cyclists, and I’m serious

That’ll remove some of the smugness

 

[NooBHA]

General taxation.

Remember, the NHS would save a fortune not have to treat pollution caused lung conditions

Thats a bit of a ''red herring'' in terms of the NHS - The ailments to individuals are just pushed back to later in life when the population gets ill from another different ailment they need to treat.

Also people live longer and State Pension costs are higher and Care for the Aged - In a way in terms of Health Service it was better when smoking bumped people off early. Get the tax money and then no need to pay them a State Pension or Care home costs

 

[A1X]

Unpopular view but I think petrol should be taxed far more heavily that it is....both as a nudge to use cleaner vehicles and to help meet our carbon reduction obligations.

That's where I'd meet the shortfall from in the medium term

I agree, and would use the extra tax take to make electric power much more user-friendly to help people make the transition.

Personally I think all car companies should use a standard battery and instead of having petrol stations you just buy a new battery when yours is running out of charge, but that's unlikely to fly given it would involve someone pulling the industry together.