Your Comments

I have read with much interest all the comments on road charging and disabled peoples woes and the peolpe who live where there are no busses and the poor people etc etc. I travel 40,000miles per year and if the system is introduced shall have to pay to travel, I am somewhat dismayed at the griping that is going on though. For Example Disabled drivers, you get your car paid for by others (motability) you do not pay roadtax (subsidised by the rest of us) you can flount parking laws with your blue badge (watch out Heather Mills) nor do you have to pay and display! you have had it cheap for many years now and it is only right that everybody who wants to drive should pay there way. As for people who live in rural areas, Tough! you too will have to pay the same as the rest of us too.
Instead of a pay as you go charge why not put all tax on fuel. With an ID card that has a smart chip on it. The information on the chip would be Driving licence Number, insurance policy and vehicle details, this card would then be used to operate the fuel pump. If all the information is not correct no fuel will be dispensed (this would stop uninsured/unlicenced and maybe even the Travelling people from getting fuel) therefore reducing the number of cars on the road.
Whatever the muppets at number 10 decide we will have to go along with it but sure as eggs are eggs it will start off cheap then rocket to silly money (look at M6 toll prices £1 when it opened now £4?) all the money raised will not help the environment though.
Does anybody else feel we are turning into a communist state?

Like many comments being being made a disibility exsists in the househould and wheelchair is involved, so public transprt is definetly out.
My biggest objection to any further burdens on motorists is that what ever the seem to want to do loopholes will always exsist. Therefore those who currently have no "ROAD TAX or INSURANCE" will find the loopholes and again avoid any payment, where the law abiding will have to pay extra to cover them.
I think it is about time any government stopped using the soft options of the motorist to gain revenue and reduce road tax and abolish all taxes (as there appear to be several per litre) and combine them into one called fuel tax which should be easier for companies to implement, and then those who use the roads will be paying there fairer share whether they avoid road tax or not.

I do not think additional taxes should be imposed on the motorist, who pays more tax than most, as the vehicle has VAT added at the time of purchase, an annual tax is paid before the vehicle can be driven on the public highway and fuel and servicing is also taxable.
I am disabled and without my car, I would find it virtually impossible to go to the shops if I had to travel by public transport.
Stop penalising the motorist who appears to be an easy victim to the exchequer.

It's all very well people saying that motorists must get out of their cars and use public transport - the problem is that public transport just is not adequate and, until it is, I don't think anyone has the right to demand that motorists give up their cars (where feasilble). Some journeys cannot be made by public transport and the alternative needs to be acceptable, for example it is no good saying that a 30 minute car journey can be replaced by a 2.5 hour bus and train journey. I fo one do not intend to add 4 hours to my working day. I'm sure if I worked in a metropolitan area like London I would be only too happy to use public transport as it is a viable (most times better) alternative.
The tax currently collected from the motoring public does not go on transport so in my view this would be just another stealth tax.

Have you ever been on public transport AHHH !!!
They drive without consideration for the eldery trying to sit down after alighting the bus many have ended up on the floor
same when disembarking if you not stood up there off down the road.
People wonder why cars are need.
and where would the TAX come from ?

i think they need to get public transport working properly if they want us to use it, why is it the motorist is always getting sme sort of tax added to them are we not paying over the odds now? and if it is to do with global warming then if britain went green does that mean we save the planet for all the ignorant POEPLE that just carried on regardless.

I didn't realise just how many ignorant people there are out there! I am poor (I earn well below the National average) yet I need a car. I work as a Visiting Warden visiting people in their own homes; disabled and elderly people who need help and support. I cant do my job without a car!
Salman said that cycling is too dangerous on our public roads..i totally agree. Last time I took my bike out, i was terrified!
Una B said "Well... a car is a luxury item, so for a start that should keep the poor out of this equation.. if you are poor you shouldn't waste money on running a car... "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Most of us drivers are poor! I earnt the money to save up for my car and I earn the money that keeps my car on the road! We just want to live our lives, earn a living and get from A-B! Whatever our level of income is!
Public transport is a joke, as many of you have pointed out! I could never rely on public transport. I decided to visit someone in London one day(it's an hours drive from here). It took me 3 hours to get there and 3 hours back! I geuss i am like most people, i dont have time to waste!
Ian Grice said "What good will it do to charge people to go to work? ( sorry boss cant come in for 9am the charge is to high, I will be in at 7am and you will have to pay me overtime so I can afford to go home). Hear hear! I totally agree with you Ian.
John Irving you said it doesnt worry you about the road tax charge. you said it terrifies you! Me too! I work and I cant afford all these taxes!
Peter Conely said there would be a lot less cars on the road if credit were harder to come by. But there would be less people working if that were the case!
WHAT YOU ALL SEEM TO HAVE MISSED IS THIS: What happended to freedom of choice?
I work hard for my money (even though my income is low), so why shouldnt I be able to own a car and drive it!
For all those arrogant and ignorant people out there....take your rose tinted glasses off and take a good long hard look around you!

I think this new idea is just another stealth tax, and would frankly like to know when it will all stop!. Lets just ponder the thought that we all stop using our cars, the billions that government would loose on fuel duty would cripple their cash flow!!!! so how would they replace that money.........train tax? bus station tax? just like our airports!.

The other day I went to Sheffield from Southampton, my single ticket cost was £117.00 for a wednesday. How on earth can this be acceptable as a cheap public transport?. Fares like this are not heard of on the continent. I run a diesel Audi and average 38mpg, that trip would have cost me less than £30.00 and could have taken 4 other passengers. And yes 38mpg for a 4 WHEEL DRIVE Audi, that dreaded word 4WD. How can people condemn 4wd drivers, their 1600cc petrol hatches would return that sort of economy!!.

Even our local bus service is hugely expensive, Friday night the wife and I caught a taxi from our house to Southampton centre for a charge of £5.50, we though we'd catch a bus back... well what an experience, I would not do it again, for starters the cost was £4.80 for the two of us and that didnt even get us to the door, we had a 3/4 mile walk from the drop off. Although that was not the main worry, it was that fact we had an aggressive drunk on board, the bus was dirty and sticky! and thats not a way to finsih a romantic night out with your wife! taxi it will be next time.

I ask what is this country coming to!

Another point is if they say that congestion is going up each year, at what percentage? perhaps we should not grant driving licences to immigrants entering the country and make them use public transport! If we are clearly stating our road infrastructure cannot manage what we have, why make it worse!!.

I run a small business carrying out commercial glazing, and probably average over our fleet 250'000 miles per annum, any additional costs will be added to my selling costs..........again this will only affect the public.

Last week we went to Abu Dhabi, we had a hire car which was a gas guzzling Volvo XC90 4WD, to fill it up cost less than £20.00, the same thing here would be nearly £70.00. does the government not think they are charging enough?

So I leave you noting that this upsets me, I can see soon that I along with my family will be joining others and leaving this country!

I think that the 'Tax as you go" system could work, but only if Road Tax and Fuel Tax were discarded. It is only logical that those who use the roads the most should pay the most. Also a proportion, say 70 per cent, should be chanelled directly into road and public transport improvements. Using the 'tracker' system to calculate and invoice the motorist would also give the opportunity to offload most of the civil servants at DVLA, thus reducing costs even more.
However, I suspect that this money-grabbing government is only interested in using the revenue for the treasury. It would also be loathe to get rid of jobs at the DVLA, so I suspect that Road Tax per se would not disappear.

Here's a letter I sent to the PM following receipt of his e-mail:

Dear Prime Minister

When will government begin to understand one of the major reasons for traffic congestion in our towns and cities.

The 3 major reasons for people using motor cars are:-

Lack of investment in infrastructure - building and adaption of our exising road systems to cope with future traffic growth
Lack of investment in public transport to provide frequent; punctual; clean; sufficient; reasonably priced public transportation covering routes that the traveling public really need
Sufficient public parking at low prices on the outskirts of our cities and towns with low priced; frequent links to places of work; shopping and leisure locations

Government needs to understand that the majority of journeys that people make are because the above solutions do not exist.

Government appears to have totally given up any responsibility to provide any of the real solutions.

One could ask how much revenue does the government derive from:-

Road Fund Tax
Fuel Duty
VAT on fuel
VAT on the sale of motor vehicles
VAT on vehicle servicing; spare parts etc
Insurance Tax on insurance for motor vehicles ?????

Were all of this revenue to be transparently spent of the solutions to congestion, surely congestion would reduce and there would be absolutely no need to introduce a further form of taxation under the guise of "reducing road congestion"

Those people who have reason to travel into Central London have been for some time now been subject to a so called "Congestion Charge", and the Mayor has recently been permitted to extend the charging zone to cover what is a mainly residential area. The costs to install the system have been extremely high and it has collected a vast amount of money - BUT what has been the contribution to reducing congestion - VERY LITTLE I would suggest. It would appear that traffic has reduced by only 8%, and there is very little evidence of the revenue benefiting either residents or visitors of London, in fact we now have the most expensive; most crowded; most dirty and poor service in Western Europe, yet this is supposed to be one of the major capital cities in the world.

Why do you think so many people make long distance journeys by car? - might it have something to do with the cost of train travel, and the great likelihood that one has a high possibility of making a 3 hour journey without a seat, having paid £60 to travel

Why are so many people returning to commuting by car, might it have something to do with overcrowded trains, that are frequently are cancelled or most certainly arrive late, and for the privilege are having to pay fares vastly in excess of the cost of traveling by car, where the costs are increasing by at least twice the official rate of inflation?

Mr Prime Minister - is it not about time that you became honest with the traveling public and admit that you and your ministers do not have a clue as to what do about transportation; that you have no real plans to solve the problem and that the idea of "road pricing" is just a sham and a further method of extracting further taxation from the (already overtaxed) traveling public - taxation for which we are getting nothing in return.

I seem to remember some 10 years ago a new Prime Minister asking his ministers to "think the unthinkable", where they did do this you fired them and replaced them with people incapable of "joined up thinking". Is it not about time after 10 years to genuinely attempt to solve problems, rather than just extract more unfair taxation.

Your "honest" comments would be appreciated, for as you have so often claimed you are "an honest sort of guy"

Bernard Burne-Cronshaw

The poor British Public are taxed to death by the mishandling of public purse by incapable politicians of this country. When you can use the NY subway for a flat rate of $2.00 why does it cost £6.00 for the same on the Tube? Simply we have got a workshy public demanding, highest wage and despite all the tax that pours into teh coffers, if it's not for Transport and defence just what is it squandered on??? It's time UK Plc gets some hard lessons from the Chinese and Indians as to how to use their valuable resources sensibly. Does it not worry anyone in this country that we depend on Service Sector to bring in revenue whereas manufacturing and innovation slowly dies a death?

In effect every 100 earned by the higher tax payer, actually £20 goes into his pocket.. just why work? Sit at home and watch SKY all day and teh State will come and suck up to you! Great philosophy preached by the Governments of this Country. 'Awake, arise and stop not until you reach your goal': the goal must be chaps to make our Governments accountable. The current system just fails eveyone. Let's have a rethink

I hate it like i hate all other taxes.

I do not drive so I have to take public transport, and everyday I am late to work, this tax is just another way of squeezing money out of the britsh public, no other contry has as many taxes as us.

The problem with public transport is ITS NEVER ON TIME, DUE TO WHICH PROB ABOUT 60% OF BRITAIN IS LATE TO WORK, SCHOOL, COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY + IT COST TOO MUCH ALREADY, I HAVE TO PAY £4 TO GET TO AND FROM WORK WHILST IF I HAD A CAR & LICENSE IT WOULD COST £2.50. What were not told is what is going to happen to the extra tax we pay, are you going to build more bus stops, are you going to buy more buses, are you going to fix broken bus stops, are the amount of bus interval times going to be reduced? What exactly is going to happen.

The tracking of vehicles is another way of this Government controlling the population. What ever they say about it not having anything to do with Big Brother we cannot trust the Government to keep their word. You will not convince me, on their past record, that the proposed method of taxation would not increase tax on all of us and not to the benefit of the travelling public.
I have a 4 x 4, which runs on LPG, but it is needed for my work. In the winter it is used, as are many in the Countryside, to help people stranded in bad weather. The public transport system in the rural areas of Britain do not provide for the needs of the public. Buses are infrequent or non existant and the trains are unreliable and are the most expensive in Europe. Until the Government gets a grip of the public transport system the car is the main form of transportation for our population. Those that do not live in towns and cities cannot get on their bikes. We do not all live in London.

As usual the normal brigade of non-car owners voice their opinion about a subject they have no knowledge and which does not effect them.
The public transport system in this country has been getting worse since the railway network was broken up in the sixties. Privatisation linked with Thatchers 'greed for all' policies have ensured that you cannot travel anywhere at a reasonable cost or time. I work for myself and it would be impossible to visit my clients by public transport even if I could afford it.
I assume some of the inane comments made on this blog are from people who do not work or travel. In my experience everbody needs to travel at some time so I do hope they are happy to pay the excessive cost without complaint.
For far too long politicians have seen the motorist as a soft touch and will continue to do so until we make a stand. If one reads the reply to those who signed the petition from 'Tony' it still by-passes the fact that politicians are supposed to have addressed just these such issues, but over the years have neglected to do so.
One can only hope that those mis-guided individuals who think road pricing is good eventually see that in the end the consumer pays!

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I believe that before there is any discussion about road pricing as a solution to congestion, there must be in place a viable alternative to car use and this simply does not exist. The priority for the government should be putting all its energy and spending into providing a first class, national, public transport system. I know many people who would willingly leave their car keys at home, if there was a reliable choice.

What about the people who dont ever pay car tax, mot or insurance. How are these going to pay. I surely dont see them queuing up to pay for a box to put in their car, nor do I see them paying any fine for going over the speed limit. So will we be overcharged (as usual) to compensate these - I think so.

I am unsure why some folk are geting at 4WDs. They consume the same amount if not less than many people carriers, which normally carry the same or less passengerds. IF you look most vehicles of 2000 cc you will find that they also consume the same amount of fuel. 4WDs are fine, I live in the country and use a 4WD to carry timber, livestock and farm supplies am I supposed to put this in a Smart Car?

It would also be good to know when there will be a reasonable transport system in rural areas. Tax paid by rural dwellers is not fairly distributed into a decent transport system rural or national would be good.

Any new taxes will be just that extra tax on people already paying too much. The road fund tax is supposed to go into erm ROADS and yet that clearly is not the case. As for police cash machines, sorry road cameras wasnt revenue supposed to go into local road safety. In fact a significant sum gets spent on lots of other areas ( tax ?)

A fraction of the cost being spent on this type of scheme could be given to China etc so that their manufacturing plants reduce emissions. In reality this would be cheaper and reduce global warming by a far geater figure.

If it makes the roads quieter this would make driving much more enjoyable, less stressful, less dangerous and reduce emissions. I use public transport and cycle a lot which has meant some sacrifices but I save loads of money get to read the paper or a book and keep fit. I'm sure more companies would introduce flexible working hours and working from home which would benefit everyone not just reduce congestion.

I would like to be able to get public transport to/from work but due to the location it is impossible. I also have to take work wherever it is available and that could be anywhere. The system being proposed would not stop me from travelling in my car because I have no choice. Most people in the automotive industry have to move location and travel over 50 miles each day only to get to work.

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I fully agree with David Hutchings comments (75) regarding the issue of Road/Fuel Taxes. If ALL the revenue from these punative taxes had been spent on the roads in the UK we would have a Road System second to none in the World. German roads are excellent with minimum road works, maximum speed limits in excess of UK's and less accidents -Why ? Perhaps the German drivers are not continually looking for Speed Cameras and are concentrating on theur driving instead !

I need my car to get to work and home due to the unsociable shifts I have to work as a nurse with the NHS. The place where I work is in a poor area and I for one don't fancy a 30 mins walk to the Metro followed by the journery to Bury to hopefully connect with the bus to get home about 11pm to start out again in the morning at about 6.30 am to start the early shift. So whatever happens I will end up paying more one way or another.

I agree with most of the comments I have just read and would like to add these to the show: This Government is both morally and financially bankrupt, it is in a position of "no confidence" from the people of this country. When you have politicians that do not listen to the electorate you end up with a dictatorship and not democracy! We do not appear to have any real politcians left because they only listen to non elected "spin doctors". When we can get back on track with proper local and national elected politicians we may have a proper demoracy!

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I used to commute to work enduring a 20 hour commute just to get from A to B, in snow wind rain delys, cancellations, and standing up having paid £400 a month for the pleasure of it. The Car for me is the safest most secure way of ensuring I get around, I used to be a real believer in Public transprt but since privatisation the routes are getting less and less in the future we will only have routes from London to Glasgow and thats it,

The latest tragedy to hit the news in recent days is another nail in the coffin of confidence for those poor sods that have to get on a train every day who have no other option, here's a suggestion instead of pumping Billions into a rail system that the public no longer owns, lets divert some of this cash so sort out this mess

Offer Tax incentives to employers who allow workers who can, work from home, the £400 a month I paid for the trian was the same as my morgage,

Unless we as a society become more flexable people will always clog the roads at peak times, as that is when people go to and finish work, pick up kids etc, and its those people that will alway get stung with stealth taxation as its a no win situation for the commuter.

I saw the news the other day and within 30 minutes I heard about a possible 5 different taxes and charges being introduced within the UK,

I have no problems paying Taxes, but since labour came to power over 17 new taxes have been introduced through the backdoor and I do not see any benefit to me or my community,

The pay per mile is for me and my family edging us ever more to the real possibility of moving abroad,

Why do we all put up with this? the fact is complaining about it is not very productive, nor was the partition.. It would be great if the millions came together and did something to make the goverment accountable. We the people need a way to vote on items and the government should have to make it happen, not just do what it thinks.

To those of you who are keen to get people out of their cars and onto public transport could I point out that not all of us live in large towns and cities where public transport is regular and reliable. I live 6 miles in 3 directions from any moderately sized town and 15 from a large town with more shops/facilities. There ARE no local shops to speak of (the post office sells a few staples but keeps limited hours). There is 1 bus per hour in one direction and 1 every 2 hours in the other. I drive (not a 4x4) but how do people who can't/don't get their shopping, etc. My son goes to a FE college but there's no bus there (or no feasible route without it taking hours, one of his friends takes 2 hours to do a 25 minute car journey). Yes, we should use our cars less but what is the alternative when we are so poorly served by public transport

David L and Una obviously have no concept in living outside a major city where transport is restricted. Una's comment of 'most people who sign this will have 3 cars 5 of which are 4X4's also possibly tells us something about her brain power!!!!!!!!
The Govt use environmental issues as an excuse for not doing anything. The train service is expensive, the roads are jammed and buses are a joke. If they want to reduce polution build more roads so millions of cars will not be stuck in jams churning out fumes.
Dave D

I am a HGV driver and this would probably be the death of the UK haulage industry as we no it. As a night trunk driver i drive about 450-500 miles a night so you could understand at a proposed £1+ a mile how much extra it would cost to run these vehicles.Prices would have to be offset to the consumer so think how much groceries etc would rise. It wouldnt mean less wagons on the road as everything at some point is delivered by truck, it would be just cheaper to get foreign hauliers to come across the water and do the job cheaper as they wouldnt be bound by this ridiculous tax. Anyone who thinks trucks on the road are a pain in the backside at the moment wants to imagine what it will be like when 9 out of 10 will be from Portugal,Rumania,Turkey etc.

I am one of the majority of road users that has a car through choice, not through need.

I did not sign the petition, because I was invited to do so by a scare-mongering chain email which disingeunously misrepresented the situation.

A shame as there are many good reasons against road pricing, the most significant being the big brother issue. It's not that the government want to monior our movements. It's that they don't seem to take that problem seriously enough to put in sufficient safeguards to stop it happening in the future.

At present with fuel duty we are charged by our impact on the environment. It's simple and it works- if you have an unnecesarily big and inefficient car you pay more. But there is no let up for essential users which there could be under road pricing.

If road pricing was to come into force, road tax abolished and fuel tax cut, how long do you think it would be before these taxes were re-instated? It's not a question of if, but when.

Also, what would the knock-on effects be regarding the food prices at your supermarkets because of the additional costs of transport?

I suspect that the majority of those that agree with the proposal are not drivers and think that they will not be directly affected. Think again.

i wouldn't have a problem with the new road tax if they scrapped the tax on fuel ,or the tax disc that we now have.i think.. its disgusting that the motorist gets slammed every time,if this comes into force i will have to give up my job as my wages certanly won't go up to pay the extra charge. and it won't be worth my while going to work
having said all that if the local governments were to spend the extra money on the road network ( hahahahaahah just kidding )as if . ie busses ,trains,cycle paths , local transport running on time and improving the services ,it may take some traffic off our roads.the money the motorist pays out just seems to go into a black hole,it,s definatly not spent on improving the roads.and i do understand that we all need to be greener to save the planet for our children. but i think two jags prescot could make a bit more of an effort instead of running his wife a few hundred yards to the hairdresser.
oh and how about some kids walking to school.shock horror (kids walk)
well here i go moan moan moan.

we already have road tax and petrol tax, WE DONT NEED ANOTHER TAX, I suggest the government put the tax up on petrol, that way people still pay. But those with more economical cars will pay proportionally less.

I beleive the road pricing tax system is just another way for the government 'big brother' to track your every movement. Even if you take public transport, your journey to and from where ever is tracked by the 'oyster card', even thou at the moment you can still purchase a weeks bus pass on the old card style, before long that will be phased out, just like the monthly pass! What kind of privacy will people have in the future - none! But then again this whole system of things to come has already been predicted, and for those who are aware this, what is happening now should come as no surprise!...................

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If average UK milage of 10K per year, with 50% of that in rush hour, costs the same as my current tax disc, I'm happy.

But it appears that's not the case, from what I've heard - i.e. far more expensive.

At present I do 4000 miles per year and pay £195 for my tax disk. Last year I was doing 40000 miles per year and paid £135 for my tax disk (change of car). Go figure! Pay per mile ok in theory if cost are fair to everyone, and preferably capped somewhere.

No sneaky putting it up hugely every year as stealth tax though, and no sending us speeding tickets for doing 5mph over the speed limit once a year accidentally on a disused motorway! Some guarantee of big brother not watching, and guarantee of price increase policy, would be necessary to bring me on board with the idea, as well.

Just a thought.