Your Comments

I for one am totally convinced that it's less to do with congestion and very much more to do with spying. We already have the impending ID cards that carry so much needless personal info about ourselves about to be thrust upon us in the name of anti-terrorism. We have, in London, Oyster cards for cheaper travel on public transport. No Oyster Card ? then pay higher cash fares. "If you want a card then fill in a form and divulge some personal information to us first before you can have it" Every time it's used for travel it's swiped by a reader device. So where's the surprise in our Downing Street Dictators wanting to know yet more about where and when we travel about.
Now, after the results of the petition, they are talking about not tracking us road by road but by zones. How can they possibly charge us per zone without knowing which roads we travelled down to pass through the zones, so it all amounts to the same thing.

I accept that something needs to be done to reduce congestion but there are many less costly methods than satellites and black boxes in cars. I also don't believe that the motorist should be penalised further to make up for the governments lack of investment in the road system, we pay enough for the priviledge of owning and running a car as it is. This shower of a government are intent on the satellite system for no other reason, in my mind, than to see what we've been up to while out in our cars and at the same time make a bit of extra cash for the treasury. I travel at all times of the day and night in my work and often encounter badly phased traffic lights at numerous junctions, sometimes sitting at red lights for nearly 2 minutes while absolutely nothing else crosses the junction from the other directions. If they're phased like that in the early hours then how much congestion would that one traffic light create in the busier periods.

We hear from Blair about how tolls and road pricing work fine in other countries with no problems, well I don't care about other countries. I don't live there or care what they do. What I do care about is my freedom and to go about my life without the powers that be knowing where, what time and how I got there.

Just a thought but how long after ID cards are eventually made compulsory will it be before we have to have them swiped every time we buy something in a shop. Their mission will be complete, they'll know whether we drove to the shop, took public transport, what shop we visited and whether we went straight home or decided to spend a few hours at the seaside on the way.

in reply to david l's comments.more exceptable methods of transport my a~s!
last night my friend and i decided to go to cardiff for the evening.so we could both have a drink or two we caught the arriva train.good price,£2.90p return.
the return train was cancelled and a bus was to be provided.the 52 seater bus turned up late to accomadate around 200 passengers.as you can imagine the was the most almighty scramble.
unfortunatly we had no chance of getting on.eventually rail staff arrived.
when we asked about another bus we were told no chance.the person who ordered this fiasco was tucked up in bed and left the flunky to take the flack.
they put another train on 1 hour later.after finding a seat,we had an intercom message.they then told us all to move 2 carriages down the train.
we felt like cattle being herded and were treated like cattle too.the jews in awchvest came to mind.a good night had by all?i don't think so.
does david really think people will abandon their cars when people are still being treated like this on the rail network.a pony and trap could have got me to my 12 mile destination quick than this train.

I note that a lot of people on this forum are anti-car people. The only reason I can think that they are that way is because they can see a bus stop or train station from their house windows! I live in a semi rural area and to get from my home to the nearest railway station is 3.5 miles. To get to a bus stop is approx 3/4 mile and up a 1 in 4 hill!
I signed the petition because if you think for one minute, that the government are going to do away with road tax and fuel tax, in favour of this new system, then you probably have poor foresight! You can bet your bottom dollar that the treasury & Chancellor have already worked out another way of taxing us as a replacement for all that lost revenue. OK, so they want to charge us by the mile. It would be reasonable if that was all it was, but it isn't. They'll increase congestion charges, and then car park charges. What comes next, increased vat on tyres and wiper blades? They've already stung us over the new MOT rules over what you are allowed to repair and what you shouldn't. I'm not prepared to let them con me, and that's why I signed. I just can't wait until all these congestion charges force all the businesses within them to fold due to lack of trade, so that the councils in those areas will have to sting the residents for the extra council tax to make up the shortfall. It's only a matter of time before all businesses move out of towns.
Incidentally, I will NEVER pay a congestion charge - I'd rather stay out of town - Forever!
WP

I work for a company that refuses to introduce any form of flexitime. I could with a very basic form of flexitime share lifts with at least 4 collegues.

There is no public transport that I can use that fits my work hours, again with flexitime (although not convenient) I could use public transport.

No matter what form of congestion tax is introduced I will just have have to pay, I have no choice. Surely it would be better to offer incentives to companies with similar attitudes to where I work to encourage or force them them into being more flexible and allow employees to lift share.

I believe that this tax will make it uneconomical for some people to even go to work. Picture this; young family 2 children, not living on a bus route, living in a town 9 miles outside of the city (because house prices are too expensive in the city) one child in infant school on opposite side of the town, mother works in the city, youngest child in creche in the city. Father, plumber, leaves the house at 6.30am in a company van. At the moment they are just about breaking even with the high price of creche fees. Without a car there is no feasible way to take the eldest child to school for 9am and then get to the city with the youngest child, drop off at creche and get to work for 9.30am. The return journey home would be as bad. There are many people in a similar situation, making them better off for one partner to stay at home and the other to claim Working Family Tax Credit.

I would tend to support the approach as long as the current road tax was abolished and tax on petrol was reduced and not simply kept arbitrarily high to allow the government to claim the UK income tax levels lare amongst the lowest in Europe.
However, i'm digressing slightly; my 3rd measure of the governments commitment to reducing traffic congestion would be their agreement to invest in public transport which at present, I feel, is marginally better than most 3rd world countries!
Question:- What will we do when autumn comes and the trains aren't running due to wet leaves on the track, the government has reneged on their investment promises and we've all been priced off the road?
Answer:- Our economy will collapse, because no one can afford to drive to work and public transport remains completely inadequate!

I already pay a mileage charge, currently about 20p for every mile I travel. It is collected automatically and accurately without the need for tracking devices and if I get a bigger vehicle it will automatically go up and if I get a smaller vehicle it will go down. If I do a high mileage and wear the road out I will pay a lot more. Its called petrol tax and makes up the vast bulk of what we all pay at the pumps. And thats on top of the road fund licence which goes nowhere near the roads and on top of the insurance tax that you forgot you were paying and on top of the 25% tax that you paid for the priviledge of owning a car in the first place. Road pricing is another attempt to get lower paid workers off the roads to leave them empty for the rich and priviledged. Cars are not a luxury! Ask anyone who lives in a rural area and has to rely on public transport. I thought the first couple of letters in this blog were very funny in a david brent kind of way.

Thank you for your mail,

I am - like many people - concerned with the plight of global warming and environmental issues, but equally need to feed a family and keep a roof over my head. I recycle as much waste as I can, and endeavour not to make unnecessary journeys on a private level, but my work demands that I spend a lot of time out in a car, usually alone.

Unfortunately no matter how many buses or other public transport facilities are made available, it will never be able to cater for the likes of my work, which sometimes involves carrying heavy/awkward equipment to sites. Road pricing may well force some companies to re-evaluate how they operate - but there will always be areas of work that necessitate travel.

Privately, I travel to hockey matches, badminton and other activities which hopefully will assist me in keeping fit and healthy for longer, so that I don't have to be plunged into the chaos which is now our National Health Service, and be served up a dose of C Diff or MRSA by overstretched nursing staff who don't have time to do all the necessary things to ensure total cleanliness. My leisure pursuits are not easily catered for by public transport, so guess what - I have to get in my car - usually with at least one other person in it.

In addition, I cannot help but feel that congestion is caused by people going to work in rush or peak hour times - these people still need to get to work and unless there is substantial investment on a previously unseen scale to provide transport to more rural areas, at appropriate times, then people are still going to get in their cars.... because they need to. Many people cannot necesarily afford to live within walking or cycling distance of their workplace, and for those living out in the countryside, the bus services whilst welcomed, may not cater too well for someone who is working at a location which requires at least one change of bus along the way.

You intimate that the road tax system may alter, and so it should, there are already many motorists who drive around untaxed, uninsured and deprive the remaining public of any sense of security should an accident occur. On another level though, there are two things that the motorist requires in order to travel generally, that's a road, and fuel.... surely if you add to the cost of the fuel that every congestion inducing vehicle uses, then everyone who uses a vehicle will be taxed - and maybe it will cut congestion as people have to pay to travel. Toll roads are frequently employed abroad, and therefore those that use those roads are immediately captured. In spite of the law, and the campaigns that run, some motorists who are hellbent on evading their responsibilities will continue to do so, and will figure out a way of travelling around without being encumbered by the "tagging system" that is intended. Some things just don't work - and any form of indirect collection of revenue/tax is something that a lot of people will find a way of avoiding - leaving those that are prepared to pay their due with the void to fill, and ultimately a higher price to pay.

As for this not being another step towards big brother - I'm not particularly bothered. You can fit any tracking device you like to the company vehicle I drive - I have no hidden agendas or devious plans, but I'd be upset to think that you wouldn't use such devices to keep an eye on potential terrorist suspects, there are some things that are greater than the individual need, and I think it would be disingenuous to suggest that this wouldn't happen ultimately. Let's be honest there are already tracking devices in play, within the mobile phones we all carry around - whilstever they are switched on they are "polling" to the nearest station - so let no-one be fooled into thinking that the State doesn't know where we might be at any given moment.

It will be interesting to see what your strategy will be for roads - how about prosecuting speeding or law-breaking foreign lorries & other vehicles that spend a lot of time on our roads. Put the tax on the roads themselves, and have immediate on the spot collection which puts the onus on the driver to pay up or stop travelling.

I look forward to seeing your reviewed proposals.

re comment 44
I am a supply teacher and so get calls in the morning wanting me to be at a school '10 minutes ago'. I also have a regular one-day-a week teaching job at a school three miles from the nearest bus route. So, no doubt I need a car. But, my point is- where will the new rat runs form?

Whilst I agree that we need to find a drastic way to get people off the roads and reduce pollution I do not feel that road pricing is the answer, this kind of scheme will result in less well of people who really need their cars being stranded in their homes whilst well of people (and there are quite a few of them) will still be unnecessarily using their cars and causing congestion + pollution.

If the proposed banded charging in introduced then people will try to take longer out of town routes that clog up the country side and smaller side roads producing even more congestion and pollution.

Most people, businesses and organisations are driven by money yet making things more expensive does not always have the desired effect, those that pay will almost always be those who are most needy or less well of financially. I therefore believe providing cheaper viable alternatives is the answer rather than making us all pay for a very expensive system that will not solve the problem it is intended for.

If the government do want to charge us more for using roads then they should increase fuel tax, this money can then be spent on funding alternative incentive schemes rather than paying for some expensive congestion charging system. (Id like to say I hate paying all that tax on my fuel but its better than an expensive system that tracks our every movement)

Having said that congestion charging may help in larger towns that already have an adequate and reasonably priced transport system.



Here are some alternative ideas that may help reduce congestions and pollution-

Make it cheaper for people to own two cars (small + medium) or a car + motorbike, that way they can use a smaller car or motorbike for most travel and only use a larger car when necessary. This would require the insurance companies to offer some special deals + the government to scrap the current Road Tax + introduce a cheaper MOT for vehicles with a low annual mileage.

More park and ride schemes and run them Monday to Saturday. These schemes seem to be very popular because of the convenience and price, it shows that many people are prepared to use alternatives if they are available and at a reasonable price.

Subsidised public transport or give Tax incentives for train and bus companies. It would currently costs me significantly more to take a bus than it does to drive, and this will probably still be the case if they introduced congestion charging.

Better bus shelters.

Provide Safer routes for motor cycles and pedal cycles.

Give better Tax incentives for companies and people buying echo friendly busses and coaches.

Yet another stealth tax and also an invasion of our privacy.
Public transport is already working at full capacity so how will all the thousands of displaced motorists be acccomodated?
Also and most important, rich people will still be able to use their cars as usual despite the cost!

This is well out of order. it's just a way of making money out of the people, hardly any of it is spent on fixing roads. This will cause a big up roar if its put into place, but then again, the goverement never listen us anyway, so why the hell are we bothering?!?! This would be a huge mistake if it was put into place.....................Ridiculas!

3963

I dont know if you have kids, but I do and I will not let him get on the bus to school. We originate from a different part of the country and because we talk different to the people where we live, my son is bullied because of it. Next time you go out in the morning, take a look at the school buses. The kids ignore the driver to sit down, every school bus that I see has a group of kids standing up on the top deck, leaning against the front window. One day they are going to come a cropper when the bus has to brake sharp and they are going to get seriously hurt. But who will be blamed, the driver of course. For my sons owns safety this is not an option. In the ideal world this would be fantastic as it would mean that I wouldnt have to go out twice a day.

SM

tax tax tax thats all our government seem to know about, you know!. how much money they can squeeze out of the working classes, well i as one have had about enough... i would agree to road pricing if excise for vehicle ownership was axed or scrap the whole thing and put it on fuel, so the larger vehicle owner and or the most milage coverer ie rep's and works vehicles paid the higher perportion and the once a week pensioner whome only goes to do the shopping would save a little, this would also cut people down whome just too lazy to walk a few miles every now and then and i think we all could be found guilty of that myself included. the motor vehicle has become a more needed convienience rather than a nessesity and thus is abused which also makes us an abuser of our enviroment but going back to the main point about TAX it should be one or the other not all together can you imagine the future petrol in exess of 1.00 per litre 5 to 10 charges per day to use the local roads from where u live and also 170 to 200+ road fund/ecxise licience fees total madness why not like in europe equipe the garages to sell daily road tax charge the same european prices for fuel as well the last time i checked we are part of the eu??? so why WHY do we pay so much?? many many questions and well as you would expect no satisfying answers from downing street... a total white wash... poss to fund all there libalous insider dealing legal cases well as you can tell this makes me a little mad so will leave it there as a testiment and one in the eye for mr Blair

And so the debate goes on and on, does Blair care, I don't think so, does the goverment ministers care, I don't think so, do the rich care, I don't think so.
So it's now up to the VOTERS but who do YOU vote for, now here is the QUESTION, it seems to me they ALL promise the earth.

Conservatives store the money from selling all the british stocks to countries abroad, Gas, water and electric (Is BT still british owned) they then take the profits abroad.
Labour gets voted in, spends ALL the money, then cries of poverty start when the CONS get back in power.

You vote, you choose, but it seems like the same brush that paints the picture to me !!
If I was younger I would emigrate to a warmer, friendlier clime !

Everyday I become more and more disillusioned with this country !!! I've been made redundant 3 times (& never claimed benefit) the last time I reskilled at my own cost and found a new job 25 miles away, it now seems that the government are going to penalise me (and others like me) for doing the right thing by finding work thats not on our door steps !!! As I start work at 7.30 Public Transport offers me no solution for getting to my place of employment, feel like I'm barbling on, but really want to vent my anger at this goverments contempt for the normal working JOES !!! like you and me.

The other week when the schools were on holiday I could make it from home to work in about 20 minutes, that's still only an average speed of 22.5mph. With the schools back to normal it's taking at least 15 minutes more so we're down to 13mph. Any more and it'll probably be quicker to walk!

I have to go to work when I have to go to work and although there is some flexibility in the route I think the shortest path is probably the best route to take. And everyone else is going to say the same I'm sure. But quite why everyone has to take their little darlings to school by car I really don't know and I have colleagues who drive just 1.5 miles into work. They won't walk! But will road pricing affect them? Even at 30p a mile I doubt that it would. So it just taxes the people who have no alternative.

I can get the bus virtually door to door. But I would have to leave the house at 07:30 and wouldn't get back home until 18:00. So that's adding almost an hour and a half onto my working day. Then there's £5 in bus fares to find every day. So that's £1200 a year. I don't spend anything like that on petrol a year. It's more like £450 and that includes all my travel! So there is no way it's economically viable to do that. Not to mention having to sit with other people and queue in the cold for 2 busses each way.

Every household NEEDS a car. You can't really socialise or pick up your shopping without one. So once you've paid for the car and tax and insurance and servicing you might as well use it! The british ecconomy would die if everyone was restricted so much.

Work from home you say. I do that from time to time but in the winter when I need the heating on my carbon footprint for the day is probably higher being at home than it is by running the car. Work still light and heat my desk space and my PC at work has to stay on all night to allow me to connect into it.

So is there a solution? It seems obvious - stop slowing cars down, and try speeding them up. The quicker you can get across town by definition the less congestion there is and also there'll be less carbon emitted. There are a couple of bottle necks in my daily journey caused by traffic lights. If those junctions were eliminate traffic would flow much quicker. A few cars would have to go round it's true but traffic would flow. Technology will eventually provide the answer with junctions taking control of the cars approaching them and moving cars through far more efficiently than we can do for ourselves. But until then I suggest banning parents from driving their kids to school and making lorries move their shipments outside of the rush hours.

Planning rules also need to change with more true local service not a health centre 15 miles away, and the only post office being in the centre of town. We also need to set incentives for companies to set up car share and force local workers to walk. I wouldn't mind walking 1/4 a mile to meet someone else who works for the same comapny and me and then sharing the car into the office. But I'm not going to do it with someone who has no shared value and could at any time just let you down.

I think a much fairer system of taxation would be to abolish the annual Road Fund Licence but add 10p tax per litre of fuel. This would penalise large or heavy vehicles users and reward low users of fuel. There would be some need for annual check and this could be done by displaying a disc or notice on vehicle showing date when next MOT test is due. Registration of change of ownership of vehicle would remain as now but replacement of annual RFL requirement would remove one tier of civil servants.

I believe that if this new tax is introduced, they will rename the current car tax something like a green tax. They did a similar thing in the 80's with Poll Tax and rates - combine the two and we still pay this its just under the new name of council tax. I reckon this will ecome the same, thus hitting the working family man/woman, one parent families and the elderly the hardest. I think we are going to be grossly out of pocket. Its a complete scam for the people to pay for things like - illegal immigrants, people who refuse to work, people who feign invilidity etc etc etc. Its time we faught back as a nation to make changes.

The car is here to stay, simple as that. Even thou we live in a 24/7 culture most people still work 8 till 5. So how to curb congestion? Probably imposable!! Most factories work early middle and late shifts that might help ease traffic a little. Haulage works 24/7 but what about the rest. The rest of the population would have to radically change the way they live there lives. School runs going out at 11am and finishing at 7pm, collages running 10pm till 4am. Half the population would have to be nocturnal. It just couldn't happen!!! Taxing cars off the road is just as crazy, the rich carry on as normal while the poor get pushed off the road. People go on about 4by4s and gas guzzler's, if the government for "environmental reasons" limited the manufacturer's of cars to 1.8ltr the rich as well as the poor would have no choice but to do their bit.

People with the so called "gas guzzlers" and "luxury cars" already pay more to travel as they have to buy more petrol than anyone else not to mention higher road tax, if that's what they want then its upto them.

Oh and David Hutchings, how can you possibly spend 110% of something?? If you only have £100 you can only spend £100. Think about it!

I am not for road taxing. The people for road taxing seem to me to be people who have good public transport near them or most likely no need to leave there homes. When will these people get into the real world. If public transport outside of the large cities was any good then the might have a just case, but we who live outside of London and such likes know, public transport is a joke. Beeching took away the trains, British Rail killed off what was left, know the likes of Virgin and GNER etc charge so much for traveling that I feel i am being held up at gun point when I have travelled by train. It cost me over £5 to travel from Gatwick to my local Station the other week and I only live 6 miles away from Gatwick by road.
Buses are next to useless and pump out black clouds of fumes into the air yet do not get you from point A to B most times unless you go via pointsD, E, F and G. Also the cost of going on the buses is over the top.
Yet this Goverment give fuel rebates to companies running bus services to a time table, yet how often are they late or do not run at all. While in places like Bath and Oxford where you see endless open top buses going around empty or near to it, is because they have to to get their fuel discounts. So causing congestion and pumping fumes into the environment.
If road usage tax came in to force, the like of Londoners and other people living in large town where the road usage rate per mile will be high will have to pay more for food etc as companies will pass on charges to the home user one way or another. Also they will find it harder to get plumbers and other sort after tradesman as they will not want to come in to areas where they are charged high road taxes just to do a small job unless you the home user pays way over the standard charge to cover their extra costs

Well I have read affair sample of peoples comments regarding this Road Tax and like most people am not impressed. If this government wishes to change or add to its already draconian taxing polices then it should properly consult the people who put it in power. (not me I might add, I am old enough to remember the last stint living under a labour government and it was not nice). It is about time that we the real people of this country got off our backsides and took back what was a great nation and make it great again. This means voting in a government that will listen to its people and allow us to live in and take pride in our country, and not tax us into the ground. We have only ourselves to blame for what as happened and only we can change it. We need to stand together and get an elected government that will listen to the people and not the spin doctors they employ. I also think that this could be the straw that finally broke the camels back as it as opened up the flood gates of discontentment.

This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.

Everything moves at such a fast pace now, that going by public transport, peddle bike or cart and horse really isn't the option in most cases.

I do work from home and if I was to have to take public transport to take my daughter to school each day, it would take 4 hours of my day. So wheres the efficency in that.

All this will do, is push prices even higher in the shop. Public transport will cost more, because there is a manopoly, but mostly, it will make even more people think twice about even getting their car insuranced. So not bothering to report it to the DVLA.

Hi Everyone,
it has been very interesting to read the comments on this blog, in my opinion very few of you have reached the obvious. This Government is using this new road pricing scheme to raise more revenue (tax) and if people are voting against it they will say " doing nothing is not an option" A. Bennetts has got it absolutley right #31 and the government knows this but it will mean an increase in fuel duty (remember the fuel protests), but we will be so against the road pricing we will even vote for an increase in fuel duty ourselves (job done) disabled people will get a reduction in road tax as will Hauliers and the Government will get its funds.
A. Bennetts comments are the most cost effective way of the government collecting extra funds, what they will spend these funds on is another matter. We are taxed in so many ways you have to sit down and really think about how much tax you actually pay.

Income Tax on earnings & savings

National Insurance

Value Added Tax (VAT) this will be on everything you buy including all your household bills gas, electric, water, phone, any repairs etc

Insurance Tax on any household, travel, medical & vehicle etc

Fuel Tax (er duty)

Road Tax for drivers

Airport Tax for air travellers you also have to pay the fuel duty (included in your ticket)

Stamp Duty on house purchases

Council Tax

The Chancellor also is taking £5 billion out of the pension funds in tax

Inheritence Tax

does anyone really know what these taxes are or where all this money is going ?

If you sit down and workout how much you really pay out of say a £1,000 it is frightening.
Other "European" Governments seem to make a much better job of running their countries, is it because the people of these countries would not put up with this ?
This Government got into power on a promise they would not increase the rate of Income Tax which is has not done. But it has brought in many other "stealth taxes" to compensate.

The problem with road pricing, or any system that charges per mile for driving, will penalise those who have to drive due to lack of public transport or public transport not being available at the right times.

Yes, you could introduce it for motorways, and you could charge based on car occupants, more people, less charge. That will encourage car sharing.

was not impressed by this idea. cant believe people are agreeing with this scheme of government control.
these sorts of issues are spiralling way out of control and we the public seem to be doing nothing about it too much.
for example number of people this will affect and who moan about it to the actual number who signed the petition.

Ok road pricing MAY have to be introduced, that is if they get rid of the present road tax. What i don't like is with this spy in the sky satellite, big brother will know exactly where I am at any one time. Is this freedom, I don't think so. PEOPLE DON'T LET IT HAPPEN

Well, where do you start with road taxing........... If the present or future governmnet want get away with charging us drivers for the privilage of using the roads we have already paid for, then I think there needs to be a real shake up of the way in which the motor industry and drivers fund the highway agency.

Firstly, a method of ensuring all cars carry atleast third party insurance, unfortuantely the Aussies have us here as I understand as part of thier tax system the car automatically gets thid party insurance. Then if you do have to pay more for driving those extra miles then your premium shouldn't go up. WORTH A THOUGHT.

Secondly, if the charges are going to be as high as predicted then there needs to be a reduction in the charges being paid on fuel, we cann't have the treasury being paid twice can we.

Thirdly, toll roads should be encouraged as if we're going to have to pay someone to use a road it might as well be a private company rather the government atleast if you have a problem you'd stand a better chance of getting somewhere with your complaint.

Anyone else agree........... or disagree........

Why does everyone get caught up in the case against 4X4 vehicles, there is nothing wrong with them, maybe in some locations it is a fashion statement, so is the Porsche and many other sports vehicles. I drive a Jeep Grand with a 2.7 Mercedes diesel engine and get up tp 36 miles per gallon which I consider quite economical and far more so than many vehicles currently on the roads. So why the big fuss I just don't understand? There are so many cars which are extremely uneconomical and we don't hear a fuss kicked up about them. I don't drive my Jeep to be big or flash, I just like 4X4 vehicles, for me they are roomy, comfotrable, practical especially with a family and very safe.

lease 4X4's alone and star looking at the real issues which is making the transport system safe, economical to travel on and attractive and relaible
enough for the public to want to travel on it.

As a Country we only contribute 2% to the World's pollution, we need to educate the countries which are causing the most damage, USA and China.

I don't agree with all this rubbish and especially the so called environmental Tax, just wake up to this massive con how can you be so blind !!!!!

Is this an issue about congestion, or an issue about pollution? Or is it really a way of getting the public to agree to pay more for fuel.

Think about it. The government gets huge revenue from fuel tax. It cannot afford to lose that revenue. Why else has any effort to introduce cars running on (non-taxable) alternative fuel been smothered at birth.

Cars - and aircraft - produce far less pollution than they did in years gone by, thankfully. Why should we give up our freedom to travel? Why should I not see my daughter who lives 700 miles away? If I am prepared to sit in congestion, why should I not be allowed to do so? Btw I would totally agree with previous comments that much of the congestion is deliberately caused by traffic lights.

Dr Beeching massacred our railway network in the 60s. The marshalling yards have been turned into housing estates (nice little earner there), the road haulage industry has a stranglehold on the movement of goods.

Call me cynical but I believe we are in the grip of a bunch of overpaid traffic consultants, who are primarily concerned with perpetuating their personal incomes, some 'not in the real world' academics who are primarily concerned with funding for their so-called research and a government which is using the green bandwagon as a means to extract more tax. Which will NOT be used to fund more and better public transport.

Do we have a comprehensive tram system in our major cities, with trams running every 5 minutes, costing just a few pence for each journey like in Helsinki or Prague?

Do we have huge free secure car parks at the terminal stations of the railway network like in Munich?

Do we have a railway network, serving every village, with frequent trains running early morning until late in the evenings costing next to nothing like in Bavaria? With specially designed carriages which take bicycles and pushchairs and wheelchairs?

Do we have a specifically built separate cycle tracks running alongside every road, like in Belgium and the Netherlands?

No no no no. Yet we seem prepared to contemplate spending billions on some terrifying big-brother tracking scheme.

I couldn't care more about the environment. I was recycling before the word was invented. I grow my own, walk, cycle, economise on every journey. I care passionately about the rainforests of the world being decimated, refuse to eat burgers, use only recycled paper.

Travel and transport is not a luxury in our present lifestyles. We have created a whole society which is dependent on transport - centralised hospitals, schools, shops. (We even had an economy which was dependent on building and selling cars: Vauxhall - Luton, Ford - Dagenham, Rover - Coventry etc.)

There are lots of other ways we can improve our effect on the environment without compromising our travelling. Tax is not the answer. It is unfair and it does absolutely nothing for the environment.

I am in favour of a tax as you go system as most things in life now are based on that premis eg water meters,gas meters etc. The current system does not encourage economic use of the car because the only thing you can cut down on is petrol everything else you pay for wether you use the car or not,so for the system to work you must do away with vel's and fuel tax.Also cosider insurance costs related to usage.

By adding a road tax to ease conjestion on Motorways is only going to add conjestion to small towns and villages as motorist seek alternative routes. If I was to use public transport to get to work, it would take me two trains, two bus rides and a long walk. Hence a travel time of 2 -1/2 hours for a 35 min journey. The amount of lottery funds that the government take each day let alone week should help with improving public and school transport.

I support the idea that there needs to be a rethink on the way that car travel is taxed. The current system is outdated. I believe the current road tax should be scrapped as, it is open to abuse by people that avoid paying the road fund license for their vehicle. Also, those that drive around in stolen unlicensed vehicles and prevent license theft. If this tax was added to the fuel instead it would make sure that everyone who is driving is paying the tax. This would also address issues on pay as you drive for environmental reasons. But, I DO NOT agree with tracking drivers by satelite. How far is big brother going to watch us?

It is just typical of our Government to think increases in tax are the solution to every problem, but all they want to do is make it hard to get the good things in life (beer, cheese, fireworks, pizza, etc.) So most people in the UK now are really sad and they need a Government that listens (democratic, not autocratic).

Taxes are simply a direct response to poor budgeting and could be greatly reduced if spending was targeted at areas that required it.

It's a "lose lose" situation for British travellers.
We have to choose between expensive public transport up to 40p a mile for single journeys or perhaps 15p a mile in fuel for a little family car but with hefty taxes and insurance added.

However, we can argue that our Human Rights are being breached by a lousy Government that denies us "Freedom of Movement".

The "environment" is just an excuse to tax, because the Earth is "on a life support machine". Over 90% of global warming is natural anyway, so reducing carbon emissions isn't going to achieve anything in the long run.

I am disabled and rely on my car to get me close to where I need to be without some sort of exemption for disabled people we would suffer even more than we already do - when people steal our parking spaces!