Your Comments

i have seen some silly comments about there are trains enough for everybody and we should all use them, which simply is untrue. take the cambridge to london half the people who commute form there have to stand all the way, surly thats not right. yes add more carrages so every one can sit but you can't add to many because trains have to be a certain distance apart when tavlling at speed. it is also more expensive to travel by train not to mention loud and unfriendly.
People need to start sharing there rides more to work there are to many single drives on the road, to many cars in one house hold.
You could easily have a family of four with children still living at home above 17 and all four people will have a car and quite offen 4-6 cars in this one house hold this is a big problem.
whemn i lived in bermuda in the 90's there was and is to this day a law which allows only one car per house hold and if you wanted transport then you would have to buy a moped, motorcycle or take the bus.
More pople should bike into work i took my license for motorbike last year to get form work and back.

i would also like to Know where all the road tax money has gone to improve roads and service if there are so many cars where is all the money and why do we not have better road systems.

there are also far to many trucks on the roads that should be using frate trains.

You must have realised that there are some of us who would actually benefit from such a scheme? My wife, in her beloved Mini, does only 800 miles PER YEAR! I do more like 2,000, but suppose that I also would end up on the right side of the deal. You may correctly deduce from this that we are both around 80 years old and therefore OAP's. Everyone is inclined to vote in their own interests - even those voting against this scheme are doing so out of self-interest. Of course, being a Government undertaking, it will take so many years to get under way that we will not be around to take advantage of it!

scrap all the fancy idea's and put all motoring costs on the price of petrol (ie road tax, fuel tax and insurance then we all pay the same for driving, if necessary you can load less experienced drivers as necessary. )

I have read all the blogs with interest,and as one who has used public transport,but now require a car because it takes longer and costs more to travel to work and as a Public health officer could not do my work without one.
The only problem I see with comments made about disabled blue badges is that active members of a family use the badge when they should not do so-this I have seen many times and it does give badge holders a bad name.I have also seen the commments regarding Mrs Thatcher,however since the Labour Government has been in power taxes have gone up some 40% I have less disposable income now than previously.I agree that something must be done about reducing emmission and paying for fuel as you use it is the best idea-also all Governemnt officials should give up their large vehicles and more products should go my rail than by large trucks,and bring back the rail car transports for the long journeys.

I have never felt the desire or need to get involved in anything like this before but I'm amazed at how naive so many comments are.

Life is very different for each and every one of us... yes, granted, there are some of us who use our cars on short runs where we may have been able to walk.... but other costs have soared in recent years too meaning that people like myself DO make more thought as to whether the car was appropriate or not.

I have a regional job but do not have a company car.... I am only able to claim 28p per mile from the company which are a not-for-profit organisation. Not ALL of us will just be "putting it through expenses" and will bare any extras ourselves.

I am a single parent as well as being a carer for my elderly mother who lives with me and get no support from ANYWHERE..... I depend on my job.....which depends on my car.

Maybe some of our large corporations should look at transferring several staff to more local bases - as I'm sure we all cross each others paths on the daily trek to work.

I also agree with a more flexible and trusting attitude from employers in terms of occassional home working.

Unfortunately gone are the days when we were born, married, bred, worked, retired and died in the same community.

British business needs are very demanding on their staff and we are not all on a 9-5 shift in one set base either..... we MUST have the flexibilty of single user car use just to cope with these demands.

A little more of a realistic and open minded view would be appreciated by others- we are all unique, with different views and experiences..... isn't that what we strive to achieve in this country of ours?

REAL dedicated bus lanes, not just lines painted on the road, plus prority for buses equivalent to that given to trams would be a fast and eficient way to entice people out of cars and on to buses. Bring back the conducter to further increase efficiency. Many tram systems are proposed but the good old bus is far more flexible and would pay for itself in the long term. Most buses today run nearly empty except for pensioners on free passes.

Its all good and well people saying that increasing tax is a good thing for motorists who drive but please spare a thought for people like myslef who live in the remote Highlands and Islands of Scotland where there is no train, no bus, no other public transport and we need a car to get around as it is essential. Also for example to go to the local supermarket (well its a small co op!) is a 3 hr round trip on single track roads so we need a car here. So any increase in my tax to pay for something which is essential here is not good it's all good and well environmental do gooders saying increase car taxes but what about the likes of me?

A few weeks ago, I got a reply e-mail from Tony Blair...or rather his office! I read the mail with great interest, thought about what was said and considered it to be, like most of what Blair's Government says, as lies and misleading statements designed to pull the wool over our eyes. So I decided to reply to "Tony"! In the reply I stated that I thought that this was yet another stealth tax to hit the softest target of all, the poor over taxed motorist. I complained about the fuel duty, road fund licence and the congestion charge, not to mention speed cameras! Whilst in rant mode, I also had a moan about taking our Country to war with Iraq; a was that the vast majority did not want the UK to become involved in, however, good old Tony knew best and threw his hat in with Big George. I asked the question, If you cannot keep the streets safe in your own country, what on earth gives you the right to invade another country to bring them law and order? Then I got started on the issue of asylum seekers, and the fact that we are living on an already over-populated island and cannot take anymore people.
All this from the threat of yet another tax!!! Strangely Mr Blair's office hasn't replied. I wonder why......................

the road tax is a con as any brit knows we pay more than any eu country but G BROWN is a scot and if you look at the money he gices them it has to be paiyed for by guess who lets have a vote of no conveidance inhim and get english for england as they vote on us but we cant vote on them.

If the government would actually do something about the state of the roads then I might feel better about paying more. I've only been back to driving for a week or so but I have memorised about 30 potholes on my route from West Lothian to Edinburgh and back!

Maybe the government should actually be pouring the money into green cars and petrol, or dare I say it a 24 hour public (reliable) transport system! I understand that my car will be taxed but I would like the option of not using it at all!

Big Brother Blair's control-freak regulation obsessed new labour takes another step towards a totally controlled Stalinist society. Sateliite tracking & monitoring of our every movement? We're already the most watched society in Europe if not the world: CCTV monitors us everywhere we walk now he wants to complete the piece by monitoring us everywhere we drive. The day Blair was elected was the end of personal freedom. The sooner the corrupt arrogant elected dictator & his cronies go the better.

I don't think that there is any one system that will be entirely fair. However I do think that Road Tax levied solely on the amount (and type) of fuel used is the fairest that can be devised.
Such a system gives people a number of choices, such as restricting the mileage that they cover, using the cheapest fuels, using more fuel efficient vehicles, and travelling at sensible speeds to conserve fuel.

My wife works about 3 miles away from where we live. She can't drive so does rely on public transport. She catches a bus into the next village (which takes 30 minutes because it goes around all the streets in the area) she then waits at another open air bus stop (a bus stop with a sign, no cover to get out of the elements) for about 20 minutes for a connection. Eventually 1 hour 10 mins later she arrives at work.

It takes me 5 minutes to drive her to work. Sometimes the buses just don't turn up, making her wait a hour before another making her late for work. Sometimes they are full and the driver won't let her on.

My point being, if public transport was a) on time b) regular c) cheaper d)cleaner e) bus shelters instead of signs we might just get out of our cars and use them. Unfortunatley this isn't the case.

Secondly, taxing isn't the way forward, technology is the only way we will combat pollution. People who can afford to drive will, no matter how expensive it becomes, so the people who are on a lesser income are the only people that suffer.

Richard (it wouldn't allow me to put D**k!) Turpin comes to mind!

Why does the carbon footprint always relate to fuel consumption? Our Audi A8, highly taxed because its emissions are not so low is the only vehicle listed as 90% recyclable. "Green" cars (metal, not recyclable for much) run on highly toxic batteries which are piling up horrendous disposal problems for the future.

Fuel is burned unneccessarily in queues caused by bus lanes, asbestos dust is piling up from braking to accommodate traffic humps and CCTV cameras.

If there is a requirement to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads, grants for heavy industry to use canals and waterways as well as airships could cut significantly the number of lorries necessary for transporting non-perishable goods.

Public transport will never be a practical alternative to private cars as long as the routes do not correspond to where people actually want to go!

What I want to know is - WHEN are we motorists going to stand together and say to the Government "You're not doing all this stuff to us any more". We pay through the nose to buy our transport because public transport doesn't take us where we need to go, we pay through the nose to road-tax it, to insure it against all the pedestrians and cyclists, to fuel it (more money than ever is going to the taxman), we pay through the nose to stop anywhere and park it, to garage it, to maintain it, to prove to Government that it is maintained, we pay if we digress from the speed limit by more than a mile or so per hour, we pay if we spend too much time looking at the speedometer (and crash) and now we pay to keep victims of serious crime (serious criminals don't have to do this) if we happen to do slightly over the limit and get fined for speeding. Cyclists want us to pay for their insurance so that if they mess-up and get hit, we pay. What else is there that we motorists could be made to pay for ? Breathing ? ? ?

When are motorists ever going to be let off the hook ? ?

I would not consider paying more tax. If the public transport alternative was available, I would use it. Where I live it is not. I am based north of Bristol and the traffic in the peak periods is heavy but my 15 minute each way commute by car (or motorcycle) turns into a nightmare of 1hr 30mins if I use public transport.

im diabled live in the center ov leeds so what ever way i go i will be hit simplly becase ov were i live

I do not agree with road pricing as I as a matter of principle consider tracking everyone's movements as an infringement on personal freedom, those that believe that any information gathered in this way would only be used for charging purposes are sticking thieer heads in the sand I can not see that in the fulnesss of time the police, security services, police or any other goverment department not making use of this information.
As to it being revenue neutral for that to happen it would have to generate the level of current revenue plus the cost of instalation, adminitration, maintainance, and charging, as with any other organisation the only way to raise money is from the consumer ie the motorist. At the end of the day to be "Revenue Neutral" would involve considerable extra cost to the Motorist.
I estimate that in my case could amount to anything up to £200 per week as I travel to work Off peak (NO Public transport available) but return at peak times (public transport available but I require my car for the following shift- so have to bring it home) This £200 represents 66% of my weekly net salary What am I supposed to live of and pay nessesary bills??

What is the government thinking? They are already taxing the motorists enough. Now they want to tax people who need to drive every day for their living? Fair enough, when they make a new bridge or motorways, they can charge a toll until they recover the cost. But even then they should reduce the charge every year until they can finally scrap the charges. They should think about taxing motorists, after they have make the public transportation more safe, convenient, frequent, and cheap to use. Only then, they can complain that we are not using the public transportation enough. When I was in Japan, I did not feel a need to have a car. Because the public transportation net work was very good. You do not need a car to go anywhere in Japan.
I am sorry to leave you a message so late. I was ill and was not been checking the e-mail.
Hope the government gets our message and change their mind.

Quote "Posted by Carol Hayward-peel Teachers salaries as you know are set by the government. We have never had a high income and that is unlikely to change. We struggle to survive on what we earn as do many other middle income families. We rarely use our cars other than for getting to work. If the travel tax is introduced it is likely that we would both have to stop working as we would not be able to afford the cost of getting to work. Two more teachers leaving the profession."

You should get a job as a politician, or even a pensioner! You "struggle to survive on what we earn as do many other middle income families."

What a lod of b****** I have never read such c*** in all my life, god help the working class or disabled. Go give up your job and for starters you will get no money from the government, and if and when you can get money then you will know what it is like to live on a low income!

Get a life and live in the real world.

Disgusted.

This proposal is nothing to do with finding a solution to road congestion. It, like many other sinister plans is an excuse to track everyone wherever they go. In line with this will be the new passport and ID cards with IRFD chips which will track you out of your car transmitting the data for some distance.

Do you want a government that wants to know everything about you, where you go, when you go and how you go? Is that healthy in a democracy. Think about it. Blair has proposed that in 2012 the streets will be patrolled by foreign police with powers far greater than they have now. When the ID cards are made compulsory, if the idea isn't alarming enough, they have declared that they will make your details available to banks and businesses for a fee. So already your privacy has been compromised to the point where a police state or totalitarian regime would have a field day.

Do not sign or agree to such things as tracking for cars there are other solutions other than this further attack on your privacy and freedom, besides the idea that car tax and petrol tax will be abolished is ludicrous this travel charge will be on top of existing taxes.

firstly i would like to say how much i strongly disagree with Una and David's comments to the extent that i would question which century they think they are living in!!! its a sign of the times and the developing world!

I also NEED my car, i work in a Wythenshawe, Manchester and travel from Derbyshire every weekday in rush hour. I have contemplated using public transport, but i would need a taxi to get to my nearest train station, then a 40 minute train journey to Manchester Piccadilly, then from Piccadilly to Manchester Airport, then from the Airport to a bus stop followed by a bus journey and a walk to work. All in all this would take me over double the length of time (even more so after i add on waiting time for public transport) it takes me to travel by car, now realistically i know what most people would choose in my position!

I have a sister who stands up on a train from Sheffield to Manchester to get home for the weekend to see her mum! she pays to stand up on a packed train for a good hours journey! where is the money going to improve these services?

in addition i have many friends who are small self employed business men and women (one is even a courier) who NEED their vehicles to visit clients, to price up jobs etc. My own partner is a cabinet maker and antique restorer, are you saying he would realistically get on a local bus with a long case to visit a client? I dont think so.

obviously it seems Una and David L have not even thought about all these things!!!!! They seriously believe it is fair and just to impose yet another tax on people when the Government's public spending on public services is nowhere to be seen. The money should not be squeezed out of the hard workers of this country, but from the Governments big pot!

Any one who thinks that road pricing is good idea and that the government, will put that money back into the upkeep of the road network is living in dream world !!!!

We already pay way too much for road tax, the cost of petrol is mostly tax (85%) and yet this stealth taxation obsessed goverment wants us to put our hands even deeper into our pockets to pay EVEN MORE for using the roads.

I signed the no road pricing web site, but now I hear this lying/ coniving bunch of hypocrits are still going to make us have this road pricing farse, well thats democrocy for you....

If, and ONLY if the road tax was either reduced or abolished all togeather, would I support road pricing, because you can bet your last £ that this bunch of idiots in power, will arse it up, just like every other thing they have a hand in, it just "will not" work in this country to the same degree of effiecency that is does in France, where the money collected from tolls is channelled back into the road up keep, in this country it will be diverted to some other fund just the same was as all the tax thats currently collected from road tax/petrol costs is now, into keeping the troops in Iraq or giving hundreds of billions of pounds away to some third world dump, to keep them in AK47's, so they can them bomb the UK.... thats why the roads are full of pot holes, and we hear comments from certain quarters thats they keep them like this to slow down the traffic, what a load of hogwash.

You can keep your roads pricing, abolish or reduce tohe cost of road tax, and put the cost on a gallon of petrol, that way the people who do the most driving, and cause the most damage to the roads and the envirenment will be paying to put it right and not the people wh oonly cover smallish mileages a year.

In the real world for a lot of us we need a car to travel to are places of work.
Like myself i work out of the town where I live in where there is no buses or trains that travel to where I work Plus I do shift work so I work all funny hours If there was public transport going to where I work i would use it as long the fair is cheaper then taking the car and i know by friends who work local its just as cheap using the car then paying bus/train fair. This counrty got a long way to get thing right, what we pay in road/fuel tax should be paying for better transport but no its going on other thing they are just ripping us of again.

Just anothe nail in the coffin of rip-off Britain

Not only do people WANT to use their cars over public transport, mostly to avoid having to travel with the chavs, hoodies and drunks but so THEY can decide WHEN and WHERE to travel.

What most people are not mentioning is the millions of lorries and vans on the roads which are getting NO blame for congestion at all whilst often being the prime cause, as how many times have you seen it happen that a lorry or van stops somewhere and that's it nothing can get past it, particularly another lorry or van, result, a que.

So wake up you clean air greenies, short of taking everyone back to the dark ages your ideas won't work, EVER!

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

PS. I almost forgot to say that good old "Publice Trasport" might be subsidised but will it run 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 odd days of the year...Because the people out in the real world don't just work 9-5! Becuase we work our-selves into the ground to pay for this government I think some of us seem to forget the nurses, doctors, police and so forth that need transport to get to and from work at obseen times to look after the rest of the uk that doesn't work these life styles.

Ican't afford a house close to where I work The public transport Can't get me to work for seven o'clock start. Apart from the fact that I would be changing buses quite a few times to cover the 24 miles. A very long day. Improve public transport and I'd use it. Alternatively drop the house prices, or pay me more so my family and I could live close to.

Here are my points of view.
a: Make Public Transport easier and accessible for all including the Disabled and wheelchair bound.
b: Put Conductors/Guards on board Public Transport to ensure that the all users are not afflicted by rude ignorant individuals who swear/spit/drop litter/put their feet on the back or any part of the seating. In other words to Police journeys making them pleasant rather then listen and to observe hostile behaviour..
c: Force more freight off the roads and transport goods via trains to areas where smaller vehicles ie vans can distribute.
d: Build Flyovers (roads above roads) you do not require to waste more land this way.
e: You should still have the choice to use your own forms of transport especially if you've got children and animals along with many suitcases when you travel.

I would like to know the costs for collecting the vehicle excise duty. I found on the web that in 1984-1985 this was £88 million and 4180 people employed. 20-25 years later I assume today this would be hundreds of millions.

What a waste of our money.

The tax should be collected via the fuel, the more you use the more you pay. And we'd be hundreds of millions better off...

AND the government can then stop wasting their time and our time on issues of how and by how much they will amend the vehicle excise duty rates, every year.

Additionally I saw during a visit to Australia that your car tax included 3rd party insurance. Minimum cover. If you wanted more cover, i.e. fully comp., fire and theft, etc you pay for an additional policy from an insurance broker.

Evolving from this idea, I think if 3rd party insurance should be paid via vehicle excise duty. The more you drive, the more risk you are and the more you pay.

This would reduce the amount of uninsured vehicles which I read on a government website was 2 million or 6% of the UK vehicle fleet.

While this way would not be completely fair for all it's better than the existing system.

have just received my road tax annual registration form. My car (SEAT AROSA small car - 5 years old) is £120. A friend of mine was forced to purchase a new a car; (because her old car could not be repaired) her road tax is £35. We both live in an area were public transport is virtually none existence and need our cars to travel to work and back. We do not work at the same place or area, so it is not possible to car share. My friend is finding the repayments of the car quite stressful. We both work with children with special needs (on low pay) but find and enjoy the job very much. She along with me is seriously thing of leaving the job due to financial constricts. Do the people who think that by forcing people to buy new cars or face paying higher road tax live in this REAL WORLD? The majority of people need their cars and they are not a luxury. I feel very angry and frustrated that - 1 - I have to pay more road tax for my car (because I am unable to afford a new one and cannot do without it. - 2 - The public transport is virtually none existent - 3 - I do not want to be forced to leave my job working with children with various special needs (autistic - downs syndrome - cerebral palsy)

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

Hi everyone. The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness, can be trained to do most things.
I am from Islands and now study English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "in refined developments, grades are known and make liposuction."

With respect :-(, Rachelle.

How are you doing.
I am from Malawi and , too, and now am writing in English, give true I wrote the following sentence: "Affordable lace wigs, june brown died the four-in-hand in 1993, short with the history of dot's time."

THX 8), Newton.

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