SUV Owners Must Pay $50 Per Day to Drive in London

I agree FredT,
up to a point.

I'm a cyclist and have had cars block me, try to force me off the road and generally try to bully me - only in the cities though.

Cyclists have a duty to make sure they are as visible as possible and to ensure that other road users are not put in danger (as well as themselves) on country roads.

I try to keep to main roads as much as possible - although I don't cycle so much these days, because of my bad back.

And yes, cyclists should pay a small amount of road tax, proportional to usage.

Originally posted by pavlovsdog
Bully for the Brits! We as a world have to start taking actions like this. If people are using vehicles like this as status symbols, lets make them worthy of that moniker. Drive one, fine with me, but you can pay taxes large enough on them to offset the carbon costs.

Its not a "status symbol" unless your a rapper..

I enjoy my gas guzzling '07, F150 because I like it. Not because I want people to look and say "thats a jolly nice truck".

I can do things with it that a smaller car with less HP cannot do. And besides, the whole climate change is a fiasco that is taking the brits by storm. Yes, there is climate change...but, its a natural cycle. Its happened in the past, and its happening now. Co2 emissions are not the cause of it. The ocean is the number #1 source of Co2 emissions, yet I dont see anybody boycotting the ocean, or "taxing" the ocean..

You people from across the pond are being taken for a ride... Its all a ploy to make more money off you through fear mongering tactics.

reply to post by West Coast


You missed a major point - this is not about climate change, it's about pollution.

As for being taken for a ride, I bet us "brits" are far more cynical about alleged climate change than the majority of those in the US.

Originally posted by budski
reply to post by West Coast

 

You missed a major point - this is not about climate change, it's about pollution.

As for being taken for a ride, I bet us "brits" are far more cynical about alleged climate change than the majority of those in the US.

No I didnt miss the point. The sole purpose for taxing suvs in the first place is because of the perceived "climate change (omg)", which is thought to be caused, by some, Co2 emissions.
And by Pollution... you mean in the form of C02 emissions?..

Originally posted by pavlovsdog
Bully for the Brits! We as a world have to start taking actions like this. If people are using vehicles like this as status symbols, lets make them worthy of that moniker. Drive one, fine with me, but you can pay taxes large enough on them to offset the carbon costs.

That was great, the carbon costs ... is there really a machine someplace filtering out excess emissions from the atmosphere, only it costs a fortune to keep the thing running! . .

Who is benefiting from these $50 payments? Is global warming/cooling/business-as-usual being held off only because these fines are being charged? . . . guess I'm just missing the real-world advantage.

The environment will in the end benefit from teh $50 payments. In the end, it will curb the amount of people driving them in the city.

i think the car makers should be fined for creating SUVs as well. Why just punish consumers for purchasing a product? If the product is so bad, stop it at the manufacturing process, not during the retail process.

What kind of backwards ass logic is this?

reply to post by West Coast


No, this is not tax - this is the congestion charge in London, and cars are banded according to how much POLLUTION they produce.

Did you even read the article?

Then why don't we just make SUV's illegal for the average person? . . only large families or some other volume-specific justification; and perhaps the factories can do something to satisfactorily ensure the public that the vehicles they produce are absolutely, positively the most fuel efficient, clean-emission road machines possible.

And can we get those factories retooled with some clean energy, while we're talking about it . . I mean, London's driver-smog can't seriously be the villainous culprit behind climate change!

reply to post by OptionToChoose


It appears that many don't know what the congestion charge is, or how it works or didn't bother reading the article.

cars that produce a lot of pollution are banded higher and therefore the drivers pay more to drive in the congestion zones in central london to ease both traffic and pollution.

Does nobody read an OP anymore.
geez

reply to post by budski

I read the material I agree with the concept of attempting to reduce the overall congestion, obviously, something has to be done. Yet, I'm always somewhat surprised when I see an area singled-out like this for a counter-measure against global pollution. The problem is so big, so out-of-control ...

I know you know this, almost rambling as I think about the monster up against which the people of the world have been found. Good, hard-working people are nearly out of cash, it seems, and are struggling to keep the bills paid, the kids fed, etc. The oil companies are posting record profits, and that's great for them, but I cannot find in that scenario an emergency which the burdened consumer should be expected to somehow solve with yet another weight tossed upon their already weakening backs.

Love your avatar, btw, budski

[edit on 2/1/2008 by OptionToChoose]

reply to post by citizen smith


While it is perfectly fine to have issues with people driving SUVs, anyone that puts a bumper sticker on another person's property is risking serious legal ramifications. (sarcasm) talk about setting an excellent example (/sarcasm)

[edit on 2/1/08 by Hypntick]

Nice!!! I'm all about it. SUVs irritate me for a lot of reasons not the least of which is the stupid, unnecessary amount of gas they burn.

It also irritates me when people in my family (and god, are there tons of SUVS in my family) talk about how much "safer" they feel driving their SUV. Well yeah, I suppose when you surround yourself with two tons of metal you would feel safer. However, I know if one of these lumbering behemoths crashed into my little, four-cylinder, economical car I'd be dead. So yeah, I guess SUV drivers ARE safer but the rest of us aren't.

I am sure glad I don't live there I like my personal choices to much and call it what you want it is a penalty.


I wrote a big long post about this and deleted it all cause you know it just isn't worth my time.. go ahead give up all your freedoms.



Respectfully
GEO

I think anyone who supports taxing anything and everything should be shot in the head as a traitor to humanity. Taxes are the way to keep the kings rich and the peasants poor and stupid. Taxes eliminate the middle class and brainwash the foolish masses into believing fairytales where the taxes are good because the money fixes all the naughty stuff the common folk do. Good luck in your prison cells. I hope they are green enough for you.

All this environmental campaign happens because of Peak Oil.
The rulers know about it and want to make people to consume less, Peak Oil can bring anarchy and that is what they want to avoid at all costs. Even this coming economic depression I think it was engineered, so that people use less oil.

[edit on 1-2-2008 by pai mei]

Originally posted by budski
It appears that many don't know what the congestion charge is, or how it works or didn't bother reading the article.

I read the article, and I understand that it's a congestion charge (hence my prior post).

I don't believe that most of the people here read the thread, did the research, or understand what cars are going to be charged.

An Audi A6 isn't an SUV, but it's in band G, so it'll be subject to the charge.

It's not an SUV charge, people.

Your pal,
Meat.

50 DOLLARS to drive in London?

They must be releived that they dont have to pay anything of VALUE.

From what i remember of our trip tp london several years ago,
A. there is a really easy to use subway system with adjoing rails to outer areas, my great grandmother lived in Pinner and it was quite easy for two 17 yr old american girls to find there way from central london to pinner using rails and subways.

B. I have never seen such horrendous and sometimes frightening traffic in my life, it made driving in Dallas seem like spring break! Between the huge busses, the cabs and those motorcycles/scooter it was frankly awful.

We also would go back to the hotel at night and I would have a blinding headache...and it wasnt from the Pints! I remember blowing my nose and feeling congested, and smooty nasty blackish stuff would be in the tissue....TMI I know

If someone lives in a rural area and has true need of an SUV then I can see a need for some sort of process by which you could prove your legitamite need for it and get a reduced rate.

But then again You could also park your monster car and take the underground into the central city...I drive a Ford Explorer, and would in no way want to manuever it in the traffic of central london, or any other big city for that matter, its hard enough to find a parking spot for it here in our pitiful downtown.!
and yes i actually do require it with 3 big dogs, a child and a gypsy business that is constantly loading and unloading displays and products for 8 to 72 hours at a time.

I mean really, what are you people still doing in cars anyway?

Did you know electric cars were fully developed in 1917? And the electric spacecraft was perfected in the 50s. You need a king to make things happen around here!