These are my proposals for changes relating to transport in the coming Budget.
A reduction in the Excise Duty on petrol and diesel by 25 pence per litre.
Road Tax to be reduced by 25% on all cars. New tax class for caravans at £25.00 per year due to road space used.
Scrapping of taxation of benefit in kind relating to company cars.
A 50% increase in Road Tax for long bendy buses as they are too long.
All fines relating to vehicle offences to be added to the transport Budget to benefit law abiding transport users.
The surplus of Congestion Charge fees should be spent on improved roads and car parks not subsidies to public transport.
To pay for the direct reductions in the taxes above it will be necessary for the rate of VAT to be raised to 19%, which is similar to many other European countries.
The above proposals shall be open to discussion and amendment by the Backroomers.
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Bendy buses to pay negative road tax, since they provide such a comfortable and safe journey for passengers that they are the best buses to tempt people out of cars.
All fines relating to vehicle offences to be used to fund extra traffic police, once the costs of cameras etc have been covered -- no surplus to treasury.
Congestion charge fees to be tripled, to achieve the 50% cut in urban traffic levels required to seriously reduce congestion; congestion charging to be mandatory in all major urban areas.
B-i-k taxation of company cars to be doubled, to avoid distortion of transport patterns created by company cars.
Road tax to include a vehicle-weight levy, to discourage unnecesary use of heavy vehicles; special £1000 levy on vehicles with off-road capability (except for farmers).
50% discount in road tax for vehicles fitted with driver-controlled speed-limiting devices, to encourage more widespread deployment.
All vehicles required to display RFID tax and insurance discs, the latter to be sold at cost.
Introduction of toll booths on major motorways, with requirement for zero toll for vehicles carrying more than one person.
Taxation on HGVs to be increased over five years to a level sufficient to cover full economic cost, i.e. about £15,000 pa.
Public transport subsidies to be massively increased, to reduce fares to levels they would have reached if costs had fallen as much as motoring costs in the last ten years.
Experimental scheme to encourage shared use of cars, by waiving road tax and residential parking charges for vehicles in approved car-sharing schemes.
Fines to be introduced for drivers wearing seatbelts.
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You asked for it, Dodger!
But, "Fines to be introduced for drivers wearing seatbelts" ??
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But, "Fines to be introduced for drivers wearing seatbelts" ??
For drivers only; still compulsory for passengers.
It's a moderate version of the spike-on-steering-wheel idea.
It could be enhanced by the banning of airbags to protect drivers, but moderation in all things ... :)
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> 50% discount in road tax for vehicles fitted with
> driver-controlled speed-limiting devices, to encourage more
> widespread deployment.
I'd really like a system where I had a 30, 40, 60 and 70 button in the car, and if I press the button that's the maximum speed I can do. So when I enter a 30 zone I hit the 30 button and car won't go over 30. The system could be overridden by putting the accelerator to the floor.
Do the 'driver-controlled speed-limiting devices' you speak of do this? If so, any links/info about them? I imagine retro-fitting would be hard, but a new car with that feature would be attractive.
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£25 for caravans - far too little, it won't pay for the system. Make it £50 and a requirement for them to have annual MoT tests.
Increase the amount of toll roads, but offer good discounts for travelling out of regular hours - BUT the 11pm - 6am reduction period for the M6 toll is silly. I suggest 8pm - 7am.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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(Mods, sorry about the thread thrift!)
I'd really like a system where I had a 30, 40, 60 and 70 button in the car, and if I press the button that's the maximum speed I can do. So when I enter a 30 zone I hit the 30 button and car won't go over 30. The system could be overridden by putting the accelerator to the floor.
That's almost exactly what I had in mind.
The only thing I've used so far was a speed-warning device in a Volvo V40, which took so long to set (twiddle 6 stalks in sequence, whilst reading pages 103-416 of manual) that it was positively dangerous unles you set it in advance to one speed and left it on.
I think that they way I would like it to work is to have one button or stalk which combined on/off with limit selection, and a little digital readout beside the speedo to give you an easy indication of the current setting without having to peer down and examine the switch.
Do the 'driver-controlled speed-limiting devices' you speak of do this? If so, any links/info about them? I imagine retro-fitting would be hard, but a new car with that feature would be attractive.
I have only seen them listed in new French cars (the Renault Modus and Citroen C4), but have never seen a description of what they are like to use. Would like to see more info if anyone finds it.
I just checked the Renault site: combined "Cruise Control with Speed Limiter" is only £200 extra on a Modus, which sounds like a bargain. Pity more manufacturers don't offer it -- much cheaper nad much more useful than the silly alloy wheels which most cars seem to have these days!
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special £1000 levy on vehicles with off-road capability (except for farmers).
Oi be a farrrrrmer now. There be veggies growin in thaaat patch at bottom o wot used to be arrr garrrden. So no issue with the X5 then, you see. To keep up appearances, I suppose I'd have to drive it around at 5mph or below from time to time.
I'd go further than hypothecating the revenue raised by traffic & vehicle offences. I'd devote all revenue from vehicle, fuel, driver or traffic taxation to the construction, operation and policing of our roads. Then we could fund work to improve the safety of roads by changing their design, rather than just reducing their capacity.
And I would be inclined to impose negative vehicle taxation on buses. Provided they are full of passengers. That bus in front of me that is carrying no-one bar the driver, occupying the space of three cars, turning the air black every time the driver touches the accelerator, and travelling at 1/3 the safe speed for the stretch of road concerned, it can be taxed to the extent that I should be if it was my personal transportation.
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Road Tax to be halved for petrol cars. Doubled for diesels that don't meet the EuroIV regs or beyond (PM10s and general noise!)
Free road tax for classic cars of 25 years and older.
Higher taxes for HGVs and subsidised rail transport for goods.
Funding for transport to be apportioned according to percentage of journeys undertaken by each method.
Removal of £60 on fixed penalty. Should only be points as road safety shouldn't be used to generate money.
Removal of VAT on broadband so more people can work from home.
If extra taxes are needed then I'd put on a few p on income tax as that is the fairest tax.
teabelly
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£1000 fines for any urbanite who suggests public transport in its present form as a panacea to congestion and £5000 for suggesting increasing taxation on cars without providing any feasible solutions.
All monies to be reinvested in public transports for rural commuters so that there is an alternative to taking the car.
Have just checked- my 90 minute drive to work and back takes 12 hours on National Express. Trains? To rural towns? Ever visited the countryside?
Car sharing? Would love to share my fuel bill and driving with as many people as possible. But no one lives close enough for this to be viable.
Yes we should do a lot more to reduce congestion and pollution. Until the investment and infrastructure is there then a lot of people will have no other choice than to drive.
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a nice high road tax for cycles, and compulsory helmets and insurance for them also
make sure the tax covers the 30 % of road now given over to cycle lanes
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Many interesting ideas so far, but please remember that we must balance the books. So proposals for tax raising must be included.
I feel sure that we have not fully discussed the proposed Budget. Would all Backroomers please add your ideas.
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Hear Hear, PW.
I once asked Prescott for suggestions as to public transport alternatives to my (then) 20 minute drive to work. I certainly couldn't see one, although his stated policy was to encourage PT use.
Answer there was none, despite the then availability to him of the entire DoT.
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Buses to pay for the road space set aside for their exclusive use, in the same way that train companies, via Notwork Rail, have to pay for the track that they use.
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Abolish car tax altogether, increase fuel duty by say 40p gallon (8p/L) budget neutral, gas guzzlers (inc. 2 Jags) would then pay proportionately more (though we ALL pay for his anyway!)OAP doing 5 miles per week, and/or rural people doing weekly trip would pay much less.
Ditto for lorries, making sure Euro registered vehicles coming here pay same for fuel as British truckers - Port Levy on full tanks ? - and/or remove duty differential!
Retain window disk as combined proof of MOT/Insurance - Wouldn't have to fire a load of poor civil servants (a misnomer anyway imo)
Stop persecuting motorists for minor speeding/mobile phone/etc. etc. but punish properly those drivers that drive recklessly and kill/injure anyone else - such that it is a genuine deterent to this behaviour.
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A 100% tax increase on all hobbies I don't persue, vehicles I don't drive and any vices which haven't hooked me. Tax exemption on Ford Mondeo's, Suzuki bikes and Cannondale cycles. Tax rebates to smokers funded by VAT on health foods and gym membership.
Or shall we leave it to Gordon, whoose ideas seem rather sensible after reading this thread?
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Tax exemption on Ford Mondeo's, Suzuki bikes and Cannondale cycles.
Oi! We of the Kona appreciation party take exception to your blatant bikist attitude.....
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And increased road tax for moderators.
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25% tax on cars with foglights- to teach driver how to switch on in fog, and off when not foggy (deceptively tricky to work out it seems).
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Free LPG for us that run on the stuff as it is lovely and clean and is a bi-product of refining anyway.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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