[Vision2020] Satellite toll plan to make drivers pay by the mile

[lfalen]

This is not a good idea.
-----Original message-----
From: "Dick Schmidt" dickschmidt at moscow.com
Date: Sat,  4 Jun 2005 21:35:29 -0700
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Satellite toll plan to make drivers pay by the mile

> Is this in our future here??? $2.42 a mile to drive your car???
> 
> Dick Schmidt
> 
> 
> Satellite toll plan to make drivers pay by the mile
> Darling orders nationwide road pricing. Charge of £1.34 a mile on > busiest roads (1.34 Pounds = $2.428)
> By Francis Elliott, Deputy Political Editor
> 05 June 2005 
> 
> British motorists face paying a new charge for every mile they drive in > a revolutionary scheme to be introduced within two years.
> 
> Drivers will pay according to when and how far they travel throughout > the country's road network under proposals being developed by the > Government.
> 
> Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Transport, revealed that > pilot areas will be selected in just 24 months' time as he made clear > his determination to press ahead with a national road pricing scheme.
> 
> Each of Britain's 24 million vehicles would be tracked by satellite if a > variable "pay-as-you-drive" charge replaces the current road tax.
> 
> In an interview with The Independent on Sunday, Mr. Darling warned that > unless action is taken now, the country "could face gridlock" within two > decades.
> 
> Official research suggests national road pricing could increase the > capacity of Britain's network by as much as 40 per cent at a stroke, he > said.
> 
> The rapid uptake of satellite navigational technology in cars is helping > to usher in the new "pay-as-you-drive" charge much sooner than had been > expected. Figures contained in a government feasibility study have > suggested motorists could pay up to £1.34 for each mile they travel > during peak hours on the most congested roads.
> 
> Although a fully operational national scheme is still considered to be a > decade away, Mr. Darling said local schemes could be up and running > within five years. Manchester is considered a front-runner, with local > authorities in the Midlands and London also pressing to be considered > for a £2.5bn central fund to introduce the change.
> 
> Most of the necessary technology already exists. Lorries will be tracked > by satellite and charged accordingly from 2007. The main obstacle to > constructing a scheme to track Britain's 24 million private vehicles is > public opinion, and Mr. Darling is determined to start making the case > now.
> 
> "You could dance around this for years but every year the problem is > getting worse," he said.
> 
> "We have got to do everything we can during the course of this > Parliament to decide whether or not we go with road pricing. Something > of this magnitude will span several parliaments and you need 'buy-in' > not just from political parties but also from the general public.
> 
> "Drivers have got to see that they benefit," he said, adding that one of > the "weaknesses" of the congestion charging scheme introduced in the > capital by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was that it delivered a > "general benefit not a particular benefit". Motorists could feel they > are paying a penalty to support buses they do not use.
> 
> The national road-pricing scheme, by contrast, has got to work so > there's "something in it for me", said Mr Darling in advance of a > keynote speech on the issue this Thursday.
> 
> Despite his insistence that the scheme would lead to no overall increase > in the level of taxation as road taxes and fuel duties are reduced or > abolished, it is bound to prompt fresh claims that Labour is waging a > "war on motorists".
> 
> Some campaigners, meanwhile, are pressing Mr Darling to introduce new > levies on individual roads immediately, using existing microwave > technology or tolls. But that would force traffic on to quieter roads > while entrenching opposition to a national scheme, ministers believe.
> 
> However, new and expanded roads are likely to see innovations such as > car-sharing lanes, available to single drivers only if they pay a > premium. 
>