WHO WANTS TO SCRAP ROAD TAX???

halfords wizzkid
halfords wizzkid Posts: 1,387
edited June 2007 in Campaign
I certainly do, the amount of times we have to pay shed loads of cash for our cars and the roads are getting worse, the public transport is joke and the trains are getting over crowded.[:0][:(!]

And to top it all off it's all too BLOODY EXPENSIVE!!!![}:)]

The only reason I bring this up is that a road running outside our house is full of pot holes and dangerous drain covers which have sunk, and i've complained to the local Elmbridge borough council about it on numerous occasions, and guess what?? they are looking into it!! this was 8 months ago!! argh it makes my blood boil!![:(!][}:)]

And it cost me and darcy œ5 each for a return to Kingston from Walton last week and also it cost a disgusting œ9.50 each for a bloody one day travelcard into london OFF-PEAK!![:(!][:0]

No wonder people take their cars everywhere, I certainly would if I didn't have a bike.

Take this as an example London to Brighton by train return on a weekday off-peak œ19.50!! and I fill my car up with œ15, I managed to get there and back for less then would be to take the train, and it's quicker (about an hour).[:(!]

It makes you sick doesn't it? making us pay over the odds for a crap service, and I am British FFS!![}:)]

I feel better now, rant over.[;)]

P.S. Sorry if it doesn't make sense I was in a mood!![}:)]

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z241/ashh2_album/
«13

Comments

  • Regulator
    Regulator Posts: 417
    It was scrapped years ago whizzkid (1974 I think).



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  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    And by scrapping the tax that we don't have - that will help matters how exactly ?
  • Or how about just getting our useless ****ing government to make things a little bit cheaper so that us poor people can afford to travel and do things!!

    ie no VAT!!

    http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z241/ashh2_album/
  • BentMikey
    BentMikey Posts: 4,895
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Regulator</i>

    It was scrapped years ago whizzkid (1974 I think).
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    ITYM the 1930s mate.

    <font size="1">My bikes
    My skates</font id="size1">

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  • domd1979
    domd1979 Posts: 526
    Public transport fares are zero-VAT rated...


    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>

    Or how about just getting our useless ****ing government to make things a little bit cheaper so that us poor people can afford to travel and do things!!

    ie no VAT!!

    http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z241/ashh2_album/
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
  • Regulator
    Regulator Posts: 417
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by BentMikey</i>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Regulator</i>

    It was scrapped years ago whizzkid (1974 I think).
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    ITYM the 1930s mate.

    <font size="1">My bikes
    My skates</font id="size1">

    If I had a baby elephant, I'd teach it to skate.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">




    You're correct - I'm thick... [:D]

    ___________________________
    Bugger elephants - capabari are cuter!
    ___________________________
    Bugger elephants - capabari are cuter!
  • dondare
    dondare Posts: 2,113
    The road fund was set up in 1910 and abolished in 1936.

    "da sapienti et addetur ei sapientia doce iustum et festinabit accipere."
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  • mjones
    mjones Posts: 1,915
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>
    ...
    And it cost me and darcy œ5 each for a return to Kingston from Walton last week and also it cost a disgusting œ9.50 each for a bloody one day travelcard into london OFF-PEAK!![:(!][:0]

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    œ9.50 for all your travel for a day out in London? Top value I'd say. How much would you spend on meals, drinks, entertainment?

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
    Take this as an example London to Brighton by train return on a weekday off-peak œ19.50!! and I fill my car up with œ15, I managed to get there and back for less then would be to take the train, and it's quicker (about an hour).[:(!]

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    Have you got a Network Card? Gets you a third off off-peak travel.

    The costs of your car aren't just the petrol of course. If you were claiming mileage on expenses you could get 40p per mile, more than most rail fares. We have this anomaly where car travel is cheaper than public transport when people decide how to travel, but more expensive when they claim their expenses...
  • CometGirl
    CometGirl Posts: 2,681
    So, ride your bike?

    I thought one of the reasons public transport and fuel are both so expensive is to encourage people not to use them. I can't afford to take the tube to work, so I don't. It's just happy coincidence that cycling is my hobby as well as my means of transport.
  • BigWomble
    BigWomble Posts: 455
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>

    I certainly do, the amount of times we have to pay shed loads of cash for our cars and the roads are getting worse, the public transport is joke and the trains are getting over crowded.[:0][:(!]

    And to top it all off it's all too BLOODY EXPENSIVE!!!![}:)]

    The only reason I bring this up is that a road running outside our house is full of pot holes and dangerous drain covers which have sunk, and i've complained to the local Elmbridge borough council about it on numerous occasions, and guess what?? they are looking into it!! this was 8 months ago!! argh it makes my blood boil!![:(!][}:)]

    And it cost me and darcy œ5 each for a return to Kingston from Walton last week and also it cost a disgusting œ9.50 each for a bloody one day travelcard into london OFF-PEAK!![:(!][:0]

    No wonder people take their cars everywhere, I certainly would if I didn't have a bike.

    Take this as an example London to Brighton by train return on a weekday off-peak œ19.50!! and I fill my car up with œ15, I managed to get there and back for less then would be to take the train, and it's quicker (about an hour).[:(!]

    It makes you sick doesn't it? making us pay over the odds for a crap service, and I am British FFS!![}:)]

    I feel better now, rant over.[;)]

    P.S. Sorry if it doesn't make sense I was in a mood!![}:)]

    http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z241/ashh2_album/
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    Although it may not seem like it, cars are cheaper today in real terms than in the 1980s. The public transport in this country is a joke because people walk away from it. In Santiago, when the government messed up the public transport, the public organised mass protests about it. Government ministers lost their jobs over it.

    As you might expect, the local councils can't raise money for fixing roads - it comes from the central government pot, and there is a massive backlog, even with the spartan repair and renew schedule. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a road being resurfaced.

    Cars have a lot more costs than the petrol. The thing is that when people have paid over the cash/arm/leg for this, that and the other, they then feel that the cost of each journey is the cost of the petrol. This skews their perception of what is value-for-money.

    The VED (vehicle excise duty), a.k.a 'road tax', should be added onto the petrol. It's like proportional representation, or an independent Bank of England - politicians have a large number of excuses as to why it wouldn't work, but when it's done, it looks so reasonable.


    Ta - Arabic for moo-cow
    Ta - Arabic for moo-cow
  • domd1979
    domd1979 Posts: 526
    Further anomaly where I work... I lease my car through work. Last year my lease payments went up because I hadn't claimed enough miles!! Had I driven to lots of meetings instead of getting the train as I usually do, my payments would probably have gone down. On the plus side, they're looking at banning anything with >185g/km CO2 emissions from the lease scheme - so that would (I guess) mean the directors kissing good bye to their BMWs... Remains to be seen if that happens though.

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by mjones</i>
    The costs of your car aren't just the petrol of course. If you were claiming mileage on expenses you could get 40p per mile, more than most rail fares. We have this anomaly where car travel is cheaper than public transport when people decide how to travel, but more expensive when they claim their expenses...
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
  • nortones2
    nortones2 Posts: 208
    Well said Big Womble and Mjones. If we invested nationally as much as the Victorians, we'd have public transport, on time, clean, policed rather than anarchic, and popular. However, we prefer to spend every 3 years on expensive, over-consuming assets which are 85% unused - the private car.
  • Pringlecp
    Pringlecp Posts: 771
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by mjones</i>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>
    ...
    And it cost me and darcy œ5 each for a return to Kingston from Walton last week and also it cost a disgusting œ9.50 each for a bloody one day travelcard into london OFF-PEAK!![:(!][:0]

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    <b>œ9.50 for all your travel for a day out in London? Top value I'd say. How much would you spend on meals, drinks, entertainment? </b>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
    Take this as an example London to Brighton by train return on a weekday off-peak œ19.50!! and I fill my car up with œ15, I managed to get there and back for less then would be to take the train, and it's quicker (about an hour).[:(!]

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    Have you got a Network Card? Gets you a third off off-peak travel.

    The costs of your car aren't just the petrol of course. If you were claiming mileage on expenses you could get 40p per mile, more than most rail fares. We have this anomaly where car travel is cheaper than public transport when people decide how to travel, but more expensive when they claim their expenses...
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    Sounds good - but the problem is that it's the same price if you don't want to travel round all day and just want a return to a station a few miles away, for example, 5 of us went for a meal in the west end, travelling from Twickenham, last weekend. To go by train would have cost around œ50 - so we went by car - far far cheaper for a 25 mile round trip

    In penzance the other day - picking up my one way œ35 ticket back to Twickenham (not too bad - but I had booked it weeks ago) - the girl in front of me in the queue had just got some tickets for a gig at the NEC and was enquiring about train tickets for her and her friend for the following week - best offer was œ297 return - that's not "public" transport as far as I'm concerned - she could have bought a second hand car in Cornwall for that - flights might have been cheaper.


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  • Noodley
    Noodley Posts: 1,725
    HWK - have you got your licence back yet? remember, you got banned? for driving at excesssive speed - what about your insurance costs? have they gone up? it's idiots like you who make it dangerous to ride bikes on the road. so stop being an ar5e.
  • gavintc
    gavintc Posts: 3,009
    Road tax (sic) is less than 50p a day. 50p with today's petrol/diesel costs will get you between 3-5 miles. Your excise duty is a actually quite cheap when compared with other motoring costs; depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance. It makes the bus/train really a bargain. Perhaps you should flog the car and enjoy the cheap alternative.
  • Cunobelin
    Cunobelin Posts: 11,792
    ................... and one of the cheapest in Europe

    DEpending on whose figures you believe, and what you include, (such as Policing and Accidents, Societal costs etc) the average vehicle is subsidised foe its basic costs by between œ500 - œ1,500 per year. Now if we were to recall this subsidy so vehicles were cost-neutral and pay the same money into public transport, we would be able to improve things dramatically

    <b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
    He that buys flesh buys many bones.
    He that buys eggs buys many shells,
    But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
    (Unattributed Trad.)
    <b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
    He that buys flesh buys many bones.
    He that buys eggs buys many shells,
    But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
    (Unattributed Trad.)
  • Noodley, I have got my licence back thanks, and not proud of what I did, but also I have the greatest respect for cyclists as I am one myself, I allow plenty of room and I watch my mirrors.

    I don't drive at excessive speeds or drive dangerously anymore not only due to the fact I now have a soon to be wife and child on board, but I know if I speed or drive dangerously again I will be banned for a longer period of time which I don't need.

    And yes of course I've paid the ultimate price for my actions with regards to my insurance, but luckily i'm on my missus policy, in which she has got a years no claims bonus and it's only œ1000 fully comp with budget insurance

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  • Simon L2
    Simon L2 Posts: 2,908
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>
    ....I now have a soon to be wife and child on board,
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    speaking as the father of girls, this piece of intelligence has quite spoilt my day
  • gandalfcp
    gandalfcp Posts: 220
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>

    And yes of course I've paid the ultimate price for my actions with regards to my insurance, but luckily i'm on my missus policy, in which she has got a years no claims bonus and it's only œ1000 fully comp with budget insurance

    http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z241/ashh2_album/
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    I beg to differ, having to pay higher insurance premiums is hardly 'the ultimate price' is it?

    All too often it is the victims of irresponsible drivers who pay the ultimate price, along with their loved ones.
  • linfordlunchbox
    linfordlunchbox Posts: 4,834
    I worked out scrapping VED to equate to about 13p on a litre of fuel for an average car doing 40mpg and about 10,000 miles per year iirc.

    Bring it on


    "I\'d clean my car with a baby elephant - if I had a baby elephant !"
  • I've got a MTB, I don't need roads, NEXT!

    Wheelies ARE cool.
    Wheelies ARE cool.

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  • Simon L2
    Simon L2 Posts: 2,908
    I'm with Halfords Whizzkid on this one. I'd scrap the VED tomorrow. It's regressive. I'd double the price of petrol, though. People have a choice about the kind of car they drive.
  • <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Simon L2</i>

    I'm with Halfords Whizzkid on this one. I'd scrap the VED tomorrow. It's regressive. I'd double the price of petrol, though. People have a choice about the kind of car they drive.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    Double the price of petrol, and put up the cost of <b>everything</b> in the UK?
    No thanks.

    Wheelies ARE cool.
    Wheelies ARE cool.

    Zaskar X
  • Simon L2
    Simon L2 Posts: 2,908
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by MattBlackBigBoysBMX</i>
    Double the price of petrol, and put up the cost of <b>everything</b> in the UK?
    No thanks.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    or persuade people to make more sensible choices? Let's recall, for a moment, why 'mad cow disease' spread throughout the UK in days. I'm not moralising here - you may have seen the family carbon footprint calculation, so you may know I have no grounds to - but cheap fuel gives rise to congestion, gives rise to bizarre economies (hauling bricks from one side of the country to the other, or bringing them in from Germany), and gives rise to the ever widening spread of exurbia.
  • More sensible choices about what? If you really want to pay more for your bread and milk then simply send me money everytime you go shopping.

    "cheap fuel gives rise to congestion, gives rise to bizarre economies (hauling bricks from one side of the country to the other, or bringing them in from Germany), and gives rise to the ever widening spread of exurbia."

    When have we had cheap fuel? I thought it had only ever increased in price? I think you'll find heavy duty on fuel has led to more imports as it is cheaper to transport them into this country using cheaper foreign fuel. It only encourages money to leave the country, which is not a good thing.

    The last time this country had cheap fuel, we didn't have congestion.

    Wheelies ARE cool.
    Wheelies ARE cool.

    Zaskar X
  • pzycoman
    pzycoman Posts: 285
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by halfords wizzkid</i>
    And yes of course I've paid the ultimate price for my actions
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    You died?!? [:0]
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  • Archcp
    Archcp Posts: 8,987
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Simon L2</i>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by MattBlackBigBoysBMX</i>
    Double the price of petrol, and put up the cost of <b>everything</b> in the UK?
    No thanks.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    or persuade people to make more sensible choices? Let's recall, for a moment, why 'mad cow disease' spread throughout the UK in days.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    You mean Foot and Mouth?

    Anyway, MattBlackBigBoysBMX, perhaps we should just increase the privce of petrol to private motorists. In this day and age, it shouldn't be beyond the system for hauliers/delivery companies to have a card entitling them to one price of fuel, while private cars pay another. The traffic congestion I see appears to be mostly private cars, usually with one person in them...

    If I had a baby elephant, it could help me clean the car. If I had a car.
    If I had a baby elephant, it could help me clean the car. If I had a car.
  • _Bonj_
    _Bonj_ Posts: 39
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Regulator</i>

    It was scrapped years ago whizzkid (1974 I think).

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    NO need to be so pedantic, it's a valid point. We do pay lots of money in road tax and don't see much for it.
  • linfordlunchbox
    linfordlunchbox Posts: 4,834
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by _Bonj_</i>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Regulator</i>

    It was scrapped years ago whizzkid (1974 I think).

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    NO need to be so pedantic, it's a valid point. We do pay lots of money in road tax and don't see much for it.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

    Simply not true - How else did they fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ?


    "I'd clean my car with a baby elephant - if I had a baby elephant !"


    "I\'d clean my car with a baby elephant - if I had a baby elephant !"
  • _Bonj_
    _Bonj_ Posts: 39
    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by linfordlunchbox</i>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by _Bonj_</i>

    <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Regulator</i>

    It was scrapped years ago whizzkid (1974 I think).

    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    NO need to be so pedantic, it's a valid point. We do pay lots of money in road tax and don't see much for it.
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
    <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">[:D][:D]
    Reminds me of a quote I heard on an American politics show the other week - "it's a rum do when it costs more to steal oil than it does to buy it."