"Ed Stasiak" > wrote in message
oups.com...
BBC News
Sunday, 5 June, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4610755.stm

'Pay-as-you-go' road charge plan

New charges could be used to tackle road congestion
Drivers could pay up to £1.34 a mile in "pay-as-you go"
road charges under new government plans.

The transport secretary said the charges, aimed at cutting
congestion, would replace road tax and petrol duty.

Alistair Darling said change was needed if the UK was to
avoid the possibility of "LA-style gridlock" within 20
years.

Every vehicle would have a black box to allow a satellite
system to track their journey, with prices starting from
as little as 2p per mile in rural areas.

Mr Darling has outlined his proposals to the BBC - previewing
a speech he will give to the Social Market Foundation on
Thursday.

"The advantage is that you would free up capacity on the
roads, you would reduce the congestion that we would otherwise
face and you would avoid the gridlock that you see in many
American cities today," he said.

"This is a prize well worth going for. We've got to ask
ourselves: would it work. Could it bring the benefits that
I believe it could bring, because it would make a real change
to the way we drive in this country."

A satellite tracking system would be used to enforce the
toll, with prices varying from 2p per mile for driving on
a quiet road out of the rush hour to £1.34 for motorways
at peak times.

The Department of Transport says the scheme would be fairer
because those who travel greater distances would pay the most.


(snip)

In other words, another tax that favors the rich. I don't know how it is in
England, but a similar road use taxing scheme in the U.S. would hit the poor
and middle-class HARD, while the rich would hardly pay anything at all.

In the U.S., most people can't afford to LIVE anywhere near where they WORK.
That's because the employers are in areas where housing prices are sky-high.
The rich will have condos or houses near enough to work that they can walk
or ride a bicycle. Everbody else (the middle class and down) have to
commute to work, most driving a half hour or longer one way.

Result: Almost all road maintenance paid by the poor and middle class, and
almost NOTHING paid by the rich for maintaining the roads. Great
ystem. -Dave