Petrol and Diesel Prices arent high enough - discuss

[jongar]

There has been a lot of talk on the boards recently about the cost of fuel. At one point I even proposed a Mini run to No10 to protest the rising cost. However I have mulled over this and it occurs to me that perhaps fuel costs are not high enough. There is still to much traffic with single passengers on the M25, M6, M1 ect, people still aren't taking advantage of delivered grocery's (waitrose, tesco, sainsbury, asda - i believe all offer it). Perhaps the cost of fuel needs to rise further to create real change in working patterns better suited to environmental issues.

It occures to me we have a duty to preserve the resources and environment, and perhaps paying the real cost of energy is thew way to do that - i fully intend this thread to provoke thought and debate, something we can perhaps use for change - lets be honest there is no real debate in Parliament.

[GR33NIE]

Id suggest making road tax higher for the highest users

ie more miles = more tax

Not really fair on people who only do a low mileage to sting them with the price of fuel, only if the fuel prices were 77p a litre again Those were the days

[jongar]

But doesnt the current system mean that those doing more miles pay more tax - I to loog longily at a photo of the mini at a carwash - in the background 72.7p a litre. Without resorting to a converluted method of road charhing and GPS all of which the government is so very capable of screwing up, isnt this blunt method an effective way of curtailing car use, but perhaps is it doing enough - are the number of journeys being reduced, are people modifying thier driving behavior to counter the upward prices ?

[Capsaisin]

Quote: Originally Posted by GR33NIE

Id suggest making road tax higher for the highest users

ie more miles = more tax

Not really fair on people who only do a low mileage to sting them with the price of fuel, only if the fuel prices were 77p a litre again Those were the days

If only the fuel price was 35p a GALLON again Those WERE the days

[GR33NIE]

Quote: Originally Posted by jongar

But doesnt the current system mean that those doing more miles pay more tax

Isnt it just done on bandings right now? Not actual mileage? Like if you drive a 2litre your gunna be paying more Tax than someone with a 1.2 It doesn't matter the actual mileage you cover

Quote: Originally Posted by jongar

are people modifying thier driving behavior to counter the upward price

Ive tried many a times to changed my driving style to save on fuel, never happens though

[GR33NIE]

Quote: Originally Posted by Capsaisin

If only the fuel price was 35p a GALLON again Those WERE the days

...........................

-----------------> Goes in search of time machine

[a-z]

Quote: Originally Posted by GR33NIE

...........................

-----------------> Goes in search of time machine

here you go!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FLUX-CAPACITOR...QQcmdZViewItem

[ALD0]

No-Fule prices are high enough thankyou!
Many people will use the Motorways on their own for perhaps commuting to work, I totally agree work places should endorse Car sharing and perhaps get some sort of reward for this, but tax does need to be cust, or perhaps charge by the mile like someone else previously said

[matt21]

Quote: Originally Posted by GR33NIE

Id suggest making road tax higher for the highest users

ie more miles = more tax

Not really fair on people who only do a low mileage to sting them with the price of fuel, only if the fuel prices were 77p a litre again Those were the days

i think opposite surely people doing high mileage are being stung by fuel. more miles you do the more you have to pay.

I think maybe they should scrap road tax (same if you do 1,000 or 30,000 miles per year) and add a couple of pence to fuel.

i wouldnt object so much if they reinvested the money back into the roads

however if it is so expensive (and i think it is) maybe we should all go and get some crappy 60+mpg diesel. but then again

[GR33NIE]

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt18

i think opposite surely people doing high mileage are being stung by fuel. more miles you do the more you have to pay.

I think maybe they should scrap road tax (same if you do 1,000 or 30,000 miles per year) and add a couple of pence to fuel.

i wouldnt object so much if they reinvested the money back into the roads

however if it is so expensive (and i think it is) maybe we should all go and get some crappy 60+mpg diesel. but then again

Not all of us are doing 30k next year !

Spose your right though, either way you pay ££££'s basically Anyway a couple more pence on fuel would suit me and not pay tax!

[AprilWhine]

In the US, fuel prices are much too cheap. When every other vehicle on the road during commuting hours is an oversized pickup truck with a single driver, gas needs to increase fourfold.

[Jon Chalk]

Quote: Originally Posted by GR33NIE

Id suggest making road tax higher for the highest users

ie more miles = more tax

Not really fair on people who only do a low mileage to sting them with the price of fuel, only if the fuel prices were 77p a litre again Those were the days

If you're doing low mileage then you're paying less tax. Like it or not, tax on fuel works to penalise heavy users - if you drive a stupid, heavy SUV, then you're paying more per mile than I am in my Cooper (if you can afford to, well done - if you can't, then change your car). If you're doing more miles than I am, then you're paying more tax than I am)

I have a 54 mile round trip commute to work, that would take three bus changes or two train changes (& 2 hours each way) - it is my choice to drive & so I choose to drive a (relatively) small, economical car. If you tax me per mile travelled, rather than per gallon used, then I will go & buy a much less economical, more polluting car & how does that help??

PS Everyone knows that £2.50 / gallon (55p / litre) were the "good old days"

[GR33NIE]

Everyone might find this handy! Prices from around the globe

Yes 65% Is taken as TAX in the UK!!!!!!!!!

[Tonyt3]

Total b0ll**s if you dont mind me saying.

It isnt the amount we pay thats the issue. its the amount pertcentage wise the government takes as Tax but then does not invest or wastes.

Food deliveries from tesco - your haveing laugh mate. Nothing to do with saving fuel. Ever tried arranging a delivery? All decent slots are usually booked.

If you want to make a real difference, stop buying fresh fruit imported from countries like the states and australia and the carribean. Stop buying potatoes from Germany that some german has been paid a fortune in subsidies to grow. Stop buyinf Apples imported from France. This is the stuff thats in all those lorries that cross our country every day. Its not needed. We grow our own Potatoes and apples after all. Buy your exotic fruit in cans - its not flown in daily to keeo it fresh.

Charging people based on their milage already happens. its called fuel duty at the pump.
Increased fuel duty is a penalty on the less well off. i have to travel 80 miles a day to work as the jobs are based in an area that I cant afford to live in. Commuting is whats burning fuel reservers, if the jobs were moved to where the people live then we'd all have a better life and use less fuel.

Get the empty buses off the road, ban SUVs from the school run, force freight back onto the rail lines.

Leave the roads to us Mini drivers

[dietcokeplease]

Quote: Originally Posted by jongar

There is still to much traffic with single passengers on the M25, M6, M1 ect,

There will always be too much traffic on these routes as they are the historical capital centres and industry centres. The only way to reduce traffic would be to legislate so that companies have to build in less populated areas (which brings it's own problems).

Quote:

people still aren't taking advantage of delivered grocery's (waitrose, tesco, sainsbury, asda - i believe all offer it).

I stop off at Tesco to shop on my way home from work. So there is very minimal environmental and congestion cost anyway. Delivered groceries bring their own problems - staff who don't choose the correct goods, poor quality of produce, instantaneous expiry dates, order pickers who drive to work, fuel in delivery vehicles etc.

Quote:

Perhaps the cost of fuel needs to rise further to create real change in working patterns better suited to environmental issues.

Most service industries are based in areas with no practical public transport and there has been no significant construction of railways to these areas. Many people simply have no choice other than to use a car.

That said we do need a more punitive road tax system for higher polluting cars. Most people who can afford to drive say a Range Rover could easily afford a road tax of £2100 rather than the £210 they pay now.