Road Pricing Targets 4×4s

THE ubiquitous 4×4 may give its owner a sense of prestige as they look down from on high at the great unwashed beneath the wheels, but these heavy-duty Chelsea Tractors block the roads and are far more likely to injure anyone they hit. They are about as eco-friendly as an oil spill.

And so it is that drivers of these gas-guzzling giants could face higher road pricing charges under proposals released by the Government.

The draft Local Transport Bill has a strong environmental slant and insists that councils who propose a pay-as-you-drive system will have to take each car’s green credentials into account.

The bill follows Ken Livingstone’s plans to introduce a £25 congestion charge in London for larger cars.

However, critics have branded the new bill a “Trojan Horse” for a planned nationwide scheme of road pricing.

The AA’s Paul Walters is particularly concerned about the proposals to give passenger transport authorities a say in any road pricing scheme. Says he: “These authorities are not directly elected and we fear they would be at the very least one step removed from the ballot box.”

Meanwhile the alternative to driving is to walk (and inhale the fumes), cycle (and get run over) or pay a fortune to take the slow train and wait and wait and wait for the relief driver to return from his toilet break…

Anorak

Posted: 23rd, May 2007 | In: Money Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink