If you live in the UK and haven't signed the petition against Road Tax per mile then please do so now to help stop this coming into force!

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

I've already signed it and I hope you will all do the same.
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This one closes tonight so you better be quick!
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I would have done, but I don't drive and don't intend to in the future, therefore I'm not really bothered about whether they charge for using certain roads.

I don't think it is a very good idea. It would prohably help cut down on the amount of traffic, but would end up very expensive for some people.
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Trust me, you definately don't want this. It is the most stupid thing to ever been thought up, ever.
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Do you use public transport for everything or do you get lifts from people? Consider if they're charging per mile, people may be far more reluctant to give you a lift if they know they're paying per mile (on top of the fuel cost).

No it wouldn't! No matter how much some people would try to brainwash you into thinking - for many people (>95% I'd guess) they drive because they have to, not because they want to. For most people it would just mean they get taxed more, which means they have less income which leads to them spending less on other things. The remaining people drive because they enjoy driving so a tax increase isn't going to make them stop.

Did the London charging scheme work? Not really, it just made it more congested outside the charging zone.

Then we get onto the 'Big Brother' style surveillance a black box system would provide. Oh and then, seems as speed = distance/time, it's working out distance as part of it's job and a clock is there if the price changes throughout the day, instant tickets issued when you creep 2-3 miles over the speed limit.

Finally, there's of course the ability for the govt. to fraud the scheme. A road close for roadworks that takes a bit longer to finish, and a diversion that's a little bit lengthier than necessary = $$$
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I just have to ask this. Why don't you intend to drive in the future Steve? Granted that currently you are not old enough to drive, but don't you want to be able to later on? To have your own freedom to travel anywhere you like?

Public transport is quite limiting outside of main cities in the UK these days, so unless you intend to only ever venture within the public network of your local town/city you will find it much harder to get about without a car.

Also, how do you think the companies running the public services are going to be paying the pay per mile road taxes? They will increase the fares, and therefore you as a users of public transport will end up having to pay the tax anyway though your increased travel fares.

And as Alex said, how would it cut down on the amount of traffic? People need to use a car to get to work, mainly because there is no reliable public transport to get them to their place of work.

As an example, lets take the journey I would need to make to get to my place of work in the evenings. Currently I drive to work and it takes me around 25 to 30 minutes travelling a relatively straight journey down an A road and then a motorway. I leave at about 5:30pm and arrive at work just before 6:00pm

If I didn't have access to a car and tried to use public transport from my house I would have the following option. One bus route travelling to Southampton, which happens to not be where I work. If I was to take this bus, I would need to walk for 15 minute to catch the 4:10pm bus service and travel into Southampton. I would arrive in Southampton at around 4:50pm. I would then need to walk to the train station which would take about 10 minutes and catch a train out of Southampton to get to the station near where I work which would take about 25 minutes train journey, and then walk the rest of the way which would take another 15 minutes. Total travel time would start at aboit 3:50pm to walk to the bus stop for the initial part of the journey so it would take me about 2 hours to get there, compared to 25 minutes in a car. The cost of all of this travel by public transport would probably cost more than the petrol I would use.

This bus route also has its last bus service at 6:30pm which is OK for travelling from the house, but as I finish work around 10pm how would I get home? Taxi? Imagine the cost of that!

BTW, we already pay tac per mile as we are heavily taxed on petrol. Why should be have to pay even more. Would they drop the tax on petrol? no way! would they drop car tax? I doubt it!

And as Alex said, these back boxes tracking the movements of each car is big brother. We wouldn't have the freedom to do or go anywhere we liked without the ability for someone to track us. They wouldn't need speed camera either. Just go through the travel log of each car and fine the driver for each speeding offence.
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Its bullsh*t, I cant believe anyone would be so stupid to introduce it. Maybe they should use positive reinforcement to decongest the roads.
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Yep the train would be absolutely useless.

For example for one journey I make regularly, it takes 1 hour 15 minutes to drive. The train takes 2 hours 18 minutes (provided everything runs on time!). Then to cap it off, the earliest train is at 7:05. This means it gets to the destination station at about 9:20. Useless when I need to be at my final destination (a 15 minute walk from the railway station or 5 minute+10 minute wait bus journey) by 9am.
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Stephen wrote:

I've never owned a car myself and have managed perfectly fine all these years. Since I've lived in various cities, there has always been the option of using public transportation. Most of the time, I've taken the bus to work. Have never had any problems with this, other than arriving a bit late from time to time, due to buses not arriving when they are supposed to.

Anyway, I agree with those of you who says that it is necessary to have a car if you live in a rural area. I've lived in the countryside myself, and believe me, you couldn't get much done if you didn't have a car.

It is probably easy for you to say that you won't drive now Steve, but just wait some years, and you will be begging for a car. It is comfortable, it grants you freedom (you can drive whenever you want), and you also save time. We are going to buy a car when we get back to Norway this year, and I'm so looking forward to that. No more waiting for the bus in -10 degrees celsius, freezing your ass off!
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Can you already drive PG? Or will you need to learn once you have a car?
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