Every Road a Toll Road

Great Britain is looking at a couple of different proposals for "universal road pricing", making every public road a toll road via GPS and black boxes in vehicles. There are also articles by the main proponent of universal tolls, and an editorial from the paper suggesting higher gas taxes instead.

Comments

Re:What about the poor?

[Mr. Slippery]

Thus, the poor can have equal use of all roads.

In urban areas, many poor people can't afford a car (plus insurance, plus parking fees, plus maintanence...) So tax-supported roads help them very little. They need good mass transit.

In rural areas, the situation is different. But the proposed scheme would have much lower costs-per-mile in rural areas.

Economically, this seesm like a good idea - it makes the paid price of driving closer to the true cost. But politically...the possibility of the state tracking my movements is not something I welcome with open arms. Not to mention the draconian enforcement measures that would be needed to prevent tampering.

For those too lazy to read...

[weave]

Typical, loads of comments before reading the articles...

• U.K. already has the highest "petrol" tax in Europe and dare I say, probably the world.
• The proposal includes dropping the fuel tax by upwards of 12p a liter (that's about U.S. 65 cents a U.S. gallon).
• This is to discourage peak period driving. The duty on non-peak travel would be minimal or even free so during off peak times and rural areas, cost will be less to drive.
• The most expensive part of road building is to build for peak capacity. Those using the roads instead of transit during peak times and hence causing the greatest cost to support are being asked to pay their fair share.
• A better less opinionated piece from BBC News
• My opinion: UK is in a jam because their fuel taxes don't go to support just roads. It is used to pay for tons of social and other programs as well. If their fuel tax, as high as it is, was used to pay for roads, the M25 would be a double stack the entire length for example, and congestion wouldn't be so much of a problem. They are trying to get off on the cheap IMO... The privacy aspects of this are damn scary as well...

Re:Already happens with trucks

[edunbar93]

In the US, we pay for roads with taxes on fuel.

Heh. No you don't. The US has some of the lowest gasoline prices in in the world. And the taxes you levy on your gasoline are the reason. By and large, roads are built with money from taxes on property or retail sales or personal income (depending on jurisdiction) more than anything else.

Britain on the other hand, entirely pays for its roads with gas taxes. That's why the price of gasoline there is the highest in the world. It never ceases to amaze me that when the price of gasoline in the US gets to almost half that of gasoline in Europe and Asia, everyone is up in arms and ready to nuke the Middle East. For the love of god, if it bothers you so much, just stop burning so goddamn much of it.