Remember when the Mayor of London promised to can the western extension of the Congestion Charge zone? Well, the process is currently bogged down in boring, unfathomable consultations and bureaucracy.
If you visit the Con Charge website, there’s a link to what’s going on, or what isn’t. Bits of it sound promising though, and the upshot could be a milestone for the beleaguered modern driver.
With congestion charging proving so successful (at making money), a national rollout seems inevitable. So whatever semblance of sense Boris manages to bring to bear on the blinkered and bloody-minded anti-car attitude instilled by Ken Livingstone and his communist cronies at City Hall now will probably have consequences for all of us down the line.
Last time I was forced to momentarily dip into West London, and pay £8 for the five-minute privilege, a thought crossed my indignant mind: can’t we have some sort of GPS metering system for time spent driving in these zones? For surely you should only ever be expected to pay for the amount of time you are actually on the move.
The basic principle is simple, and the technology isn’t beyond us. (I’m guessing at that bit admittedly.) You have the relevant equipment installed in your car and its movement is tracked, racking up expense much like a taxi’s meter does, until it hits an agreed ceiling.
This would mean that if a commercial vehicle spent all day tooling around town honking at blondes, it would be hit up for the full price. But if someone just wants to drive in and park, it’ll cost them accordingly little.
It’s only a kernel of an idea, and is probably unrealistic at the moment, but surely it’s a more democratic alternative in the medium term. And if our future is a national road toll and con charging in every city, it’s only a matter of time before we all be on the clock anyway.
first comment yay
last comment !!! yay!
no comment.. yay …
The problem with your GPS idea (this was actually proposed in the US) is that you don’t think the government won’t eventually start monintoring that regularly? Once it starts doing that forget speed trap cameras, forget police officers. You’ll just receive a bill in the mail “You were tracked going 53 mph in a 50 mph zone. Your fine is $200.” (Sorry for the ‘mph’ I’m from the states.) Best of luck to you over there!
Once they start tracking your movements – which they already do with ANPR (Automatic Numberplate Recognition) systems – they will start tracking every time you happen to creep over that arbitrarily designated speed limit (that is constantly being lowered), and bill you accordingly.
Please don’t give the council Nazis any further ideas.
Given the ever increasing budget deficits, local councils are finding new ways to get money out of motorists:
Bus Lane Cameras – different sections of bus-lane always have different times that motorists may use them – the lottery is knowing that brief window of opportunity where we are free to use them.
The CCTV isn’t for catching criminals (http://yro.slashdot.org/ story/09/08/24/2031258/On e-Crime-Solved-Per-1000-L ondon-CCTV-Cameras?from=r ss), rather, they are a new revenue stream for government needing to pay off the banks.
Please don’t give the council Nazis any further ideas.
amilarno said: ‘The problem with your GPS idea (this was actually proposed in the US) is that you don’t think the government won’t eventually start monintoring that regularly?’
Yeah but our movements can already be monitored regularly through ANPR, mobiles, CCTV, and credit/debit card transactions. However I don’t really care about monitoring movement – you only need to worry if you’re doing something wrong.
As musashi says I worry about black boxes in cars taking away the ability to have a bit of fun. Any box could be programmed to calucalate average speeds over any zone through GPS and automatically fine you if your’re xmph over
Remember though that a government is owned by the people and if they push us all too hard we will rebel and vote/protest against their decisions. It’s still a democracy after all!
Glad that i don’t live in London.
Although at the same time I wouldn’t mind living in London…
What a very bad idea.
This all sounds wonderful but is nothing more than complete surrender to the anti car brigades infesting our councils and indeed, current government.
They desperately want to force national road pricing onto us which will cost about £530 a year for every driver (average) just to operate the system. Are you really asking for government to increase the cost for you to drive by £50 a month?
Don’t forget 80% of the London con charge goes to the private companies being paid to operate it and administer your money.
Is more of this what you want and expect?
Boris promised to scrap it and this is what he must do.. This idea of satellite tracking and pay per mile is not wanted and hugely expensive to operate.
Don’t let them tax you out of your car.
we have MPH here too!
eleventh comment yay
GPS is not even needed… All the cameras set up in central London read your number plate constantly and this could be used as a cheap methodology. But why charge less when you can charge more?
prbs cos everyone will hate you and kill you to death?
13th post lol
I cannot believe the kind of legislation that gets passed in England. In America, if you tried to implement a congestion charge, you would be killed on the spot. We have tolls to use certain highways, but paying to drive where you want to every time you get in your car is just, well, absurd. I cannot believe how anti-car the British government is! Even though I’m not British, this just makes me so angry, it just seems so wrong. Best of luck to my brothers in common law across the pond, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
The German truck road toll system works that way.
An onboard unit, size of an average radio, logs your actual driven km on the Autobahn or other taxed roads.
At the moments the collected data is not used for crime enforcment but on terorist attack and
we are monitored for our safty, certainly.
http://www.toll-collect.d e/faq/tcrdifr004-7_allgem eines.jsp;jsessionid=4DC9 B1FE3B2C334C5D56E02310B44 68C#hl02
I always thought traffic jams were a good enough incentive to not drive in congested areas for those that have the option.
I guess if everyone who works in London and has to pay the charge goes on a series of one day strikes the impact on business would be so great they might actually make the government realise taxing the motorist to pay for every silly scheme the government comes up with.
Its ridiculous it has got to such a state, but seeing as this government doesn’t seem to care or listen to the motorist its the only thing that might work
Do any other major cities have a congestion charge? Or is it just that we have an ABSOLUTELY STUUUPID TRANSPORT AGENCY AND AN ABSOLUTELY STUUUPID GOVERNMENT AND AN ABSOLUTELY STUUUPID PRIME MINISTER WHO JUST HAPPENS TO LOOK LIKE SUSAN BOYLES MUM?
This entire argument is vile, its like opening up the daily mail. The last people in the world who should have to pay full price congestion charge are the working classes ‘honking at blondes’, yet one of the bourgeois wealthy enough to afford a house in london gets in free? Another classic tale of ‘oh isnt life so difficult for us wealthy, comfortable middle classes’. grow up and get some balls. The congestion charge IS neccesary, full stop. And btw im a car lover too, but i accept cars are damaging the environment and some attempts by governments trying to ‘help’ that is stupid, but some are actually genuine. The answer is NOT what you mail readers want, which is zero tax petrol on your hulking 4×4s.
Scotty, calm down, you will have a heart attack. So the charge IS necessary? 80% of which makes private firms rich. When I say private firms, obviously I mean firms which Red Ken has shares in. (The Crook!).
Cars are damaging the environment, you say. DOn’t believe what you hear. If every car on the planet never drove ever again, how much less CO2 would be produced on earth? Do you know? Shall I tell you? About 0.00000000000000000000000 0001%. In fact less than that, I got bored with the zeros.
There’s an easy-peasy way to avoid all those pesky motoring fines – buy a car with foreign plates. I moved to France and had to convert to French plates. Going back to the UK is now a joy – I’m sitting here looking at a nice souvenir of London: a Lambeth Council penalty charge notice stuck to my screen a year ago and never chased up. In the last year I’ve also been flashed by a speed camera on the A303 and have spent a couple of hours in the Congestion Charge zone without paying (I actually thought the western extension had already gone, otherwise I would have paid).
There’s no road tax in France, MOT is once every 2 years beyond the first 4 years, and insurance is lower than the UK (and includes a free 365-day/year ‘green card’ cover for the rest of the EU). Think I’ll just go and get ratted on some £2.99 Beaujolais now..
Hey grimble, when you come over here next, take that unfunny moron Stewart Lee with you?
you could strap him to one of those outside lavs that they have. Then at least everybody could have a laugh when they pissed on him.
GPS monitoring.
Public monitoring cameras.
wat
C charge did not change anything in terms of traffic in central London. I know that first hand.
There was some stupid idea with GPS road tax or insuirance circulating in papers not so long ago. Maybe person who came up with it was shot and no one dared to get back to idea yet… well untill today.
I am more concerned about bendy buses. So far Boris got rid of 1 it is one. At this pace they will be gone by 2085.
“All Quiet On The Western Front” – good. I like that you shortened it to Con Charge; that’s more accurate.
I wonder if one could dodge it in this new BMW sports concept – http://www.desktopmachine .com/press/865/BMW_Vision _EfficientDynamics//16433 /
“racking up expense much like a taxi’s meter does, until it hits an agreed ceiling.”
A ceiling agreed by who? Matt? In-line with Matt’s income perhaps?
Matt being on at least 10 times the national average – would be the first complaining.
“if a commercial vehicle spent all day tooling around town honking at blondes, it would be hit up for the full price”
And will the commercial vehicle owner pay this? What a fool, of course they won’t – the end user of the products / services will – so a double whammy on road-taxing for Joe Bloggs then?
“surely it’s a more democratic alternative”
Hmm, and democracy is to be conjured from where?” The con charge was implemented; despite our so-called ‘democracy’.
Get real Matt – talk about something you can – cars, keep out of politics – you’re too simple.
Just thought I’d gloat momentarilly and point out that my road tax is £0. That is right – £0.
One of classic motoring’s little “perks”. That and not having to pass an MOT emissions test either!
My first car (I’m 18) is a beautiful, red, 1972 Triumph Spitfire. So while my mates are in crappy Corsas, I am cruising in an open top sports car that cost me £2550!
It’s reliable – I’ve owned it for 2 months and done over 2000 miles with no problems. Its been to Glastonberry, Wales and the Isle of Man!
It’s comfortable also. Nice leather seats, decent sony stereo and a working heater!
Why don’t we all own classics?
Unfortunatly, I still pay C Charge and I’m not exempt from £980 insurance. Mind you, the corsa would be £2300 to insure.
To return to the point, timing is a good idea. I drifted into the zone by accident, last month. £8 for the priviledge of half a mile of motoring! Not particularly fair.
GPS isn’t necessary though. ANPR watches us in and out of the zone. Just time us on that.
Which reminds me, since the black and silver number plates are legal for me, do you reacon the camera can read them? Food for thought.
P.S. I tell greenpeace that I release very little CO2 – and it is true! The lack of a catalytic convertor means I release mainly CO – hehe!
Anyway, enjoy your euroboxes. I’m off for a bit of “wind in my hair” motoring tomorrow.
Hello from Russia)