Subj : Re: So....... To : alt.tv.farscape From : Steve Brooks Date : Wed Sep 14 2005 17:42:07 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape Nick wrote: > Steve Brooks wrote: > >> Nick wrote: >>> Steve Brooks wrote: >> >> >> >>>>> What road pricing proposals? >>>> >>>> Basically - rather than paying a flat rate road tax each year we >>>> will be charged depending on how much we drive, when, and on which >>>> roads. Busy roads at 8.30 am will cost a lot more per mile than >>>> quiet roads at 2.00 am (these will probably be free.) In terms of >>>> social justice I see this as entirely reasonable. Unfortunately it >>>> is also hellishly complicated and difficult to implement. The >>>> government's plan is to use transponders in vehicles combined with >>>> GPS and software. I think they've got absolutely no chance of >>>> making this work. It's many times more complicated than IT tasks >>>> they've already completely screwed-up. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> Yeah, that sounds kinda hard. Personally, I like the road tax being >>> incorporated in the gas tax. >> >> It's nice and simple and cheap to collect. But our government does >> have a point when they say some roads are in higher demand are - >> therefore - a premium product. >> > > I dunno about that. The government is the one who made the road. > If they had made attractive alternate routes then it may not be that > way. They could decide that they are going to do a lot of work on a > particularly busy road and neglect all the rest of the roads making > them less desireable to drive upon. I guess that's the difference between living in a country the size of a continent and one the size of a postage stamp. In many cases our high demand roads are so because they're the only viable route from A to B - and A to B is a journey many need to make. In many cases alternative routes could be constructed but it would mean losing precious open space and our experience is that building more roads ends up creating more traffic. There's also the time factor. If a road is very crowded during rush hour but relatively clear at other times then making it more expensive at rush hour will encourage those who can to change their hours and travel at different times. -- SB .