Higher parking charges in London for polluting vehicles, is that fair ?
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I am all for cleaner air but it seems us motorists are being hammered again for using our cars
You will be paying parking charges based on how polluting your vehicle is
Another sledgehammer attempt to get people to buy overpriced EVs that many people cannot afford
It is only in Lambeth at the moment but other councils look set to follow
This will even apply parked outside you own home where there are parking restrictions
The yahoo article i read gave more info on the charges
''The cost of a parking bay near Waterloo station in south London now ranges between £6.30 and £13.23 an hour, with payment made by an app''
londonnewsonline.co.uk/huge-hike-in-parking-charges-for-lambeth-drivers/
I simply don't agree with how they rate polluting vehicles. It doesn't seem to take in the extra resources needed to build a larger EV vehicle or the extra wear rate on roads due to weight. It seems madness not to factor how much a vehicle is used. A flat rate tax motivates people to use their vehicles more rather than less. If people had to pay road tax and insurance every 10,000 miles this would be a huge motivation to use our vehicles less and walk and use public transport a bit more. Doing it yearly makes no sense from a environmental perspective. Why am I more polluting when I have a car approaching 10 years old from new and only use it lightly. Typically less than 2000 miles a year probably.
The older I get the more useless I realise most politicians are. They don't recognise the many problems they are creating especially the huge amount of borrowing they have to do because they are clueless about running the economy.
BonzoBanana I agree with everything you say here B
They are forcing these EVs onto people by taxing fossil fuel vehicles to the hilt so you have no choice but to go into debt to buy one
As soon as everyone owns an EV they will then start adding more taxes, in addition to the existing, to make up for the lost revenue on oil
The parking fiasco is yet another tax to do this
Problems are also arising about EVs that the government stupidly never thought of, car park weight restrictions due to unsafe load bearing capacities on older car parks , more road damage due to EVs excess weights, etc
Don't get me started on charging costs and lack of charging stations
Then there is depreciation, who will buy a second hand EV knowing the battery is losing its ability to charge as it gets older and a replacement can cost thousands
Besides there is new technology coming soon in the form of new generation batteries that can fully charge in 15 minutes from Toyota , smaller and lighter than the existing
Another reason not to buy now
telmel Already SUV's are causing issues with many smaller roads in towns and cities because if someone parks a SUV roughly opposite another SUV then emergency vehicles like Ambulances and fire engines can't get through. This is risking people's lives. The government should be actively working against such large vehicles being sold which would also likely reduce our trade deficit too meaning less borrowing. I honestly think the government should be pushing for smaller vehicles.
Also as you say progress on EV technology is rapid and much better solutions are on the horizon.
As for debt there is about £11k of unsecured debt per household now and with interest rates what they are at the moment that is a lot of interest needing to be paid. The level of debt is rising too. I wouldn't be surprised to see that as £12k or £13k of debt next year because the higher interest rates would typically cause a higher debt level.
As has been reported millions of homes are coming out of fixed rate mortgage deals with nothing available to replace them. Some people will face mortgage hikes. I did a quick calculation of a home that had 200k of mortgage debt over 22 years outstanding with an existing 0.5% mortgage rate and that was about £880 a month but at 5% its over £2k a month. About a £1200 increase per month. That's a 150% approx increase in payments.
Many people simply won't be able to buy a new car and will rely on their existing car for many more years. Even well paid households with two adults working will feel a huge financial squeeze.
BonzoBanana The other problem is they are bringing in pollution ratings in other countries, where you have to purchase a sticker that only allows you to drive in certain zones in certain vehicles , as in London but stricter and more extensive , so an old diesel say over 10 years old would not be allowed in a big city , cameras are policing this and fines issued automatically, it won't be long until they are in the UK
Another way to get rid of older fossil fuel vehicles
As you said previously you may have a pristine older vehicle you hardly use, less of a carbon footprint than some EVs, but they will still be restricted as EVs won't
telmel It's just ridiculous unless you factor in how often the vehicles are used. Someone who rarely uses their car because they walk, cycle or use public transport should not be punished because they haven't updated the car they rarely use. Many people are making excessive journeys by car so this should be factored in. Poorer people simply can't afford the latest vehicles so this excessively punishes the poor yet benefits well paid politicians who like to change their car frequently.
BonzoBanana I am not a great fan of EVs as people probably realise from my posts about them , part of the problem is i dont like being told by the politicians that i have to scrap my car that may be old but is in excellent condition and have the wool pulled over my eyes when they say EVs have a lower carbon footprint
I would say they have a very heavy carbon footprint when referring to their weight and the damage they are causing on the roads and in car parks , and the manufacture and disposal of the batteries
It's a tricky one as some people will drive in London because they have no choice. They may have jobs that involve taking people around I. E careers
They should charge based on the size of the vehicle. My daughter's old Fiat 500 pays the same as someone who owns a big fat Range Rover, which is nearly twice the size.
Carlton1512 That's a sensible idea C , they charge by size on ferry crossings , so why not on the road ?
Again they are penalising the least well off in society. I’m sure most people would choose to have the most modern(and least polluting) car if they were in the financial position to do so. They seem to think that people are driving round in old cars out of choice rather than that being all they can afford.
I’m fed up of the big companies causing pollution etc and being allowed to turn over massive profits yet the average man is being expected to fork out for the environment even though they are just trying to get by.
No, it's not, obviously.
The politicians in charge of the U.K. and London (of England, specifically) are ruining it for every day people.
I read about the 20 miles restriction and that's to p..ss off the drivers, no doubt. 50 kmh (= 30 miles) is slow for me so imagine 20 miles.
PhilipMarc The 20mph limit is for the benefit or those not driving, rather than to pee off those driving. In Germany, on smaller suburban roads the speed limit has been 30 km/h (18 mph) for years.
PhilipMarc well that’s another thing, we are expected to do things for the good of the environment (which I’m happy to do in most cases) but at the same time a lot of these MPs travel in ways they don’t need to (won’t car share, use planes, use transport when it would actually be easier to walk etc).
It should be a collective effort but like most things these days it’s all about the haves and have nots.
The 20 mph speed limits are ridiculous, you have to trawl along in 1st/2nd gear which puts more strain on the engine and burns more fuel,causing more pollution, unless you have a £30,000 + EV , maybe thats part of the reason they implement these limits, they know it will only affect fossil vehicles
telmel Pollution isn't just what comes out of the exhaust. It's also tyre particles, brake dust etc. Faster speed = more tyre wear, brake dust generated and more fuel used getting to the higher speed. The Royal Parks near where I live have been 20mph for years and most people don't struggle with the 20mph limit.
Carlton1512 Thats true about the brake dust C , the heavier the car the more braking needed , the more brake pad particles the more pollution to collect on the lungs
Evs are much heavier than fossil cars so will cause more pollution when braking
I do applaud the 20 mph around schools and vulnerable areas , even though as i mentioned it is difficult to keep to, especially when you see an electric scooter zooming past you with twos up
If it’s in London sounds like a great idea, if it is where I live it is a terrible idea.
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