Letter from my MP

[mummra]

I wrote to my MP (Labour) last month about a comment from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning - Con)( I feel like I'm giving out election results )

The Under Secretary of State for Transport was quoted in Parliament stating that motorists paid for the road. oops!

I was going to write to him but I knew I'd just get some pansy letter back so I though I'd write to my MP. Due to the party differences I though he might have some fun finding out why the Under Secretary of State for Transport didn't know who actually pays for the roads.

Got a letter back from my MP stating that he has raised the matter with Mr Penning and will be back in touch when he's received a full response from him.

It will be interesting to find out the reason why Mr penning doesn't know somthing so basic. Shame the majority of the population also don't know this too.

 

[Adasta]

Laziness. They're assigned an office arbitraily most of the time; they don't feel the need to learn anything about it.

 

[Banjo]

I know the money isnt ringfenced for use on roads but motorists do pay a huge extra tax burden with road tax petrol tax etc etc.

For me a car is really just a convenience for lots of people , especially away from the large cities, a car is a neccessity to get to work.

 

[gaz]

I know the money isnt ringfenced for use on roads but motorists do pay a huge extra tax burden with road tax petrol tax etc etc.

For me a car is really just a convenience for lots of people , especially away from the large cities, a car is a neccessity to get to work.

NO SUCH THING AS ROAD TAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The tax disc that motorised vehicles have to have and display is a payment for VED which is a tax based on the emissions on a vehicle. It is not a tax that solely is used to say which vehicles can and can't use the roads.

________


Let us not forget how much tax we pay on all the cycling products we buy, and cyclists buy a lot of stuff!

 

[Adasta]

I know the money isnt ringfenced for use on roads but motorists do pay a huge extra tax burden with road tax petrol tax etc etc.

Get out.

 

[Banjo]

Get out of what? Get out into the real world perhaps?

 

[Mad at urage]

Get out of what? Get out into the real world perhaps?

Get out and learn about what taxes exist and which don't, what they pay for and what is taken from all out pockets, before shouting off on a forum with b@llsh8t about "road tax". As well as not being a "road tax" not being Vehicle Excise Duty pays considerably less than the road network costs to maintain.

 

[Benthedoon]

As a car owning, road haulage working, cyclist I pay for the roads no matter which angle you look at it from, but I still have to ride in the middle of the road due to raised or excessively recessed drain covers and potholes in wheel tracks, all are issues raised with my local council but still the roads remain, largely, in a state of disrepair.
Rant over, thank you.

(I know this wasn't really the point being made but I felt the need to vent)

 

[steve52]

let move to a cycling frendly country? or lets turn this mess into one?

 

[Banjo]

Get out and learn about what taxes exist and which don't, what they pay for and what is taken from all out pockets, before shouting off on a forum with b@llsh8t about "road tax". As well as not being a "road tax" not being Vehicle Excise Duty pays considerably less than the road network costs to maintain.

I dont see any shouting or any bullshit in my reply.Do really you think I am unaware of the points you are raising?

As a regular cyclist who surfs the net reads the mags etc some of this has filtered through you know.

Ranting anti car cyclists dont help our cause one iota.Quite the reverse, it just makes it easier for us to be conveniently labelled as nutters/idealists/smug gits etc etc.And as a result our voice goes unheard or ignored in a lot of cases.

 

[Banjo]

let move to a cycling frendly country? or lets turn this mess into one?

Defo plus 1 to the second bit Steve.

 

[snorri]

, especially away from the large cities, a car is a neccessity to get to work.

 

[Banjo]

I wrote to my MP (Labour) last month about a comment from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning - Con)( I feel like I'm giving out election results )

The Under Secretary of State for Transport was quoted in Parliament stating that motorists paid for the road. oops!

I was going to write to him but I knew I'd just get some pansy letter back so I though I'd write to my MP. Due to the party differences I though he might have some fun finding out why the Under Secretary of State for Transport didn't know who actually pays for the roads.

Got a letter back from my MP stating that he has raised the matter with Mr Penning and will be back in touch when he's received a full response from him.

It will be interesting to find out the reason why Mr penning doesn't know somthing so basic. Shame the majority of the population also don't know this too.

Sorry for the thread drift I started. For someone in his position to make a statement like that rea;lly does make me despair that we will ever get any form of workable integrated transport system in this country.

 

[pshore]

I know the money isnt ringfenced for use on roads but motorists do pay a huge extra tax burden with road tax petrol tax etc etc.

For me a car is really just a convenience for lots of people , especially away from the large cities, a car is a neccessity to get to work.

There are some interesting numbers in this recent Cycling Weekly story:

Taking those extra figures into account as well, the total spend on British roads would come to around £7-8 billion - certainly more than the annual national income from VED, which in 2008/2009 was £5.441 billion. So far, so good in terms of the deal for road users.

So, the cost of maintaining the roads is not covered by VED alone.

If you read the story, it explains that fuel tax eclipses those numbers significantly. But nobody has been arguing about those numbers - it is simply 'you don't pay road tax '.


I think a lot of people on this site would argue with your point on a car being necessary to get to work. That might be true for many rural commuters today for their current jobs. But where they look for work is often a balance of income, travel spend and, travel time. Where you work is often your choice and a lot of people choose to work further away to simply get more income than they could locally.

 

[Glover Fan]

Whilst VED is based on CO2 emissions, we currently pay the same as everyone else who drives a vehicle emitting less than 100gms/km of CO2.

This is unsustainable though as the government are going to begin losing money hand over fist whilst everyone is buying diesels and petrol cars that are emitting much much less CO2, so they will find another way to screw us all over.

Your car can carry up to 5 people? OK lets charge you £500 a year VED, 7 people? Oh my how about £700?