pay-as-you-drive incentive

Fuel duty bribes offered to guinea pigs
by Jonathan Goddard

17 April 2007 - The Government has announced plans to bribe the public into taking part in road-pricing experiments aimed at reducing traffic congestion.

Rather than forcing drivers to install a black box to track their cars’ movements, ministers hope to encourage volunteers by making the system financially attractive. The Times reports that ministers were taken by surprise by the strength of feeling against road-pricing plans.

The Department for Transport plans to develop a system where drivers will be offered a choice: carry on paying motoring taxes or switch to a road-pricing meter in the car that could save money. But drivers could be offered a discount on fuel duty in return for agreeing to pay a distance-based charge, which would vary according to the level of congestion.

The department hopes to test the voluntary approach in regional pilot schemes due to be announced this year. Manchester, Birmingham and Cambridge are being considered for the experiments.

The hope is that positive reports from volunteers will help to silence suspicions about the concept, including concerns that the black box will be used to spy on drivers’ movements and to raise the overall amount paid in motoring taxes.

An American road pricing experiment in Seattle found that almost 80% of volunteers made fewer car journeys on congested roads when offered a financial reward.

If it costs less, then of course, I think anyone would switch. The question is...will it cost less?

Any ideas that lower the cost of driving, yet keep or increase the income from drivers who use the roads most are constructive.

It makes sence to tax people based upon how much and how far they drive whereas the current system doesn't other than from the tax on petrol and diesel.

I don't like the idea of a sat nav system monitoring your every move (thats if it is sat nav), however, if made compulsory, perhaps it could incorporate a system by which stolen cars could be tracked too? But, I s'pose this could always be missused.

Though, I think it's more likely to simply monitor the distance that you travel and send the data back to a database isn't it?

At the moment id switch, as I am not using my car much. But to be honest, I cant see it saving me much money over petrol costs anyway... the usual figures being touted about are like £40 a year savings... thats not even £4 a month (love these snobby oap's on tv programs who buzz off the idea of saving like £60 a year and then you look at the £30,000 car they are driving lmao), so its not worth the hassle, especially given the possibility it could actually end up costing me more.