Garry AKA Pod Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 The future is self drive cars and taxisA self drive taxi will cost you about 10p a mile. It will pick people up and drop them off en route so the taxi is full rather than 1 person per car. It will take less than a minute for them to arrive and pick you up as there will be a few million on the road. Johnny Cab anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesypeas Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) "I would rather hammer the larger engined higher emitting vehicles direct through road tax however. SAVING the hauliers and 'essentials'." Is it essential that I get my scottish potatoes hauled to poland for cleaning and bagging before being hauled back to a uk branch of tesco so I can buy them at a price which you are keen to subsidise? I get hammered by road tax, 5 days in the week I ride a bicycle, once a week I use the golf and once a month I warm up the Ferrari. Every mile I ride on the bicycle increases the cost per mile of my cars. Road tax penalizes people who decrease the use of their cars. Get rid of road tax and slap it on fuel. Polluters should pay, not the non-polluter. And whilst we are on the subject of fuel tax why is it that aviation fuel is still exempt from any tax? We are ruled by corrupt idiots. Edited August 31, 2009 by cheesypeas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I wonder if the proposed reduction in train fares will go ahead after these rises: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8206942.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 it would be cheaper to take the train. Not if the train doesn't go where you need to go it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I'm going to remove my wing mirrors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ayatollah Buggeri Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 So even as a weekend car, would it be prohibitively stupid for me to buy an old 5.5L V12? It's only a 1999/2000 BMW 750 I'm looking at for about 5 grand so it's not a classic or something that has inherent value. The basic rule of thumb is that the fewer the miles you drive, the lower the cost of fuel is going to be as a proportion of your overall motoring costs. I do around 14k miles a year, around 12k of which are commuting: hence the reason I run a 2001 Fiesta. The choice of car was driven (no pun intended!) primarily by fuel and maintenance costs. It's simple enough for me to maintain myself, parts are cheap and driven gently, I average 45-46mpg out of it. If I'd have been willing to pay a much higher up-front purchase price for the car (I bought the Fiesta in 2007 for £1,900, when it had 28k miles on the clock), I could have got fuel efficiency in the 50s, but that wouldn't have come anywhere close to offsetting the extra depreciation cost. Even assuming that I get no money for the car when I eventually get rid of it (i.e. I am its last owner before it's scrapped), my car expenses spreadsheet reckons that it's costing me 37p a mile to run inclusive of absolutely everything (i.e. depreciation to zero on the purchase price over the total miles driven, insurance, tax, MOT, maintenance, work parking permit, home garage rental and fuel), a figure that is gradually decreasing for every mile that I run it without incurring a significant maintenance cost. However, my long term plan is to buy a home which is not a 26-mile commute from work, and ideally within walking distance. If that happens my annual mileage would decrease to 3-4k, almost all of it motorway journeys of 100 miles plus. In that scenario I wouldn't hesitate to buy an oldish luxury car, that depreciates like buggery and after most of the depreciation has happened. OK, insurance would still be a bit of a hit (though with 17 years' NCB under my belt, not a huge one, I'd hope), but in those circumstances fuel costs would be such a smaller proportion of my overall motoring costs that I'd might as well have the comfort of a big car with leather seats and all the bells and whistles, even if it is a guzzler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgefunded Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Even up hills? On an electric bike, yes: www.reactionelectric.co.uk/bikes.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedgefunded Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well, frankly, yes. If your idea of a nice car is a child-crushing, planet-polluting 4x4, then you are, indeed, scum. You fool. Child crushing happens because of careless driving, careless children, or a combination of both. Planet polluting? Utter garbage. My RAV4 diesel returns in excess of 45MPG. That's better than the vast majority of 2WD cars of a similar size, and massively better than many larger 2WD vehicles. Such ill-informed labelling is one of the reason that tree hugging numpties like yourself are such easy taregets for mockery. The concept that because a vehicle drives two wheels at any one time it kills more polar bears is enviro-claptrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 The mentality of throwing away a perfectly good anything escapes me. Couldn't agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MongerOfDoom Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well there is a solution to using speeding as a revenue generating tool. We should all drive within the speed limit for 6 months and they would soon get bored of it. It can raise money for the kind people who collect the fines, but not for the exchequer. You can only pay a trivial amount in fines before losing the license. Admittedly, the fines for driving while banned can be higher but you can only pay so many of those before getting jailed. Funny how I have been driving for 13 years now and have never had a speeding ticket. Not exactly difficult to achieve even if you habitually speed on the right kind of roads. With regards the fuel tax, they really should be doing somehting about it. Yes. They should increase it massively. It is difficult to avoid, and with a 12% deficit taxes need to go up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppee Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) we have only got ourselves to blame if everybody de-taxed their cars and used public transport it would create chaos but noone is prepare to put up with a little hardship to prove a point , we the people have the power of numbers we are just not prepared to put ourselves out and get organised if we all acted as a united front we could force this govt to do the things we want, this applies to almost everything ie council tax if nobody payed they can't arrest everybody, supermarkets profits if we made an example of one of the big names by not shopping there for a few months till they dropped their prices to fairer levels we could use this tactic on lots of other things but we are not prepared to unite and fight for this so we just keep getting sh*t on, we need a bit of peaceful co-ordinated civil unrest there is no excuse for violence unless it is in self defence the same principal applies to the property market if everybody only ever offered 50% of the asking price or 07 peak price they would soon get the message that we are p***ed off and are not prepared to be ripped off anymore but like i say we have to get organised and stick together if not we might as well lay down and die now Edited August 31, 2009 by puppee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Just a question...why are foreign drivers free to drive on our roads and not charged for driving on the roads we are so heavily taxed on, seems somewhat unfair. Love France and am happy to pay their tolls and use of their roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.hpc Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 worked overtime to be able to afford it. I think you have issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MongerOfDoom Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) Just a question...why are foreign drivers free to drive on our roads and not charged for driving on the roads we are so heavily taxed on, seems somewhat unfair. That is exactly right. They have a sign on M6 toll that says "free for foreign drivers" in all languages except English :-) Anyway, road charging will be here before the electric car. Edited August 31, 2009 by MongerOfDoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichB Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Road tax penalizes people who decrease the use of their cars. Get rid of road tax and slap it on fuel. Polluters should pay, not the non-polluter. Given that fuel is currently taxed at over 300% when do you think enough is enough? This 2p increase is actually around about a 10% additional tax on fuel. Again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hovis Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 we have only got ourselves to blame if everybody de-taxed their cars and used public transport it would create chaos but noone is prepare to put up with a little hardship to prove a point , we the people have the power of numbers we are just not prepared to put ourselves out and get organised if we all acted as a united front we could force this govt to do the things we want, this applies to almost everything ie council tax if nobody payed they can't arrest everybody, supermarkets profits if we made an example of one of the big names by not shopping there for a few months till they dropped their prices to fairer levels we could use this tactic on lots of other things but we are not prepared to unite and fight for this so we just keep getting sh*t on, we need a bit of peaceful co-ordinated civil unrest there is no excuse for violence unless it is in self defencethe same principal applies to the property market if everybody only ever offered 50% of the asking price or 07 peak price they would soon get the message that we are p***ed off and are not prepared to be ripped off anymore but like i say we have to get organised and stick together if not we might as well lay down and die now i) Why do you want to create chaos? ii) Why do you think there is a "we the people" given for example that the majority of the population talk up property and want prices to keep going up? iii) What is wrong with car tax, or council tax, or supermarkets? - I am unhappy with a lot of what the tax money gets spent upon but do not have a problem with taxation per se. My only out-and-out objection is to the BBC Licence Fee and so I don't pay it. They can get stuffed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 That is exactly right. They have a sign on M6 toll that says "free for foreign drivers" in all languages except English :-) Anyway, road charging will be here before the electric car. I would have given up by then....they can keep it, get on my bike, they would have milked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MongerOfDoom Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Given that fuel is currently taxed at over 300% when do you think enough is enough? Certainly not before the alternatives become cheaper. I don't see why the price of fuel should not double given the huge deficit. A tax rise is necessary, and increased fuel tax seems a lot better than higher income tax. Of course, cutting the state would be better still, so it is correspondingly less likely to happen :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonguest Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well there is a solution to using speeding as a revenue generating tool. We should all drive within the speed limit for 6 months and they would soon get bored of it.Funny how I have been driving for 13 years now and have never had a speeding ticket. I agree entirely. I have been driving for 25 years and NEVER been done speeding (and no I dont mean just that I havent been caught!). If everyone commits themselves to driving sensibly for just 1 month - it would have a serious impact on government budgets. Similarly, but even worse in my opinion (as speeding is genuinely dangerous and anti-social), is the amount of money raised by local councils through parking tickets!!! Local councils actually factor in estimates of how much they will riase in revenue when drawing up their annual budgets! If EVERYONE commited and pledged to avoid getting a parking ticket for just 2 months it would devastate local government finances! Then they would have to resort to raising revenues the traditional direct taxation way (i.e council tax). BUT of course then the rises would be so much larger it woudl finally (?) focus peoples attention on what exactly they are wasting it on in the first place? Well, one can but hope......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Hang on??? I wanted something a bit special and worked to get it. That's exactly the type of comment I'd expect from somebody with no get up and go. Somebody who's dreaming house prices will crash so they can leap frog the people who have worked hard to own a home. Well my old son. It ain't gonna happen. House prices on the up and this time next year you'll be able to brag your Rover passed it's MOT and park it outside your bedsit. Sibley, you are cruel and can be very nasty...get back under your bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbonic Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 You fool.Child crushing happens because of careless driving, careless children, or a combination of both. Planet polluting? Utter garbage. My RAV4 diesel returns in excess of 45MPG. That's better than the vast majority of 2WD cars of a similar size, and massively better than many larger 2WD vehicles. Such ill-informed labelling is one of the reason that tree hugging numpties like yourself are such easy taregets for mockery. The concept that because a vehicle drives two wheels at any one time it kills more polar bears is enviro-claptrap. He's essentially correct. Pedestrian, and especially child pedestrian, deaths and injuries are worse for 4x4s than normal saloons. Although you'll be pleased to know that the new RAV4 is better than say, an X3 or Range Rover in this respect LINK. The bigger the 4x4 the higher the chance of pulverising a kid in a low speed impact. All children are careless BTW. As for the fuel consumption; you should compare like for like, not cherry pick the worst alternatives. If you were to drop the diesel engine from your RAV4 into a normal saloon in Toyota's range (geared appropriately) then you'd probably get 20% or thereabouts more MPG. Your statement is an argument for replacing older cars with more efficient newer diesel cars, not for RAV4's being magically super efficient. The added weight and poor aerodynamics (larger x-sectional area and worse Cd) of 4x4s carry a 15-25% fuel penalty, and worse acceleration and a lower top end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.hpc Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Hang on??? I wanted something a bit special and worked to get it. That's exactly the type of comment I'd expect from somebody with no get up and go. Somebody who's dreaming house prices will crash so they can leap frog the people who have worked hard to own a home. Well my old son. It ain't gonna happen. House prices on the up and this time next year you'll be able to brag your Rover passed it's MOT and park it outside your bedsit. You'd love all that to be true wouldn't you. Let's just say, even if I was depressed enough to need to do overtime to buy a car over 3 years that I clearly couldn't afford, my personal financial situation wouldn't demand I do something as uncouth and desperate as working overtime to fund the purchase of a Focus ST. The bigger question is how far my life would have to sink to actually want to do overtime for something as vain as buying a sports car that I clearly couldn't afford on my salary. Focus ST over 3 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubberdude Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I'm going to remove my wing mirrors. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erranta Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well there is a solution to using speeding as a revenue generating tool. We should all drive within the speed limit for 6 months and they would soon get bored of it.Funny how I have been driving for 13 years now and have never had a speeding ticket. With regards the fuel tax, they really should be doing somehting about it. What is it now? Something like a 70p/litre tax! It is all well and good for those of us who live in big cities, there is usually an alternative but what about all the poor sods who live in smaller cities and towns where public transport is non existant and the distances driven tend to be higher. It also must hit the 'hardworking British families' hard too, or I suspect Labours next new bribe is a reduced rate at the pump for anyone on tax credits. The whole point is they want to 'drive' you out of the countryside! Why do you think we spend billions of pounds per decade keeping huge stately mansions going (instead of spending it on the poor) through National TRUST(NOT) + English 'Heritage'(Who lived in them originally - elite families, it's their 'Heritage' they are going to take back - it's all in the 'master' plan!) Because after the 'takeover' - our Masters will be moving 'back' in! Did you see the Chief Exec of English Heritage blow £7 million+ tax payers money gambling on an old pile of bricks? Apethorpe Hall The scale of the task is enormous - seven million pounds has been spent and another ten million needs to be spent, before things like installing electricity are even to be considered. Any buyer would have to spend £20 million+ to complete with red tape and officials butting in every step of the way. English Heritage cannot sell it, at any price. Chief executive, Simon Thurley Heritage would buy the place, do it up, and then recoup the enormous investment of public money by selling it off. Theory and practice have proven rather different, and could yet leave the taxpayer with a bill running to millions. Why hasn't he been sacked? Why isn't there outrage at this waste in the Media - because he is a stooge for the Grand Masters! Why do you think people are being taught to be 'cooks' and 'Gardeners' on multiple TV shows? The "Service" economy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigantic Purple Slug Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Why? Better drag coefficient. Plus I'm going to remove the lump of birdsh*t cemented onto the bonnet. That's gotta be worth a few p over the next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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