Car parking fees for gas guzzlers

Originally Posted by Ian Hutchinson

Ive just been watching an article on newsnight about this. One interesting statistic given was that if everyone in the UK stopped using their car tomorrow (thus zero car emissions) then at their current rate of increasing car useage the Chinese will cancel this improvement out in approximately 85 days!

It was also stated that in addition to modern 'gas guzzlers' (still not sure exactly what this applies to) cars older than 10 years with engines bigger than 3 litres will pay up to 200% more for parking in front of their own houses.

I suspect that at some point in the future when historians look back on this period it will be with a sense of bemusement at this sort of reactionary and illogical policy.

quite, it brings it home to me when i look around the airport i work at, the amounts of fuel being burned by commercial aircraft are staggering, in a average day i personally sign for around 155k kilos of fuel which equates to around 43,000 gallons !!! and thats for around 1 long haul and 5 short haul flights! multiply that worldwide and you can see the problem

[Rbphot]

What's really bad is that half the planes take off half full, and you only have to look at the busses in london, 3 buses arrive closely together, most only with 50% -75% of the seat used.

The government need to get a grip of itself, they could be saving loads of money and cutting polution.

[sheerwater]

just come back from Poland. Lovely country and lovely people but still in a medieval mode regarding farming etc in rural areas. I was surprised how the infastructure is progressing due to EEC money. Cars on the other hand were absolute heaps so anyone who could take back a decent BMW,Merc,Volvo even Ford would be king of the castle. It was similar years ago in New Zealand. Anyone who lived in the UK for a time always took back a decent car as car prices were twice UK in those days. PS Nice to know Poland is getting nice new roads through the EEC. When will it be our turn. Answers on a postcard to ''Haven't I been had''

[sheerwater]

Originally Posted by chow

quite, it brings it home to me when i look around the airport i work at, the amounts of fuel being burned by commercial aircraft are staggering, in a average day i personally sign for around 155k kilos of fuel which equates to around 43,000 gallons !!! and thats for around 1 long haul and 5 short haul flights! multiply that worldwide and you can see the problem

Yep and here we go. Buy your lovely house in Spain as Ryanair is cheap to fly back and forward. Once youve bought it Govt decide to propose £50 flight tax (Daily Mail) So the news is even if you try to get out we will grab tax on the way.
Im ignorant on public fuel taxation so can anyone advise.
1/ Is there tax on aviation fuel.
2/ Is there tax on fuel used to generate electricity (ref electric cars being cheaper and pollution free...no they are not pollution exists in generating electricity) I know that there is tax on electricity for the home.
3/ Is there tax on fuel used in ferries
4/ Is there tax on fuel used on trains (diesel of course)
5/ Is tax payable on diesel used by buses given the fact that nearly all of the running costs of buses are met by government grants.
6/ What deal was struck between truckers regarding the fact that foreign lorries could bring their cheap fuel in huge belly tanks from the continent and never buy fuel in the UK yet British lorries going abroad had their fuel tanks restricted..

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Originally Posted by chow

quite, it brings it home to me when i look around the airport i work at, the amounts of fuel being burned by commercial aircraft are staggering, in a average day i personally sign for around 155k kilos of fuel which equates to around 43,000 gallons !!! and thats for around 1 long haul and 5 short haul flights! multiply that worldwide and you can see the problem

Quite, hence the suggestion that planes don't taxi to take-off but are tugged to the runway.
Add the time that planes are circling in the holding pattern, waiting for their landing slot.

Consider also that many people in the US don't drive to work - they fly!!
Because it is cheaper and quicker. They may live in the next state to where they work!
But then the US is responsible for 25% or the worlds pollution. . .!

Air travel is the worst form of pollution at the moment and anything that can be done to reduce it - planet earth wins.

But solutions to this cannot be achieved with a multitude of air carriers - all of which are private comapnies. It would take a global effort to reduce waste in air travel to hack the pollution generated.
And political will. Something sadly lacking . . .

Des. . .

[sheerwater]

Originally Posted by CTCNetwork

Hi,


Air travel is the worst form of pollution at the moment and anything that can be done to reduce it - planet earth wins.



Des. . .

Yes it probably is but can somebody tell me why when they quote fuel used for passenger miles its so many miles per gallon per passenger in a plane but so many miles per gallon in a car and assuming that the car only holds one person.
As my vehicle holds 7 and can do 40mpg that equates to 280 miles per passenger /gallon. (not that I drive with seven in!!!)
It would be interesting to examine how many miles per gallon a car does splitting it into a/ fuel used for actual journey b/ fuel used due to searching for parking spaces, sitting in traffic jams for roadworks,accidents, traffic censuses, driving at 2mph through deliberate congestion caused by chicanes, road narrowing, traffic lights which had been altered to deliberately delay you etc.
PS the cheapest vehicle pollution wise over its whole lifetime from design to manufacture to disposal is the Chrysler Jeep. Wow a 4X4 !!! The Toyota prius is 6 times as polluting to the planet over its life!!!!! Feed Bullsh..t to the people and the sheep will follow usually getting BSE in the process.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Originally Posted by sheerwater

PS the cheapest vehicle pollution wise over its whole lifetime from design to manufacture to disposal is the Chrysler Jeep. Wow a 4X4 !!! The Toyota prius is 6 times as polluting to the planet over its life!!!!! Feed Bullsh..t to the people and the sheep will follow usually getting BSE in the process.

Yes, I have seen this data quoted twice now on TV....
However, I am suspicious.
Why?
The report/analysis comes from the US.
The report was sponsored/funded by a US Car maker.

Certainly a "whole vehicle life" approach should be taken into consideration when assessing a vehicles impact. But it seems too convienent the result they come up with.

Statistics can both confirm and deny any particular fact you want to establish!

Des. . .

[sheerwater]

Yes but didn't Volvo come up with that marketing approach years ago when it was Swedish owned. Wasn't there a boast that the average life of a Volvo was 20+ years and therefore was less wasteful than buying say 2 Ford sierras.
I still believe that 100% of waste is deliberately caused. Whitworth sorted out nuts and bolts so that any bolt could be obtained from any hardware shop. Then came AF , metric, Allen key head, star drive etc etc. Now I have to drive (substitute use worlds resources and cause congestion) to drive to a particular dealer to get the special hex drive, star washered , high tensile, screw that due to its specialised design has failed one day out of warranty. This applies throughout the commercial world . Who gets a TV fixed these days,or a toaster, or a washing machine or who changes their carpets because they are threadbare. More likely to be the wrong colour. How much pollution by chlorine does double glazing manufacture cause and how long does it take to pay for itself. Milk used to be delivered in bottles but now we are hearded to supermarkets to buy it in plastic bottles. It may be cheaper but the drive to get that pint you need cerainly isnt. And so on it goes.
Buy the next plasma screen. Oh dear it wasn't HD ready or the govt will change it to digital and yours wont work on the new system.
Why is the Govt suddenly panicing about waste NOW. The environmental movement was back in the 70s. Its panicing because it has realised that the policy of constant growth means constant waste. Its either that or it realises that it is a source of revenue.
Bad thought for today. Every lorry you see, every car you see is carrying something that will be thrown away or disposed of including the vehicle itself.
(and driver eventually!!!)

[alsner]

The old disposable society driven by shares and capitolism.

The merry go round of life.

Round and round and round we go at full speed without stopping, until one day the bearings sieze solid because no one invested in maintainence, the ride ceases to be a ride but becomes a place to sit, think and look back at what once was and what could have been done to prevent it from turning out the way it has.....

Well it might!!!

Ali

I agree with everyones comments regarding polution etc but it would appear we cannot exist without us leaving some sort of waiste. I know in my trade the aeroplane is a big poluter but until engine manufacturers find a less polutent means it is still the only fastest way to travel the globe. No one can tell the business man travelling form London to New York for the next important board meeting to travel by liner which is also a poluter and will take 3 or 4 days to get their. Like wise we all drive to work because its quick, easy, convenient and suits our life style. No one is going to buy a car and tax, insure and MoT it and fill it with hugly expensive fuel in this country and leave it in the garage to catch a train, bus etc which is equally polutent.
Governments have suggested car sharing, would any of you let a total stranger in your car with what goes on today? You leave the door open to all sorts of problems and accusations.
Just my thoughts
V70 driver