Motorists face a ‘postcode lottery’ under a national road pricing scheme that could see them charged according to where they live.
The Government is considering using the electoral roll to set charges for drivers, which could be as much as £1.30 a mile.
Motorists who live in affluent areas could be charged more while those in deprived communities would pay smaller charges. Oh great. No discrimination here then!
Drivers could either be monitored by ‘spy in the sky’ technology, which would involves boxes being fitted to cars and tracked by satellites or by a system in which a card is fitted to a vehicle’s windscreen. Roadside gantries on toll roads would then scan the card. In both cases motorists would be sent a monthly bill.
Trials of the pay-as-you-drive system are due to start in 2010 and the details, including the use of the electoral roll, are in a consultation document sent to firms tendering for the contracts. The Department for Transport has denied that its plans bring ‘class politics’ to pay-as-you-drive tolls. Than why charge motorists living in more desirable areas more than those living in not so desirable?
I wonder how much this will all cost to set up and administer? Oh to be a fly on the wall when politicians conjure up these ludicrous ideas.
Jackie Violet - Female First