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Letter: Congestion Charging? Motorists Already Pay Through The Nose

Published on: 1 Apr, 2017
Updated on: 1 Apr, 2017

Dave Middleton

Congestion charging for Guildford town centre? What a splendid idea from Mr Parke [see comment on Council Acts to Address Air Quality Concerns].

Let’s milk the motorist for some more money. Why not? It’s not as if they pay anything already. Apart from of course, all the taxes that everyone else pays, plus road tax, fuel duty, exorbitant parking fees and of course, motor insurance premium tax.

I must remember that motorists are public enemy number one and must be punished until they give up their cars and motorcycles and go back to the horse and carriage for the rich, donkeys for the middle classes and sack cloth and sandals for the poor.

As for “unnecessary” journeys, I presume these are the unnecessary journeys to work, to unnecessarily earn a living and unnecessarily pay tax and national insurance. Plus of course, the unnecessary journeys into Guildford to unnecessarily support our town centre shops when we could of course buy everything we need over the internet and let the town’s retail commerce die.

Let’s not forget the unnecessary delivery vehicles, supplying unnecessary goods to our shops; including of course Mr Ogle’s bicycle emporium where, after all the cars and lorries have been “Got off the road”, he will do a roaring trade in his electric bicycles, powered of course by environmentally friendly batteries full of environmentally friendly toxic heavy metals like Lithium and Cadmium, made in environmentally friendly factories in China and shipped thousands of miles in massive, heavy oil powered, container ships.

Not forgetting of course, the fact that those batteries will be recharged with lovely clean electricity from lovely clean, coal, gas and nuclear power stations.

I think I’ll move to Alaska and live in the woods!

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Responses to Letter: Congestion Charging? Motorists Already Pay Through The Nose

  1. Bernard Parke Reply

    April 1, 2017 at 8:28 pm

    May I add that there are many vehicles now using our roads that pay no excise duty at all.

    A congestion charge could provide funds to repair the increasing number of pot holes.

    • Michael John Davis Reply

      April 2, 2017 at 5:16 pm

      Only a few issues with Bernard Parke’s thoughts.

      The biggest weakness in his theory is the work force who are not paid enough. Where do they fit in or the people that live in the town? Then there are the shopper’s who would go elsewhere.

      Guildford is expensive as it is without additional expense.

    • Dave Middleton Reply

      April 2, 2017 at 5:23 pm

      The percentage of vehicles that are rated nil for vehicle excise duty (road tax) is miniscule as part of overall vehicle numbers.

      As for Guildford congestion charges being used to fund road repairs, I rather doubt it. Congestion charges specific to Guildford would no doubt be levied by GBC and go into their funds. Road repairs are SCC responsibility.

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