The Telegraph can disclose that the Government is pushing ahead with plans for a national road-pricing scheme, including testing "spy in the sky" technology.
Eight areas of the country have been selected by ministers for secret pay-per-mile trials which will begin in 2010 and are expected to pave the way for tolls on motorways.
Motorists face paying up to £1.30 a mile during peak periods on the busiest roads.
Gordon Brown was thought to be against national road pricing, a flagship policy of the Blair administration.
But the detailed level of planning now underway indicates the issue it set to become a key battleground in the next general election – which is likely to coincide with the trials beginning.
It will leave Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, particularly vulnerable as she defends her marginal Bolton West constituency.
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that eight areas - Leeds, North Yorkshire, Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire, south west London, Suffolk and Essex – have been selected for the trials.
Initially, in January 2010, one hundred cars in each area will trial the new technology – in many cases entailing placing black boxes to allow their movements to be tracked - but members of the public will be invited to join the pilots in June 2010.
The Government is close to signing contracts with four companies who will run the national trials, testing not only the technology which will be fitted to the cars, but also the bureaucracy needed to run a system including sending out bills.
In most cases, the trials will involve a satellite tracking a vehicle's movements. Motorists will then receive a monthly or weekly bill which will vary depending on when and where they drove.
Three more companies will be paid to double check the system, ensuring that the charging machinery is legal and that the trials are properly monitored.
I'm sorry ... do you really, really think that this is only about road charging, even if you assume that road charging is a good idea?
Do you really, really think that this isn't going to up the number of speeding fines issued a million-fold?
Do you really, really think that people aren't going to be criminalised by all these fines?
Do you really, really think the police aren't going to be sniffing through your travel records?
Do you really, really think that they aren't going to make the usual Mongolian clusterf*ck out of this and that people aren't going to be overbilled and then criminalised for not being able to pay?
Do you really, really think that people will not be given incorrect speeding fines for that matter?
Do you really, really think that it's going to stop at £1.30 per mile?
Do you really, really think that it's going to be cheaper than or the same price as VED?
Enough, really, is enough.
Do not let this pass into law, folks. You will regret it forever.
Originally blogged here.
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2 comments:
The Daily Telegraph has learnt that eight areas - Leeds, North Yorkshire, Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire, south west London, Suffolk and Essex – have been selected for the trials.
I would love to see the technicians fitting these to the roads, blocking traffic on already delayed repairs:
"um, e'up mate whats going on ere'?"
"Well sir were with monitor-proles-u-like and we are fitting these telemetry sensors so the government can monitor your cars movements and bill you accordingly; you should really think about getting rid of that 1996 Vauxhall Nova sir as it isn't compatible with the technology you will be...uh, invited to retro-fit to your car...now sir there is no need for violence...please put down the tire-iron..."
Whats the betting that this wont mean an end to road tax or at least a reduction? Swine.
I cant help but think, what with the mass occurence of road tolls in Europe that this isn't linked to that particular shower either.
From my experience of travel when living in France I feel a bit of input is called for.
This has nothing in common with European toll roads (or at least, not with the French ones).
Toll roads over there are somewhat akin to the M6 toll road:
There's a free road in place that people are perfectly welcome to use without paying a penny piece for the pleasure (Like the original M6). If they want to use one of the stretches of road subject to a toll (like the creatively named M6 Toll) than they can do so - but there is a choice.
The system by which it works is different too. Instead of paying thorugh the nose for, and being spied on by an intrusive satellite/black box system, there's a gate onto the motorway where you get a ticket and a toll booth at the end and intermediate exits where you pay. It's no more intrusive than a shopping centre car park.
The next election can't come soon enough.
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