<HEAD> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1561" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>I hate to be cynical, but wasn't one of the claimed benefits of deregulation in the UK that it would</DIV> <DIV>create competitive alternatives to the auto? A lot of these letters sound like they could have been</DIV> <DIV>written in the US.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Eric </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">-----Original Message----- From: Eric Britton <ERIC.BRITTON@ECOPLAN.ORG> Sent: Sep 1, 2006 1:11 AM To: LotsLessCars@yahoogroups.com Cc: Sustran-discuss@jca.apc.org Subject: [sustran] The future of motoring <ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type"><ZZZMETA name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <STYLE> <ZZZ!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} h2 {margin-right:0cm; margin-left:0cm; font-size:18.0pt; font-family:Arial;} a:ZZZlink, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline;} span.EmailStyle17 {font-family:Arial; color:black; letter-spacing:0pt; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal; text-decoration:none none;} @page Section1 {size:21.0cm 842.0pt; margin:2.0cm 76.55pt 2.0cm 3.0cm;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ ol {margin-bottom:0cm;} ul {margin-bottom:0cm;} --> </STYLE> </ZZZHEAD><ZZZBODY lang=EN-US vlink="purple" link="blue"> <DIV class=Section1> Dear Friends,   If you think it is important to have lots less cars in cities, and not only in your own pristine mental space, you must, in a pluralistic democratic society at any rate, be aware of the full range of needs and attitudes of all the very different kinds of people who make up our societies. Which means that anyone who seems her/himself as an agent of change must also be a good listener.   In this context I found this item from something called “WhatCar: Helping you buy better” a good reminder of the sales job that needs to be done if we are ever to make this much needed transition. As someone here pointed out a long time ago, car owners and drivers are our customers. Not our enemies. Makes sense if you consider that they are also in very many cases also us.   Eric Britton on the morning of the launch of the New Mobility Advisory/Briefs. Light a candle for us. <DIV style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt solid"> <P class=MsoNormal style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none"> </DIV>   <H2>Your say: The future of motoring</H2> 31 August 2006 • Whatcar.com readers have their say • Send us your opinions • Read selection of readers' views Recently we ran a story on why various groups believe the cost of motoring is about to soar because of road charging, rising fuel costs and tax increases. <A href="http://www.whatcar.com/%20http:/www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=222149">Motoring costs due to soar</A> We asked for your opinions on the future of motoring, and below are a selection of the views we have received so far. You can still send us your views by clicking this e-mail link Click on <A href="mailto:whatcarpoll@haynet.com?subject=Futuremotoring">this e-mail link </A>to tell us what you think. - - - - - - - - - 'I'm the Association of British Drivers' Policy Director and I don't own a car. I don't want to either. Owning a car in modern Britain is overtaxed, over-controlled and over-legislated. If I try to drive somewhere, because of council-caused congestion, I get there late and frazzled. If I fill a tank I get charged 85% tax. If I try to park I get rogered for parking charges that go up every year like a rocket. If I exceed a recently lowered speed limit by a few MPH I get slapped. I now cycle or ride a motorcycle. Public transport is a joke – we have a major client in Leeds, and to travel cattle-class we have to pay Ł100 each for the ticket. How, in a modern society, where mobility is key, does that work?! I get on the motorcycle instead.' Mark McArthur-Christie Director of Policy The Association of British Drivers -         - - -- - 'Why does this seem like a surprise? The government wants to force us out of our cars but knows that the British car driver pays millions towards their tea fund! It's sickening that we get shafted whichever way we go. Greener cars still get hit! Get gas guzzlers get hit even harder. Paying tolls? What a joke! Why should I have to pay to use a piece of road when I already pay through the nose in road tax, fuel and insurance? It's a case of rip off Britain at its best.' Mark Mortimer 'Motoring journalists should stop winding up the 4x4 lobby into a frenzy about additional costs as a vehicle such as a Jaguar XJS or similar saloon does exactly the same damage to the environment as an average 4x4, which is transport but using fuel in a greedy fashion. Greedy use of fuel is not down to just 4x4s. Take the Honda CRV 2.2 CDTI for example, as it will perform very well in comparison to most small family cars, so can you please relate vehicles into the following: Unreasonable at any cost band= Ł3600 per year (any exotic sports or daft 4x4) Uneconomical band = Ł1800 per year (BMW X5, Discovery or any V6 engine powered car) Reasonable = Ł250 per year (band D carbon emissions) Economical Ł150 (band C carbon emissions) Very economical Ł100 (You've probably got the idea) Then the real issue of someone owning an uneconomically car can be discussed effectively.' -         - - - - - Robert Hedges 'How can road charging possibly be the best way to tackle congestion? Are those in government so far removed from the day-to-day life of most Britons that they believe we're sat in our cars on weekday mornings and evenings simply for the fun of it? I am often in London and use public transport for that kind of journey. This is not always practical or possible though, especially when travelling long distance or to areas that are not well supported by public transport. Additional tax hikes and charges do nothing other than line the pockets of the Treasury because most people have no alternative other than their car. The car should have a place in this country as a method of transport, however until public transport improves and changes (e.g. try using the tube at 8am with a child and a baby in a buggy…) people won't be discouraged out of it and the environmental line the government sells is fraudulent.' Daniel Jeffery 'Presently I travel from Harrogate to Bradford by car. I do carshare with a fellow colleague. There is no direct public transport between the towns so this is not an option. I fear with the increased costs which would also hit my wife badly as she has a similar issue with public transport and her work place, we will both be forced to either find other work closer to home - which has already proved very difficult in a small town like Harrogate or our son's future will suffer badly as a consequence. It seems the government is happy to keep taking more and more tax but is doing nothing to offer reasonable alternative modes of transport. While it's a real problem that we all have to deal with, the only solution I see being offered is to increase tax to prevent people travelling but no alternative to the travel. We have to work for a living and we have to get to our work places.' David Booth 'I refuse to let any featherbedded politician decide what I can and can't do with regard to my motoring requirements. If I want to buy a 4x4 or any other large car then I shall do my utmost to afford it. It's OK for politicians to come up with these grand ideas as long as we continue to pay their inflated salaries and expenses. Voters should question their MP as to where they stand on these issues and vote accordingly. At the moment this country is like a communist state!' Frederick Humphrey 'The Labour Government is supposed to be there for the working man. All they seem to be doing is making driving a rich man's sport. We need our cars to survive, but not under Blair's hypocritical corrupt Government. Prescott was offered a free Prius, but did he show the country what was needed of them? No, he turned it down because he was too important to drive something like that. Does the cabinet show us, the voting public, how to drive more economically? No, it votes itself Ł50,000 Jaguars for each and every one of them. Then it has the audacity to tell us that we need to drive smaller cars, or it will force us to by pricing motoring out of our reach, but still forcing us to pay for Prescott and his cronies to cruise around in absolute luxury, one car for him and another for his lunch. It makes me sick to my stomach.' R Cleal 'The government needs to start giving motorists value for money. Motorists are voters and we are getting a very raw deal. Roads are falling apart, the motorway network is failing and despite the massive tax motoring rakes in, little is re-invested. The car is essential to the economy and considering how much it contributes already to the government's income any suggested increase feels like a kick in the stomach.' Tony Foote 'I have been looking at new cars and I'm torn between a higher performance car with undoubtedly bigger bills or a economical one that will hopefully not bankrupt me. I think if company car drivers actually paid the true cost of their vehicles then perhaps such draconian measures may have been avoidable.' Lisa Boyd 'As usual the government are considering reactive measures to deal with a problem they caused. I think they need to look at why most households need two cars. Most families need two cars because both parents have to work in order to keep the household running. In recent years hikes in council tax, fuel and energy prices, national insurance and interest rate rises add to the problem. Both my wife and I require a car to do our job, but neither employer offers us a company car. Its not possible to get to work using public transport. The proposals are outrageous and unsustainable and would destroy our economy. They should be financially encouraging scientists to come up with a viable alternative solution to oil. They have known for decades that there was only a finite amount of oil available. What will we do when the world's oil runs out? Answer: We won’t have a road crisis and everyone will have to buy a horse… problem solved - everyone buy a 4x4!' John R.J. Prescott</DIV></ZZZBODY></ZZZHTML></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY>