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Ea of Dune · 14-05-2008, 03:09 PM

What should the Government do to help commuters? - Telegraph

Quote:

Commuters who drive to work could face a "car parking tax" of up to £185 a year, under Government proposals designed to cut congestion.

Paul Grover
Do the Government need to invest more in public transport?

Nottingham City Council are the first local authority to announce that they will introduce the scheme after Government guidance said that councils who introduced the parking levy could receive additional funding for public transport.

The new taxes will be imposed on employers by local authorities but they could then pass the charge onto their staff.

What should the Government do to help commuters?

Will parking taxes cut congestion, thereby improving efficiency and reducing stress for those who have to drive?

Is some kind of penalty necessary to force drivers to leave their cars at home? Or is this just another tax on drivers?

Do the Government need to invest more in public transport, and, if so, how should this be funded?

Is the only answer to reduce the number of commuters by encouraging companies to expand more flexible working arrangements for their staff?

and

Commuters face £185 tax to drive to work - Telegraph

Quote:

Commuters who drive to work are facing the threat of a "car parking tax" of up to £185 a year as part of a Government push to cut congestion.
The "workplace parking levy" is seen as an alternative to road pricing.

The first scheme is to be introduced by Nottingham City Council and other cities are poised to follow. Those who do so could get extra funding for public transport.

Labour-controlled Nottingham will charge companies with more than 10 parking spaces £185 a year for each space from 2010, rising to more than £300 by 2015.

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But any additional taxes will be seen as an intensification of the "war on the motorist".

"It just goes to show that the Sheriff of Nottingham is alive and well. This is nothing more than a tax on work," a spokesman for the AA said.

The average British motorist is now paying more than £1,800 in car-related tax, a 50 per cent rise since Labour came to power.

The Telegraph has been campaigning for a "Fair Deal for Drivers", calling on the Government to scrap its plans to raise fuel duty and road tax.

Ea of dune