24-11-24, 02:09 PM
As a country bumpkin, with the advent of ULEZ zones around the country (Bristol & Birmingham spring to mind), I have started plotting my routes on Google Maps to ensure that I am not paying into a scheme that is clearly there to punish the workers etc that cannot upgrade their cars to the latest model.
My main reason for doing this is when I see the numbers of public buses, all way past their sell by date, pumping out clouds of pollutants and/or sitting in bus stops with the engine idling (yes, even with a sign on the bus stop saying "no running engines", I start to wonder who is actually paying attention to pollution - the various local authorities who are using it to "tax" motorists who need to travel, but then exclude their own fleets of vehicles.
On a recent trip to Birmingham to see Dr Feelgood, the sat nav route wanted to take me through the centre of the cities exclusion zone. So I went the long way, which was quicker, involved less traffic and didn't cost me a bean in "tax".
Maybe that should be the way forward, to encourage drivers & riders to plan their route better, to take into account the clogged city roads.
So in a nutshell, I feel sorry for the people who have become trapped, getting taxed more for their everyday existence, but I will not be visiting anywhere, that I cannot get to, without paying an additional tax, because I cannot afford to buy a new car.
My main reason for doing this is when I see the numbers of public buses, all way past their sell by date, pumping out clouds of pollutants and/or sitting in bus stops with the engine idling (yes, even with a sign on the bus stop saying "no running engines", I start to wonder who is actually paying attention to pollution - the various local authorities who are using it to "tax" motorists who need to travel, but then exclude their own fleets of vehicles.
On a recent trip to Birmingham to see Dr Feelgood, the sat nav route wanted to take me through the centre of the cities exclusion zone. So I went the long way, which was quicker, involved less traffic and didn't cost me a bean in "tax".
Maybe that should be the way forward, to encourage drivers & riders to plan their route better, to take into account the clogged city roads.
So in a nutshell, I feel sorry for the people who have become trapped, getting taxed more for their everyday existence, but I will not be visiting anywhere, that I cannot get to, without paying an additional tax, because I cannot afford to buy a new car.