'Additional taxes for driving into London are not acceptable'
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Irun a removals company in Forest Hill, south-east London. Our main office, yard and transit warehouse are there with our main storage warehouse in Charlton. Although this is only a matter of six miles, it takes between 30 and 40 minutes to travel this short distance, so we are currently trying to amalgamate the two sites.
We have a Government contract that means we carry out removals from Whetstone in north London. This is only 20 miles across London, or 55 miles via the great car park of the M25. Either way, the journey will take between Iwo and three hours each way. The Government is considering banning or charging vehicles to enter London and other large cities, in particular during the rush hour, to speed the traffic flow. This is meant to encourage people to use public transport, cycle or walk.
However, they are starting from the wrong place. The first consideration must be rural transport. I live in Kent, 40 miles from where I work. As well as working full
time, I also have a home and family to look after. Travelling by car takes me between 50 minutes and one hour 15 minutes, depending on what time of the day I leave home or work. This could be between 6am and 9am, returning some time between 7pm and 9pm. To travel by public transport takes between three-and-a-half and four hours each way. I have to drive seven miles to Maidstone to catch a train because the first bus From our village is at 7am and the last bus from the town centre leaves at 5.45pm. We have a good park-and-ride scheme but this starts at 8am and finishes at 6.30pm. The trains do not connect and there is a 30minute wait. Add the cost of travel and the additional six hours a day travel time and public transport is not an option. The road fund licence should be abandoned, with additional costs put onto fuel. This would mean that all motorists, including foreign vehicles who currently pay nothing towards their use of our roads, would be playing to the same rules, with nobody able to avoid their fair share of tax. Insurance companies could issue discs, as they do on the Continent, confirming that there is insurance cover in place. This could be quantified by the need to see a current MoT certificate at the time that the insurance is renewed.
There should be a registration fee of no more than El 0 to register all new vehicles and also to notify change of ownership. Those who use the road must pay the most. Additional taxes for driving into London and all other town centres are not acceptable. A complete, subsidised transport service within the present tax parameters is the only way to get more people onto public transport. Otherwise, those who can afford to pay will do so—the rest will be left with no means of transport whatsoever.