Tabloids report AA want us to get on our bikes to beat soaring fuel prices… except they’ve said it all along

I thought the same yesterday. Loads of cars on the roads. Be interesting to know if sales are down at all. If they're not then I agree £2 isn't enough.

So what we need to do, is campaign for higher fuel prices. An extra quid a litre for a Green Tax something something would be a decent start.

Jimwill wrote:

So what we need to do, is campaign for higher fuel prices. An extra quid a litre for a Green Tax something something would be a decent start.

Except Boris is now quoted as ditching all the green crap.

As far as I know the only thing he's looking at ditching is the rewilding of farm land. Which is understandable, for the growth of crops so we aren't held hostage to rising food prices by a war going on somewhere else.

Unfortunately, once again this is failure of leadership, he just wants to be populist. UK farming has potential to feed far greater numbers of people and be sustainable.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/13/george-monbiot-vegan-pla...

IF you persuade the entire population to turn vegan.

Which isn't happening anytime soon.

Interestingly, the book which Monbiot is getting his figures from is actually a detailed, and convincing, defence of meat eating.

It could have been feeding even more if we hadn't spent decades building on prime agricultural land.

Jimwill wrote:

So what we need to do, is campaign for higher fuel prices. An extra quid a litre for a Green Tax something something would be a decent start.

I would actually go for road pricing. That way you can ensure that those that live in the country, with poor access to public transport, aren't disproportionately hit.

I'd go with road pricing for EVs. On a pay per mile basis. With a scale according to what sort of road.
Something like, Motorways 1p per mile ,A roads 5p, B roads 10p and built up areas £1 or more.
Hopefully this would make people reconsider a 1mile drive through town to work. But if you had a 20mile commute down a M'way you'd be happier to pay.

Whilst I see your thinking with the policy, when we fully switch to EVs there will be a tax black hole where fuel duty used to live. 

However, if the intention is to charge people for their negative externalities (in this case presumably taking up road space and tyre/brake particulate pollution) that should be covered by all motorists, not simply EVs drivers.  I see no reason (from a fairness perspective) why this couldn't be stacked on top of fuel duty as its ultimately targeting a different negative externality.  Politically clearly that would be a no go.

But, the idea of introducing a tax that makes owning an EV less attractive, at the current juncture would, imho be poor policy.  We are still at a point where we want to encourage EVs and yes, an EV isn't 100% clean (the electricity has to come from somewhere) but when you consider that commercial combustion of fossil fuels is more energy efficient that in a motor car, and we are increasingly using renewables, I think we need to ensure that driving an EV remains cheaper that a petrol/diesel.  At the moment people thinking about new cars can potentially look at petrol/diesel prices and think "sod that, I'm out" and make the switch.  If you add in pricing complexity (and opaque costs of usage) I think you make it more difficult for people to make that change and discourage the switch to EVs.

Guarding the bikes outside the supermarket yesterday whilst Mrs H shopped, absolutely astonished to see the number of people parked up with engines idling, some for the whole twenty minutes I was there - oh this cost of living crisis is terrible, but I'm going to sit here burning money for no reason at all.

Funnier still, we met up Saturday morning for the usual run. Police car parked up in "our spot", engine running (we always have a good chat before setting off - so several minutes whilst we were there). The police officer appeared to be on her phone?

Cost of living blah blah, me flights been cancelled

IanMK wrote:

Seriously though, how many opportunities to change to a greener society are politicians going to miss.

It's almost as though there's money to be made by exploiting resources and not caring about the future

I fear Politicians only behave wisely once they've exhausted all other options.

Kapelmuur wrote:

A suggestion by a panellist on BBC4s The News Quiz was that all journeys under a mile should be by space hopper.

Was it Ivan Dobsky?

I never done it, I only said I done it so they'd stop talking about helmets and disc brakes. 

I never done it, I only said I done it so they'd stop talking about helmets and disc brakes

It didn't work! Helmets and disc brakes are grrreeeeattt!

Reminds me of...

I heard that too - and it was quite funny - but it would have been nice for someone to have just said "or, you know, by bicycle?"

ktache wrote:

said he'd just brought a pushbike to get to work

This kind of ignorance is excusable in the general public.  Even though we cyclists know the correct term is "Laufmaschine" or "draisienne".

Velocipede, or to be very modern a "safety".