Dutch drivers to pay tax on road time, not on car

[SGT_OKINAWA]

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091114/D9BVD87G5.html

So, yes, no maybe?

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IMO:
GPS track my car? No thank you,... I don't do bad things, but still, where do we draw the line? Gosh this sounds like a bad idea (boom02)

How long before this gets out of hand and used by the police? (fuoops)

Peace!(rei)

 

[Heat]

When the plan takes effect in 2012, new car prices will drop as much as 25 percent with the abolition of a purchase tax and the road tax, which now totals more than euro600 ($900) per year for a mid-sized car.

Instead, an average passenger car will pay euro0.03 per 1 kilometer ($0.07 per mile), with higher charges levied during rush hour and for traveling on congested roads. Trucks, commercial vehicles and bigger cars emitting more carbon dioxide will be assessed at a higher rate, the Transport Ministry said...

Interesting idea. They could have just raised the tax on gasoline to reduce the number of cars and increase the overall mileage of the cars on the road since people would buy more fuel efficient cars as gas prices go up, but instead they are micromanaging it by charging more depending on where the car is located.

Thus a car in a city during rush hour would pay more, which makes sense to me if their goal is to reduce traffic in the city.

 

[DKaz]

Man, the administrative and technological costs that will have to go in through all this. I would say just put all cars on a timer, say $2 per hour. $2 on a wide open highway will net you 100km, $2 in the city during rush hour could be a mere 10km. Every year they have to get the car's meters read before they can renew their insurance. That'll encourage people to not use their cars to commute but still give them bang for the buck when using cars for personal reasons, without the costs of having to keep track of where the cars are being driven.

(I can see people turning off their engines at extended red lights or really bad traffic to stop the meter, lol, but that's good for the environment with newer cars).

 

[SGT_OKINAWA]

I think that no matter what they
come up with, meters, GPS, some
guy that sits in the back seat and
records your driving with a pen and
paper (unamused) ..... people are
addicted to cars now, So ...

a) This will cause issues with the use
of GPS tracking being used in less than
'nice ways'

b) People will just like they did when
the odometer came out in the 1920's
will try to circumvent it, like it was said,
turn off the engine, etc.

c) Create a massive push for employers
to allow more telecommute employees
coasting more for the company and costs
passed along to the consumer.

d) Companies moving their businesses
OUTSIDE the city so their employees are
not in the 'Hot Zone' for traffic, etc.

e) Companies NOT HIRING people unless
they use the 'company bus' to get ot work.

f) I could go on, but you get the idea...

Remember folks, hugging bunnies and saving
a tree is expensive and CARS is the best and
easiest way to do it, however that backfired
when cars were made affordable to the average
lower middle class and poor, now they have to
come up with a fix for that, and guess what,
THIS PLAN will be circumvented or just made
part of life of a driver (screwy)

Peace!(rei)

Peace!(rei)

 

[thaxman]

Funny that the Dutch have such bad traffic, especially since they one of the highest bike riderships in the world. Sounds to me like they just need to bite the bullet and do some road upgrades. If you look at what China has been doing to prepare for the Olympics, as well as routinely amazing growth, then Holland has a model to follow: double-decker freeways, freeways within freeways, super subway transit systems, etc. You just gotta realize that people are fine biking a few miles one way, but when there are so many people that commutes begin to span 25-30+ miles, and its not because of sprawl, then you have to address your road network. Plain and simple. And telling them they will pay more to get to work during normal working hours isn't going to solve any problems.