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Cut your motoring costs By Rob Griffin
Motorists are feeling under attack. Not only are they struggling to cope with rising running costs, they're now facing the prospect of being charged even more to use the roads under controversial plans being considered by Transport secretary Douglas Alexander wants to tackle congestion with a pay-as-you-drive charge - possibly replacing road and petrol tax. Although how it would work remains unclear, it's likely that cars would be fitted with a black box and tracked by satellite. It has been suggested that roads would be individually priced - depending on the area and the time they were used - which could mean drivers being charged anything from 2p a mile in rural areas to more than £1.30 on the busiest. The debate has been re-ignited by the publication of a transport study by Sir Rod Eddington, the former chief executive of British Airways, which was commissioned in 2005 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Transport. The report warned that if the growing problem of congestion on our roads was left unchecked, it would cost the economy a staggering £25 billion by 2025. By then, it claimed, 13% of traffic would be subject to stop-start travel conditions. Road charge Considering there are already 33 million vehicles on the road today - an increase of six million in the past decade - the prospect of large parts of the country being gridlocked on a daily basis is not out of the question. However, the outcry over the proposals has been swift. Around 1.8 million people signed a petition against the plans on the Downing Street website, receiving a reply from Prime Minister Tony Blair. In his lengthy statement, he maintains that no decision has yet been taken on road pricing and it would still be at least another 10 years before a national scheme was technologically feasible. "This is a complex subject which cannot be resolved without a thorough investigation of all the options, combined with a full and frank debate about the choices we face at a local and national level," he wrote. Congestion charge zone Various road-charging schemes are already in place. Durham became the first city to introduce a congestion charge back in 2002, with London following suit a year later. Similar ideas are being mooted by others, including Manchester and Bristol. In recent weeks, the capital's congestion charge zone has almost doubled in size with the £8-a-day charge now being extended to most of Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea in west London. The next logical step, it is feared, will be some form of national scheme. Hugh Bladon, one of the founder members of the Association of British Drivers, says there's little wonder that so many people are up in arms about the prospect of being charged for driving on the roads. "Road tolls represent another cost," he says. "And people are also rightly concerned about being tracked wherever they go." In fact, Hugh Bladon believes, the motorist is treated "awfully" in the UK - particularly when compared with continental Europe, where drivers are not only free to drive without being constantly spied upon, but the roads they use are in excellent condition. "I would like to see a bit more of our money spent on maintaining our roads and building more," he adds. "When the airports reach capacity we put in more runways, so if we're running out of roads, why can't we do the same?" Bladon also questioned the notion that motoring costs have decreased. "Petrol and diesel have gone up in price, insurance is not any cheaper and you have still got to take into account things like depreciation." Motoring is getting cheaper? However, Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's senior transport campaigner, disagrees. "In real terms - after you take wages into account - motoring is getting cheaper," he says. "It's about 8% cheaper to drive a car now than it was 10 years ago, while over the same period, public transport has become more expensive." While obviously in favour of road pricing, Bosworth insists this won't solve all our transport problems. "We need much more investment in public transport, cycling and walking to give drivers better alternatives to cars," he adds. "Road charging won't happen nationwide for another decade, but we need that extra investment now." The costs of motoring are high on the agenda of most drivers, according to a survey carried out by the AA - and this isn't surprising, considering transport costs the average household £240 a month, says Paul Watters, head of public affairs at the AA. "Drivers already pay vehicle excise duty, fuel duty, plus VAT for every mile they travel, and in recent years they have been faced with the highest-ever fuel prices," he explains. "Many say that they already pay more than enough, particularly when they sit in traffic jams and travel on poor quality roads. Others say something must be done about congestion, and rationing road use by price may be the only solution." Car clubs Considering the costs associated with owning and running a car, it's not surprising that alternatives have started to spring up. A prime example is car clubs, such as Streetcar. Members of this scheme - which currently operates in London, Brighton and Southampton - can book a car either by ringing up or logging on to the company's website. They access the vehicle with a smart card and type in a PIN number to release the immobiliser. You don't have the expense of ownership - or incur the costs of getting a taxi to take you around. Use of the new Volkswagen Golf, for example, will set you back just £4.95 per hour - inclusive of costs. For those who prefer to have their own car, there's always the option of sharing regular journeys with friends and neighbours. It is estimated that a car sharer will save around £1,000 a year - as well as helping to reduce congestion and pollution. Failing that, you can log onto liftshare.org, a free online service that enables you to register your details and then scours the database for members closely matching your requirements. National Liftshare Day - which aims to publicise the benefits of sharing - is scheduled for 14 June this year. Cut your motoring costs You can often negotiate discounts on insurance if your car is fitted with an immobiliser, kept on the driveway overnight and you agree to limit your annual mileage. Discounts are also available for having fitted satellite-tracking devices and taking advanced driving courses. It's also worth considering a rainy-day car account. Instead of paying each bill as it comes along, you can set up a savings account offering a decent rate of interest into which you can make regular payments. Not only will you have enough to cover unexpected bills, but you'll also be earning interest.
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