fuel taxes

What to know why public transport is so bad when the Government is trying to get us out of our cars, through massive fuel taxes, in the name of the enviroment? Well, according to the times, it is quite simple. All public transport initiatives have to take into account the amount of tax the government will 'lose' by people not driving and add this into their costs. So only if the government will be able to squeeze us for at least as much money as it was getting before will it allow the scheme to go ahead. Which pretty well kills the idea that the massive fuel duty rises that have taken place over recent years have been anything to do with protecting the enviroment, as is normally claimed.

The Government receives more than £42 billion a year in road taxes, including £28 billion in duty and VAT on fuel.

This income falls if public transport improves because motorists will be more inclined to take buses and trains and will therefore buy less fuel.

Under the department’s rules for schemes, the predicted losses from road taxes must be added to the capital costs of public transport projects.

This is inflating the costs and making it much harder for authorities to win government funding for their projects. Authorities submitted more than 60 transport projects last year, but only eight were approved. The department could not say which schemes it had rejected or delayed approving because of the added cost of allowing for tax losses.