Diesel Do.

Transport for London ( TFL) that run anything that moves in London on road , river and rail has recently introduced a bad boy tax for those that drive into London in a low emission vehicle using say diesel. The charge is £12.50 per day for anyone that drives anywhere in the Ultra low emissions Zone ( ULEZ ). If you also happen to go into central London all vehicles have to pay a further £15 for Congestion Charge, effectively another mobility tax.

Add to that the tax circa 60% the Government take on fuel charge, then add the per annum vehicle tax circa £500 per year, Motoring has become and is big business , dirty motoring through ULEZ even bigger. Add to that parking charge say £30 per day , a car in London these days to say to work or theatre can cost up to £57.50 per day call $80 to all those Americans and whose gas is 4 times less than ours. If you do park illegally you’ll get a £30 ticket or towed away for £180. For those that live in London and have a diesel car then every time they drive the ULEZ charge kicks in.

The ULEZ charge is currently raising £600,000 per day for TFL or over £200m per annum a mere drop in the ocean for them as they are losing £4 billion a year. The losses are due to the pandemic yet even Pre pandemic they were losing circa £700 million as the Mayor Khan froze fares to get re-elected.

London like any other Metropolis should be able to run an efficiently profitable Transit System. Concern is meantime on the horizon for what really is going to replace ALL these motoring taxes when Greta Thunberg finally gets her way and we all go electric green. Ok Elon we get you the battery will take you 300 miles so long as you don’t turn on the radio or as one black cab driver told me yesterday as long as you don’t turn on the heater. The Cabbie is getting 50 miles distance from his charge up which might just take him out of the Metropolis but will certainly not bring him back. Imagine JFK promising to take men to the Moon but not bringing them back.

For now we must realise that old Yorkshire saying ‘ where there’s muck there is brass ‘ for all those blog viewers abroad ‘ where there is dirt there’s money ‘. For now Diesel Do ( these will do ) plenty of muck and plenty of money. Nuclear fusion of course is the only answer and new ways to raise taxes to fund keeping the nation healthy ( NHS £160 billion per annum ) need to be found if we are all going green. All fuel for discussion of course. We shall overcome and hopefully before the drivers don’t go bust. Taxing times.