If you fancy a shopping...
If you fancy a shopping spree at this new mall, donò€™t expect to fit all your items in your basket! The shelves arenò€™t only stacked with the usual mix of food, clothes and gadgets ò€“ brand new cars are on offer, too.
And that"s when the...
And that"s when the worst possible motoring news was quietly and disgracefully released through the back door, and nearly went completely unnoticed. Thankfully, I spotted it, and am now going to break it to you. It is with deep regret that I must tell you that plans for í‚á£20 toll fees on short sections of motorway were effectively announced by the Government on 25 September 2005.
The word at this early stage is that it will only be drivers using a comparatively tiny and busy section of the M4 who will be hit with this preposterous charge. But give it time, and motorists wanting to travel on other motorways, particularly those near airports - such as the M42 in Birmingham and M56 in Manchester - will surely be subjected to the same type of road tax, too.
And don"t lose sight of the fact that this cost could be in addition to the much trumpeted, Government-inspired pay-as-you-drive racket. As has been widely reported, this scheme will employ satellite technology to track our every move and bill us up to í‚á£1.30 per mile. And, of course, it will be on top of the í‚á£42billion (and rising) we currently stump up annually in general motoring-related taxes.
The idea of the í‚á£20 M4 levy - which is likely to start at í‚á£5 when it"s introduced in 2008 but quadruple by 2015 - is to stop people driving from central London to Heathrow Airport. You see, the Government wants us all to travel on the horribly expensive and temperamental Heathrow Express train service, prohibitively costly taxis or filthy and cramped tube, buses or coaches. Now, none of these is particularly pleasant to use at the best of times, but what about if you have kids, suitcases and skis in tow?
The rationale is that congestion in the Heathrow area has to be reduced. There is even a mischievous and frankly disgraceful suggestion that these numerous creaking modes of public transport are somehow cleaner and kinder to the environment than our state-of-the-art cars. While we"re on the subject of air pollution, how much of it is caused by all those planes which are up there burning untaxed fuel by taking off or landing at the world"s busiest airport in the first place?
And anyway, it won"t only be car-driving airport users who will be stung by this horrible and unfair motorway tax. Motorists visiting friends, family, hospitals, shops, schools or work places in the local area will be charged as well.