Quote:
Originally posted by Steve M
Quote: Originally posted by Gizmo
Why don't they just encourage freight on to rail like the rest of europe, tax HGV's heavily to keep them off the road, keep HGV's in the inside lane and use education campaigns to improve driving on motorways. That would decrease M way congestion.
Follow that up with a transport policy which made safe cycle routes into cities and towns, decreased the number of car parking places, use congestion charging like London does to improve city centres. |
don't forget that everthing you buy has to be transported, even stuff that goes on trains will normally have some time on a HGV. If transport costs rise then so does the cost of the end product. Also this tax would not apply to foriegn trucks, making it even harder for British companies. |
So we introduce a system where foreign trucks need a special test and licence to run on UK roads but at a price. This would have 2 benefits, protect our haulage and get rid of unsafe foreign trucks and drivers who don't understand our roads or language.
All goods would end up on smaller vans doing shorter runs, picked up from local marshalling yards, its how the rest of europe does it, check out those long trains you see heading to the south of france or germany from the ports with containers on, how many lorries does each account for and how much congestion does it safe?
We'd lose out on some of the overnight delivery stuff but reduction in HGV's on road would more than make up for that.
oh, one small problem, it relies upon an efficient rail network which the rest of Europe has but we got rid of
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