Heathrow Airport Considers 20 "drop Off" Fee
Pity the poor U.K. motorist. On top of new "gas guzzler" showroom taxes, higher sky-high taxes on gas and diesel, 17.5 percent VAT on everything car-related (soon to include car insurance), increased CO2-based London congestion charging, the introduction of CO2-based parking space taxes and the ongoing prospect of road pricing (and all the other taxes), Heathrow Airport is considering imposing a £20 "drop off" fee for passengers arriving by car. Oh, and a £3 congestion charge for trucks using roads around the airport– including the M4. According to The Evening Standard, The British Airports Authority's (BAA) new taxes charges would raise £137m a year, which they'd use to pay for the costs of administering the scheme. Just kidding (kind of). BAA would use the money to pay for the airport's expansion and meet the Government's stipulation that Heathrow's growth should not result in an increase in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. Meanwhile, environmentalists are giving British Airways shit [at the bottom of the same article] for flying three jets into LHR without a single passenger on board. Oy.
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Why don't they just skip to the end and outlaw cars for all but "essential personel", aka members of the government and their relatives.
BuckD, We are only talking about congestion AT THE AIRPORT. My point is that the governments in Europe, by penalizing General Aviation to death and managing airport rationing, have created the congestion at Heathrow and their other mega airports. Even with their train system, they have a larger demand for air travel than they can handle given their management. We are going down the same path in the US, only WE DON'T HAVE THE TRAIN SYSTEM! Next time your city tries to rip up an airport, do something about it. While you are at it, if you get the ear of a legislator, tell him to stop the slaughter against GA. It's your life you are wasting at the airport, and it will be your money when the price goes up.
So, really, what it's coming down to is this: everything we do, most especially those thing that the industrial revolution wrought, are bad (mmm k). But, we won't do anything drastic like, you know, stop doing these things. We will just tax everyone that relies on these things for their day to day existence. That way the rich can get richer (thank god) and the poor will be thankful they can still do it/use it while feeling guilty. A means to controlling ones behavior. Yeah, that's why cigarette taxes are so high. I'm going back to reading Yertle the Turtle.
Holy crap its getting INSANE in Britain. What are they thinking? Wait until their economy tanks because of this.