What Percentage Of Government Finance Is Fuel Duties?
I typed the title of this post into Google.
Google found this page from the Office of Budget Responsibility.
This was the first paragraph.
Fuel duties are levied on purchases of petrol, diesel and a variety of other fuels. They represent a significant source of revenue for government. In 2023-24, we expect fuel duties to raise £24.3 billion. That would represent 2.3 per cent of all receipts and is equivalent to £867 per household and 0.9 per cent of national income.
I don’t drive after a stroke ruined my eyesight, so I pay nothing directly.
But when everybody is in electric vehicles, how is the £24.3 billion hole in the government’s finances caused by no-one paying duty on petrol and diesel to be filled?
I would assume that everyone will have a black box in their vehicle and they’ll pay according to the miles they drive, their speed, the congestion and the vehicle type.
And of course if a driver exceeds the speed limit, they’ll be automatically sent a ticket.
I can understand why Labour politicians like Mark Drakeford and Sadiq Khan are so keen on 20 mph limits.
Has that nice Rachel Reeves told them what she has planned for motorists?
Their eyes must be rolling like cash registers.
An INEOS Grenadier Spotted In De Beauvoir Town
I saw an INEOS Grenadier by my doctor’s surgery this morning.
I think, if I was still driving and lived in the country, I’d take a serious look at one.
Silvertown Tunnel: Cracks In Mayoral Policies
The title of this post, is the same as that, as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
It is an infrastructure project that is well-underway with the boring almost completed — but it has a very low profile.
These three paragraphs possibly explain why.
Every step of the Crossrail tunnelling, the media were invited along. Not so with this project.
This is Silvertown Tunnel. It is more than 1km long and will be London’s first road tunnel in over 30 years.
Perhaps one of the reasons it isn’t being pushed publicity-wise, is it is very controversial.
Reading the rest of the article it certainly is controversial in many people’s minds.
These are my thoughts.
Avoiding The Dartford Crossing
When I drove back to Suffolk from Gatwick, Kent or Sussex, in the last century, because of congestion at the Dartford Crossing, I would sometimes cut through London and use the Blackwall Tunnel, when I thought it would be quicker.
When the Silvertown Tunnel opens, this could be a viable alternative for vehicles.
My experience of modelling flows, tells me, that water finds its own level. With driving, Satellite Navigation will be able to tell drivers, which will be the fastest route.
It is my view, that the Silvertown Tunnel will become the biggest rat-run in London.
Except some of these rats will be super-rats in 45-tonne HGVs.
Cutting Pollution In London
If super-rat-running is going to happen, then this will raise pollution in Central London, with all those heavy trucks going through.
The only way to cut pollution would be to have differential pricing for vehicles in the tunnels.
Perhaps hydrogen and electric vehicles should be at a discount.
But then Sadiq Khan doesn’t have a hydrogen policy, except to ignore it and hope it goes away.
The Elizabeth Line Effect
Talking to Elizabeth Line staff at Whitechapel station, they feel that there is an increasing number of passengers, who do journeys in East London on an up-one-branch-down-t’other basis between places like Ilford and Woolwich.
I believe, that other cross-river railways and the Bank station improvements, will also take passengers out of their cars, which will free up the Silvertown Tunnel for more HGVs.
A City Airport Station On The Elizabeth Line
I wrote about this in Thoughts On London City Airport And The Elizabeth Line.
How many cars would this remove from the tunnels under the Thaames?
Can Park-And-Ride Stations Be Used To Increase Motorway Capacity?
This article on the BBC is entitled New Smart Motorway Plans Being Scrapped.
I’ve never driven or even been driven on a smart motorway. But one incident in the 1970s, convinced me that we should have full hard shoulders on motorways and probably some dual carriageway roads.
I was travelling North on the then-two-lane M11 just North of Stansted Airport, doing around seventy in the outside lane of a not very busy motorway.
From nowhere an MGB convertible appeared in my mirrors and I pulled over to let the other car through.
There was a slight bend to the right at that point and the road was in a cutting.
The MGB just went straight on, climbed the banking and then turned over and rolled down and into the middle of the motorway.
A couple of other cars stopped on the hard shoulder and I initially pulled in behind them.
Miraculously, the driver had got out of the upside-down MGB and was standing beside the car.
I noticed that someone was using the emergency telephone by the side of the motorway, but I was worried that someone could come along too fast.
So as I had a large white car, I switched on the hazard lights and reversed down the hard shoulder. It certainly slowed everybody down and there were no more bumps or injuries. But what would have happened if the motorway had been busy?
When I first heard that smart motorways were going to be introduced in 2007, I was immediately against the idea because of that serious incident on the M11.
So what can we do to increase the capacity of our motorway and main road network?
Mathematical Modelling
In the 1970s, my software was used to model water supply in the UK. This piece of software just solved simultaneous differential equations and was used by the Government’s Water Resources Board.
I believe that software like I wrote fifty years ago and other more modern systems can be applied to traffic flows.
This should mean that any solutions put forward should be able to be tested.
Use Of Trains
If people can be encouraged to mode-shift and use trains, that must reduce the number of cars on the motorways.
But to get people out of their cars, there must be more Park-and-Ride stations.
And these new Park-and-Ride stations, must be attractive to motorists.
In Was Baldrick An Essex Man?, I looked at the design of the new Beaulieu Park station.
I feel that this is almost a new type of Park-and-Ride station, so is it part of a cunning plan to attract more passengers to the trains.
- It has a high-quality specification.
- Seven-hundred parking spaces will be built with hopefully an adequate number of chargers for electric vehicles.
- There will be five-hundred bicycle spaces.
- As it appears the station will be surrounded by 14,000 houses, I expect Network Rail are hoping lots of passengers will use the station.
But what is most unusual is that the station has an avoiding line, which should increase capacity and speed on the line through the station.
I also think, that the station is not just about journeys to London and Chelmsford, but also to other places in East Anglia like Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich.
So have Network Rail designed a station that will maximise the return on their investment?
Only time will tell!
Conclusion
I think that Network Rail are trying to see if there is money to be made in the design of Park-and-Ride stations.
Effects Of The ULEZ In West London
This page on the Transport for London web site is entitled ULEZ Expansion 2023.
This is the first paragraph.
To help clear London’s air and improve health, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is expanding across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023.
These are some points from the rest of the page.
- Poor air quality is impacting the health of Londoners, and it’s mainly caused by polluting vehicles.
- Air pollution even contributes to the premature death of thousands of Londoners every year.
- 9 out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London already meet the ULEZ emissions standards.
- If you drive anywhere within the ULEZ and your vehicle does not meet the emissions standards, you could face a daily charge of £12.50.
- Residents of the ULEZ are not exempt from the charge.
- Any money received from the scheme is reinvested into running and improving London’s transport network, such as expanding bus routes in outer London.
There is no reference to trucks or HGVs.
These are my thoughts.
Objections To The ULEZ
If you type ULEZ into Google and look at the News page, you get a lot of stories that don’t show the ULEZ in a good light.
Here are a few headlines.
- BBC – ULEZ: Labour MPs Seek Support For Non-Londoners
- BBC – Firms In Essex Could Close Due To ULEZ, Warns Business Leader
- Big Issue – London’s Ulez Plans Could Hit Disabled People, Charities And Small Businesses The Hardest
- Daily Mail – Sadiq Khan Claims That Nazis Have Infiltrated Anti-Ulez Protests
- Guardian – EU Motorist Fined Almost £11,000 After Falling Foul Of London Ulez Rule
- Guardian – London’s Mayor Faces High Court Challenge Over Ulez Expansion
- Kent Live – Anti-ULEZ Campaign Group Support Soars As Kent Drivers ‘Unfairly Targeted’
- LBC – No More Ulez? Sadiq Khan Considers Scrapping Controversial Scheme And Replacing It With ‘Pay-As-You-Drive’ System
- Slough Observer – Ulez Faces High Court Challenge
- Which? – Why It Could Cost £17.50 To Drop A Loved One At Heathrow This Summer
It looks like Sadiq Khan has fallen into a hole.
And he hasn’t stopped digging!
To make it worse, he has suggested a Pay-As-You-Drive System. I seem to remember, that a Dutch Prime Minister, who tried it, lost the next election.
But then Sadiq Khan likes tolls as the new Silvertown Tunnel and the Blackwall Tunnel will be tolled in a few years.
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports and 76,000 people work at the airport, with many more employed nearby.
The airport handled 61.6 million passengers in 2022, which is a few short of 170,000 per day.
If you consider that those that work at the airport do two trips per day and passengers generally do one, that means there are 322,000 trips per day to or from the airport.
But as it now so easy to get to the Airport using the Elizabeth Line will more people use the new line to meet and greet and say goodbye to loved ones or business associates. Since the Elizabeth Line opened, I’ve met a couple of friends at Heathrow, who were passing through.
I wonder, if that daily journey total of 322,000 could be nearer to 350,000 or even 400,000.
If the ULEZ charge makes some passengers and staff switch from their car to using a bus or train, this probably means that public transport to and from the airport, will need to be boosted by a substantial amount.
But improving public transport to Heathrow wouldn’t be easy.
- The Elizabeth Line seems to have put a big hole in the finances of Heathrow Express.
- How many more trains can be squeezed into the Heathrow Tunnel?
- The Western Rail Link to Heathrow would probably need to be built. But that seems to be in limbo.
- New trains for the Piccadilly Line are a few years away.
It might have been better to build a different scheme for Western access to Heathrow like the Heathrow Southern Railway.
I suspect that there will be a lot more passengers on the Elizabeth Line to and from Heathrow.
A ULEZ For Heathrow
This article on fleetworld, from four years ago, is entitled Heathrow To Introduce Charging ULEZ In 2022.
It hasn’t happened, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be implemented in the future.
If it did happen, there would be more passengers for the Elizabeth Line.
The Elizabeth Line
I have written three posts about how busy the Western section of the Elizabeth Line can get.
- Very Busy Lizzie
- Elizabeth Line: Commuters Say Service ‘Not What Was Promised’
- So Many Cases On A Train!
Is there sufficient capacity to accommodate all the ULEZ-dodgers on the trains to and from Heathrow?
To make matters worse, there is a large Asian population from the Indian sub-continent living along the Elizabeth Line between Ealing Broadway and Reading.
- They seem to be enthusiastic users of the line.
- Having ridden several times on crowded Indian trains, perhaps using trains is very much part of South Asian culture.
- I also suspect that a lot of Indian families have spread themselves along the line, just like my mother’s close family spread themselves along the 107 bus route.
In Very Busy Lizzie, I said this.
Reading needs four tph to Central London.
The ULEZ will make this even more essential.
The Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly Line may be getting new trains, but it is not a line that is blessed with lots of step-free stations.
The West London Orbital Railway
It does appear that the West London Orbital Railway may be more likely to be built, than a few months ago.
In Is There Progress On The West London Orbital Railway?, I wrote about a report, that consultants were being chosen.
This railway could ease pressure on the railways in West London.
Cutting Pollution In London From Trucks
London like all big cities has a lot of trucks.
As the average truck has a much larger engine than the average car, I would suspect it gives out more pollution.
One way to cut pollution from large vehicles would be to run them on hydrogen.
But unlike some cities in the UK, London has no hydrogen policy and filling stations to fill them up.
The Mayor could at least get a workable hydrogen policy.
Conclusion
I suspect the next Mayor of London will have to have a rethink on the ULEZ and implement a hydrogen policy.
Is Old Street Roundabout A ‘Too Many Cooks’ Project?
The remodelling of Old Street station and the roundabout on top was the lead item on BBC London news this morning.
The project is certainly not going well and seems to be proceeding at a snail’s pace.
Progress On The 24th February 2023
I took these pictures a few days after I wrote the original post.
Compare these pictures with those in Old Street Station – 9th September 2022, which were the last ones I took.
Conclusion
I do wonder, if this project is suffering from too many politicians trying to manage the project at the top.
I suspect Hackney and Islington Councils, the City of London, the Greater London Authority, Transport for London and the Mayor of London are all having a say.
And I suspect other interested parties like Moorfields Hospital, the various bus companies, and many disgruntled passengers are all adding their four pennyworth.
What is needed is for someone with authority to take charge!
Unfortunately for the project, the guy with the authority; Sadiq Khan won’t be interested, as it’s a North London project.
But please someone, get a grip on this important project!
This Hydrogen Bus Will Take You And Your Car To Your Holiday Destination – Topgear
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
The article details an interesting concept called Symone, from the French.
Looking at it, I suspect British Rail’s Motorail service was more efficient, as it had a larger capacity.
Mazda Europe Boss: 2035 ICE Ban Is ‘A Disgrace Of The Politicians’
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Car Dealer Magazine.
These are the three bullet points.
- Mazda Europe’s CEO lambasts EU’s 2035 ban and labels it a ‘big mistake’
- Martijn ten Brink says he finds new rules ‘hard to get his head around’
- Changes will stifle creativity in the automotive industry, claims Mazda boss
The article is a very interesting read.
Toyota Unveils AE86 Hydrogen Car Concept
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
The article is all about Toyota showing off, what they can do with hydrogen internal combustion engines.
It is an article that is very much worth a read.
This paragraph explains the work Toyota did to run the car on hydrogen.
Toyota explained that to create its new H2 burning internal combustion engine vehicle involved changing only “fuel injectors, fuel pipes, and spark plugs,” to make it possible to burn cleanly.
The article also suggests that conversion kits may be made available for older cars.
Hydrogen power is not one technology, but several that all might end up with sizeable shares of the market.
Cars In Central London Surged 60% After Khan Stopped Evening Congestion Charge
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Standard.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Transport for London’s own data shows the dramatic impact of the Mayor’s decision to shorten the £15-a-day C-charge’s operating hours, ending it at 6pm rather than 10pm.
Last February, an average of 12,968 vehicles entered the zone between 6pm-10pm. But by October this had increased to 20,654 — a rise of 59 per cent.
To a Control Engineer like me, it is obvious that if you reduce the cost of the London Congestion Charge in the evenings between 18:00 and 22:00, you’re going to get more traffic.
Was that what was intended?
Or was the Mayor given bad advice?
I would have thought, the best course of action would have been to keep the charges as they were and use some the money to improve public transport in the central area.
The Anonymous Widower 