Kilometer charge in the Netherlands

[Cloggy]

Well what will they think of next? In 2011 the Netherlands are going to introduce a charge per kilometer you drive on the highways. They had originally planned to have this in place by 2007 but it has since been postponed due to several factors.

Why they don't just increase the tax on petrol (gas) as this is already an indirect kilometer tax, with the added bonus of being an eco tax (for cars that drink a lot of fuel). Instead they are paying millions to put a system in place that monitors your highway movements. The truth of the matter is they dare not add any more tax to what is now one of (if not) the most expensive fuel in Europe, so they dreamt this one up

Anyway there is one upside to all of this, last month the parliament agreed (after much campaining by several Dutch Motorbike organisations), that motorbikes will be exempt from this tax

The main argument of the government to introduce this tax was to cut down the traffic jams, the main argument of the biking organisations was that as motorbikes can legally filter in the Netherlands they don't add to the traffic jam :thumbup:

 

[grommit]

Similar story in UK, till I read this today.

Trials of road pricing technology for bikes to go ahead - Motorcycle News - MCN

 

[Cloggy]

Similar story in UK, till I read this today.

Trials of road pricing technology for bikes to go ahead - Motorcycle News - MCN

well at least it's still a trial, a lot can change between now and its introduction in the UK. Hopefully MCN will take its campain to the next level using the same arguments as the Dutch motorcycle organisations did, as filtering is legal in the UK too.

 

[HavBlue]

Just out of curiosity how much do you folks pay in registration fees to ride your bikes on the road for a year?

 

[grommit]

Just out of curiosity how much do you folks pay in registration fees to ride your bikes on the road for a year?

A bargin @ £47

 

[PlasticPig]

A bargin @ £47

About $90 in the UK, its a lot cheaper over here.

 

[HavBlue]

So if it's roughly $90.00usd to ride for a year then it's about the same as I pay here in Kentucky. I paid a bit more in California. We have a state and federal tax on gasoline though, which accounts for around 36 cents on the gallon. I don't have a problem with the tax or registration if the fees go to roads and such. Here in Kentucky more than half the cost of registration goes towards "schools" and I haven't had children of school age for years. In California all the money went towards roads and their respective construction or maintenance. Do you folks not have toll roads?

 

[grommit]

So if it's roughly $90.00usd to ride for a year then it's about the same as I pay here in Kentucky. I paid a bit more in California. We have a state and federal tax on gasoline though, which accounts for around 36 cents on the gallon. I don't have a problem with the tax or registration if the fees go to roads and such. Here in Kentucky more than half the cost of registration goes towards "schools" and I haven't had children of school age for years. In California all the money went towards roads and their respective construction or maintenance. Do you folks not have toll roads?

I think we have 1 major toll road (M6 Toll) in the UK. In Europe they are much more common. We do have some crossings (bridges) that have tolls.

Our road tax does not go to the roads directly if at all.

 

[HavBlue]

I think we have 1 major toll road (M6 Toll) in the UK. In Europe they are much more common. We do have some crossings (bridges) that have tolls.

Our road tax does not go to the roads directly if at all.

Kentucky dropped its last toll road in November of 2006. There are other states that have them. In California the Bay area is full of bridges like the Golden Gate that have tolls.

Road tax that doesn't go to roads would drive me nuts. Especially if the roads I ride on were in a state of bad repair. Why have a road tax if it's not for the roads? This is why the school tax on my registration drives me nuts.

 

[grommit]

...

Why have a road tax if it's not for the roads?

...

It is a tax to use the roads these days. Thats why we are so anti-road pricing, how many times do we need to pay?

 

[HavBlue]

It is a tax to use the roads these days. Thats why we are so anti-road pricing, how many times do we need to pay?

Exactly... Each year I read about the lack of funds for maintaining roads yet the same road has waited for years to be repaved or repaired. Then, when a public audit of the funds finds the money needed for road repairs went to some special interest fund things get hot. In my view, vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes should go to roads and only roads. At that point we may just have enough money to maintain what we have or build more. We may also have enough money for driver/rider awareness programs and educational issues.