I’m sure most people are now aware that we recently saw a rise of 2p per litre in fuel duty. I’m no expert on economics or anything like that but I know that three fuel duty increases in nine months is too much. The most annoying thing is that in the USA, they are all complaining about ‘gas prices’ but they still pay as little as 2.271 per gallon (gasbuddy.com), which if I’m not wrong, is less than half what we pay in the UK! The Times Online is suggesting that this is just a way for the government to increase taxes under the radar. (Times Online). With three increases in nine months, that certainly makes a certain amount of sense.
What gets me is that last time unleaded went over £1 per litre, people went mad, forming road blocks at oil refineries, etc and putting on the pressure to reduce petrol prices. This seemed to work but now we are over the £1 mark again, nobody seems too bothered.
One of our friends owns a medium sized haulage company and for every penny increase in fuel, their annual diesel bill is £20,000 more! Last time we spoke, Alan was saying that he may have to let some staff go, all because of increasing fuel bills. I read online that Millfield Haulage Ltd, who are based in York will have an extra £100,000 on their fuel bill due to the 2p rise in duty alone! (thepress.co.uk) As far as I can see, this is just going to lead to more unemployment and how can that ever be a good thing?!
I know that crude oil isn’t going to last forever and therefore fuel prices are going to keep going up but why on earth does the government have to take so much in tax (approx 65p per litre)?
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7 comments:
What do you mean too many cars on the road ? Dont you mean there is not enough roads and so the infrastructure has to be improved.
My own view is that fuel needs to be expensive. There are far too many cars on the road already and I think the general idea is to price the casual family motorist out of the running.
In order to do that, though, public transport needs to improve out of all proportion. The train has to be a viable alternative to the car and so, too do buses. The school run has to be done away with if children live within walking distance.There needs to be a move towards local shopping, more buses to supermarkets where these already exist etc.
In my view hauliers, and commercial transport of all kinds which are NECESSARY should receive huge discounts on fuel to make them viable. We need to keep jobs open.
At the same time we need to look at, for example, the electric car and developing that.
02 September 2009
There ARE too many cars on the road. We are running out of fuel, clogging up the roads, destroying the environments. Time we went back to the bike.
I agree that there are too many cars on the road and that public transport definately needs improving. I live on the Isle of Wight and whenever I look into public transport as an alternative it always works out more expensive and inconvenient than taking the car!
I agree about the school run. More kids could walk and get the exercise.
I do really feel sorry for the haulage companies and in the end this means that the end prices have to go up for the consumer.
As for running out of fuel, there are about 4 trillion known barrels of oil at the moment which will last for 40-50 years and that doesn't include the big find they had the other day and any new finds.
Yes, but who owns all this fuel? Us?
"As for running out of fuel, there are about 4 trillion known barrels of oil at the moment which will last for 40-50 years and that doesn't include the big find they had the other day and any new finds."
Interesting read in the Guardian about peak oil production -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/sep/03/peak-oil-energy
We are at the high-water mark for oil production. New oil fields will be smaller, deeper, and cost more money to retrieve. Does that 40-50 years of oil reserves account for the big expected increase in demand from China, India etc.? Yes, that's plenty of time to invent new technology to power our cars and transport, but what about the other byproducts from oil that our society is so dependant on? Plastics, paint, clothing, construction industry, detergent, petrochemicals etc.
In the USA, the annual summer holiday exodus into the countryside in their 5 litre guzzlers creates a global petrol shortage. It's time that bold policies are implemented to help prolong our supply of oil. In the UK, the speed limit is 60 mph and 70mph on motorways. Why are family cars sold that are capable of 140 mph? Restrict all UK cars to 70 mph with the exception of the police. Make engines smaller, place a cap on engine size, and restrict revs. Yes, car journeys may take 5/10 minutes longer, however that's a small price to pay when looking at the bigger picture.
A new way of thinking needs to be encouraged regarding cars. They are basically transport from A to B, and people should be encouraged to look for their kicks elsewhere.
Warning over global oil 'decline' -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8296096.stm
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