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I get that the whole topic is more complicated.
But this additional levy is pretty simple. It is about protecting the health of people in London due to a specific pollution problem that has not been met.
The argument about the poor is weak imo. 2mins on auto trader....
2007
50k
MPV
1.6l petrol
<£400
autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201608297245816?tech=1The real cost of a car is the running cost; fuel, insurance, servicing, etc.
Also marcom, if poor people have to clean rich peoples' toilets that is a situation that exists independent to an emissions charge. While I don't have the data, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's unlikely that the cleaner of a Bugatti owner in London is going to be driving to work.
hugo7-
You're still missing the point. And the reduction of pollution will be so minimal that no one of the central Londoners will be able to go out and having the feeling of breathing in the garden of a Spa on Mont Ventoux while checking on their smart phones the last topic on a social network.
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"The argument about the poor is weak imo. 2mins on auto trader...."
Yep there are cheap bangers but the latest and greatest low pollution will cost more. 1.6L petrol is going to use fuel so it's cheap. New cars can be had...on credit and it costs more (I priced it up)
So there's a financial tipping point, how "poor" you need to be I'm not sure, but if rules for pollution cause problems for some incomes it's something that may need to be looked at.
There's something to be said for local pollution charges, especially in smog ridden areas, as it makes people sick.
marcom
JWestland
My used car: £1750, cheap to fix and run. £130 VED
A non VED vehicle: Costs a lot more to buy and fix
Sometimes being "greener" isn't economically more attractive.
This is obv. pure anecdotal but there are reasons people still use "old bangers".
Li-ion batteries also cost a shitload of CO2 to make and don't last, but that CO2 is generated elsewhere and therefore not calculated in the VED and the buyer does not contribute.
A new car also costs CO2 to make, and there's a tipping point in CO2 emissions/age of car/miles per year at which a new car may reduce pollution (I am talking petrol here, I don't know about diesel particulates) which is all not calculated in the VED
TL:DR it's not as simple as "it's more damaging, you pay more".
But an electric car that is charged on renewables only with a battery that used common materials (zinc air maybe? that's in production atm but not yet in cars) may really be a way forward. If you can afford it ;)