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Anger at Oyster cards 'rip-off' as millions hit for not 'touching out'
In message , at 22:22:41 on Sat, 2 Jul
2011, D A Stocks remarked: Has anyone produced a reasoned argument about the difference between a tax and a toll ? Tolls are rarely charged on routes you *have* to use, there's normally a "long way round". Which doesn't exist for the US Embassy, being inside the zone. So it's a lot more like car tax, than say the Dartford Toll. Wouldn't they get a 90% residents' discount anyway? I believe that a toll is money collected to pay for the construction and upkeep of the asset being used. The Dartford Toll, and the PFI concession under which the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was built, ended on 31 March 2002 because enough money had been collected to pay off the construction debts for bridge and tunnels and to accumulate a suitable maintenance fund. The existing Dartford River Crossing Ltd company was liquidated and a new company took control of the crossing on behalf of the Highways Agancy and they collect a crossing *charge* which goes to the government in full for redistribution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartford_crossing So at Dartford it's definitely not a toll, and may well be a tax ... I didn't realise the "toll" period at Dartford was over. I remember when it was owned by the two county councils, and the money they took didn't even pay off the interest for building the tunnels. Maybe it should have been a bridge from the beginning if it's taken that much money so quickly! But that's provided a useful definition, and as the Congestion Charge is for roads which were built and paid for in some cases generations ago, it seems to take it out of the "toll" category. Indeed, as the money is supposed to go towards public transport, they aren't even claiming it's to pay for the roads. (Yes, I know some public transport uses the roads). -- Roland Perry |
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