SUVs = dumping rubbish in the street?
via the Bike Show
Ken Livingston, current Mayor of London who has a plan to make London the greenest city in Europe, recently had this to say about SUV drivers there: “Buying a gas-guzzing 4×4 vehicle is an individual choice, but it creates carbon emissions that contribute to global warming and harm everyone. It should be no more socially acceptable than to claim the right to dump rubbish in the street.”
One large part of the London plan to reduce traffic and pollution is the congestion charge that is applied to people who want to drive within the downtown area. A proposed revision to that charge would create an additional higher charge to drivers of larger vehicles (SUVs). Here’s a link to the complete plan on the city of London website.
I don’t think such a congestion charge would work well here simply because of the sprawling geography, but it’s an interesting idea. We do have something of that beginning with the for-pay express lanes on 394, but that only applies to single-vehicle occupants, and i don’t know how many people buy passes for that toll lane.
Another option, of course, is to change the major highways into toll roads such as in Chicago. Again though, Mpls-St. Paul is too sprawling a city to manage that, and likely a good chunk of traffic would divert to major city streets instead, just moving the problem to everyone’s front yard and creating still more sprawl from those trying to escape the mess.
Taxing the roads is the wrong approach though, and i think London is on the right track; they’re making it part of an overall plan to reduce carbon emissions in an effort to fight the source of global warming. As part of this effort, it makes sense to go after the low-hanging fruit of SUVs and other sources of energy waste. Since a congestion charge is impractical, how about changing the structure of the vehicle tax to base it on the efficiency rather than the selling price of the car? Use the money to pay for programs such as low-cost loans for homeowners to properly insulate older homes.
Here’s another nice idea: post weight limits on residential streets.