I know it’s an old chestnut but it just gets me really angry when the long suffering motorist, which most of us are, is treated as a “milch cow” not just by governments in the form of high fuel taxes and revenue raisers such as the speed camera, but now by councils. Not only do we have the recent threat of private companies operating speed cameras, but we now have councils putting up the cost of parking or introducing charges where none existed before. Some have also increased the times during which charges apply so as to increase revenue.

Many councils are looking toward the motorist to raise revenues as a response to their budgets decreasing as they are hit by government imposed cuts, but why the long suffering motorist yet again? As I travel around the country and talk to people I have found that even residents in some areas are now are being forced to purchase expensive permits for the first time ever. Of course the local governments have said this extra revenue will be reinvested in road safety, but we have heard all that before! This is, according to motoring organisations, effectively a tax on the motorist and I know that small businesses may also be affected as people avoid coming into areas that charge too much. Just why is it that when someone wants to make money the first unoriginal thought that pops into everyone’s head is ‘how can we get this off the motorist?’

To me, I think that parking charges are effectively a tax on motorists when they should be about managing space effectively and allowing drivers to visit areas to shop and do business. Drivers are being ripped off at the pumps, ripped off by parking, and it affects the whole economy.