Future Vehicle Congestion Charge
I believe we should prepare for the potential influx of holidaymakers in the future, and consider some way of restricting visitor numbers to Scotland's rural and tourist areas. Could we introduce a residents permit for private vehicles based on DVLA vehicle registration address.
For example a tiered system of permits (and charges?) for private cars and leisure vehicles could be:
- local residents: access to travel within a certain area of Scotland,
- Scottish residents: a national 'pass' allowing unrestricted access to the whole of Scotland
- vehicles from the rest of the UK: higher charges (tourist tax); there would be a limit on the number of these permits issued at any one time
- vehicles registered overseas, rental cars/motorhomes/campervans could be subject to specific conditions
Commercial vehicles would in principle be exempt for non-leisure use.
Similar systems are in place elsewhere. For example,
- in Switzerland, non-residents must apply for a travel permit which is usually stuck in the vehicle windscreen.
- in London there is a congestion charge to dissuade vehicles from entering the city centre. And
- areas of Gemany have local tourist taxes, to support those economies and infrastructures.
We have the vehicle recognition technology on many of our roads, and a physical permit in a vehicle windscreen or would also be a clear indication of a vehicle's permission to travel.
Why the contribution is important
It is foreseeable that foreign holidays travel from the UK will be severely restricted for a long time to come, and even when airports and ferry ports reopen, it is likely that many more people in densely populated areas in all parts of the UK will prefer to holiday 'at home' and will head for Scotland. We all know that such an influx of people will result in chaos, for many obvious reasons, not least of which would be the risk of infection spread. I also fear that there could be huge numbers of people visiting Scotland's remote ares, who may be unfamiliar with the long-established expectations we have about respecting the environment.
by BnB on May 09, 2020 at 03:51PM
Posted by HelenMM May 09, 2020 at 20:59
Report this Comment (Requires Log In)