RAC Foundation, UK 2002
The freedom to travel is one of the key qualities of a democracy and we depend on the ability to move around freely to carry out our daily lives; transport is an essential part of a growing economy. Our dependence on travel, particularly by road, was shown by the fuel protests of September 2000 when small number of protesters blockaded the fuel distribution network and within a few days the country was extensively disrupted. The main cause of the protests was initially hauliers complaining about the high cost of fuel duty in the UK compared with their European competitors but it soon turned into a protest about the fuel escalator. This increase in fuel duty above inflation was first imposed by the Conservatives in 1993 and further increased by the Labour administration. Although defended as an environmental tax to lower fuel usage through reducing road use and encouraging more fuel efficient vehicles, the escalator was an easy way to collect an additional £2 billion a year.
 Monitoring_towards_2050.pdf | [ ] |
