to think that if everyone dramatically decreased their driving,

[kickmewhenimdown]

and therefore their decreasing their fuel usage, then the government would have to tax something else to make up for all the lost revenue? And it would probably have to be something that they were guaranteed to get revenue from, so something essential to the public like extra tax on electricity?

Just drunkenly thinking out loud in the spirit of all these car threads :)

well it was at the time, but have to bear in mind that the £200 car loan would have only been for 3 years, whereas a car usually lasts much longer. For me it is small price to pay to give me the freedom of getting about at my own convenience. Even going to the next town would cost around £20 in bus fares each time for my family, which we do 2 to 3 times a week which for me puts car costs into perspective.

It might not seem like it to the average motorist, but it's not entirely clear to me at least that they pay their way. If you add the costs associated with driving (pollution, traffic accidents and the NHS, the cost of policing the road, congestion), it may well be that motorists are subsidised.

I'm not qualified to check the figures, but they are presented in this link

ipayroadtax.com/