To think they’re monetising every aspect of driving?

[SnugShaker]

From parking fees to congestion charges, toll roads, clean air zones, and now even how we pay for fuel and charging - owning a car feels like a never-ending money drain. It’s like every little aspect of driving is being turned into a revenue stream. Am I just being cynical or is this getting worse?

I feel like every element of life is being monetised.

Ideally they want you on a subscription of some sort, I suppose for consistent revenue. Very annoying.

Fuel duty has not risen in over 10 years. So I disagree with the OP. Parking charges have existed for years, congestion charge and tolls are a minority of roads, and most clean air zones only cost you if you have a very old car.

Whereas airlines especially Ryanair try to add on charges for anything they can think of, and rail fares have increased above inflation levels most years.

you don't have to drive.

Yup it's getting ridiculous and with the whole pushback over working from home a car has gone back to being a necessity because not everyone has good reasonable priced transport lives near a job supermarket and doctors etc

Literally closed the hospital by me put my son in a special school 20 miles away from me and his siblings school rather than the one in walking distance and every job is must come to an office 40 miles away with no transport links (it's an hour and a half and five bus changes to get to my sen sons school btw not ideal in an emergency is it) so yes i dont "have to" have a car as long as I don't want to work or get sick or collect my child from school in an emergency

Yabu. When was the last time petrol duty was increased? Clean air zones? Those pesky governments wanting to keep the most polluting cars away from our children's lungs, bastards eh? And name one toll road n this country other than the M6 toll?

Meanwhile train fares increase above inflation every year (before you ask me why that's relevant - people travelling by train keeps them out of their cars).

Actually, a lot of people do.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to acknowledge that the cumulative effect of all these charges, even if some have good intentions, has made driving feel increasingly expensive and over-regulated for everyday people. Clean air matters, of course. But it’s also fair to ask whether these policies are being rolled out in a way that’s equitable and transparent or whether they’ve become yet another way to generate revenue.

The issue isn’t just about tolls or fuel duty - it’s about how more and more aspects of driving now come with extra costs, restrictions, or new hoops to jump through. It adds up.

You must live in a city to be so naive about the availability of public transport.

And yet the roads are seemingly full of new/nearly new cars, many of them expensive SUV types eg Range Rover/Mercedes. Only a couple of years ago BMW had heated seats on subscription. You paid the annual fee you got your seats heated. Discontinued now but that's the way motoring is going esp with ev cars which in theory should need less maintenance. But it will be software/firmware updates that will be charged for

But travelling by train has become increasingly expensive for everyday people too. And bus.

And you literally mentioned tolls as the second item in your OP, so you obviously do think it's an important part of the issue. Other than the M6, where are these toll roads and how would things be improved if they were free?

Yeah I do have to drive.

My journey to work takes 15 minutes by car.

By public transport and foot it would be 3 buses and take an hour and 48. So with the return journey nearly 4 hours a day commuting. I work long hours. Today it was 11.5 hours and I'm supposed to add 4 hours onto that? And exercise, and cook and spend time with my family and the neediest cat in the UK?

Totally impractical.

We don't all live in London.

You do if you live somewhere with minimal public transport and increasing numbers of services (post office, GP surgery) closing. We had both these 5 years ago, now need to get to town for both, never mind anything else - food, sports, social activities.

I agree with you about congestion charging etc because in many places its not a case of 'just use public transport' because it either doesn't exist or takes hours extra for the same journey and can be far more expensive, especially for people who need a car, so have to pay most of the cost of ownership whether they use it or not.

But I'm curious as to what you mean about 'and now even how we pay for fuel'?

Fuel is cheaper now than on some occasions in the past (eg in around 2010 and a couple of years ago). Plus the way it's paid for hasn't changed

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/czmk/mm23

We have four toll roads within about 15 mins of my house. Queensway tunnel, Kingsway tunnel, Mersey Gateway and Runcorn bridge. I understand the need to disincentive drivers, but the only way to get from Birkenhead to Liverpool (a 5 minute 1.5mile drive through the tunnel) without a charge (either toll, train, bridge or ferry) would involve driving a 53 mile loop around. You’re over a barrel either way.

OK fair enough, but I was thinking of roads rather than bridges/tunnels. This is simply not an issue for the vast majority of drivers here. challenge for locals, but equally I can't get too worked up that the cost of maintaining local bridges is subsidized largely by the people who use those bridges, sorry!

Those pesky governments wanting to keep the most polluting cars away from our children's lungs, bastards eh?

It's quite clear to anyone navigating the clean air zone in Birmingham that it has nothing to do with 'clean air'.

Straight through Birmingham on the expressway takes about 5/6 mins assuming it's clear. 5 mins in a straight run through.

Avoiding this takes you on the ring road which is always busier at all times of day, lots of sitting in traffic at multiple big roundabouts, stopping and starting and can take half an hour or more. More fuel burned = higher emissions. And you leave and return to the exact same road (A38) as you would if you'd stayed on the expressway.

I costs £8, I think, to go through the clean air zone. If you pay it, your car doesn't magically stop emitting fumes. It just means you're on the road for longer and moving more slowly for a greater distance in lower gears if you avoid it pumping out exhaust fumes as you go.