It was
reported on Radio 4 this morning that some commuters have taken to sleeping in
their cars to avoid the cost of fuel for the drive home. This is cited as
evidence to back pressure on the government not to increase fuel duty in
tomorrow’s autumn statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.
This is mishandling evidence to reach the wrong conclusion.
The problem is
that we burn too much fuel; and long commuter journeys are part of the problem.
When the price of fuel increases, as it inevitably will, people will reassess
where they work and where they live, but this cannot be an instant decision. A
few nights sleeping in the car might be the nudge people need to make change in
their lives, to live nearer to work and closer to access to public transport.
Reducing the
length of commuter journeys is not something to resist, but to welcome. Time wasted
in the car, is time that could be spent in productive work, with the family, or
used to sleep a little longer before getting up. Employers and employees have a
shared interest in cutting commuting, through more working from home, locating
offices in attractive provincial towns, and people trading sprawling suburbs
for life within a community.
If we wait
until the price of oil rises, the extra we pay will be transferred into the treasuries
of the OPEC countries supplying the oil. If the UK government increases fuel
duty, this is income that can be spent to improve our capability to need the
car less, such as better public transport. I hope that pressure to hold back
the planned fuel duty increase is resisted as a one small sensible step towards
a better future.
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