Fuel tax on the rise again

[Footie]

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse the Chancellor is after the last few pennies in your wallet - is nothing safe

On the bright side, I suppose that means any savings made using an electric bike has also increased

Fuel tax hike takes effect
(Text repeated below as these pages have a habit of disappearing after a time).

Fuel Tax Hike Takes Effect
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LONDON (ShareCast) - Drivers will have to fork out an extra 2.12p a litre for fuel today after the government's delayed fuel tax hike finally came into force.

The AA says a family with two cars will probably end up paying an extra £54.53 a year in tax as the national average price of petrol jumps to 94.22p a litre.

Meanwhile, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) warned the increase could "push businesses over the edge". It fears another rise in fuel tax in this month's Budget.

"The government has another bite of the cherry on 22 April," said FTA chief executive Theo de Pencier. "If they take that bite, they are as good as signing the death warrants for some businesses and putting yet more workers onto the dole queue."

"At a time when jobless figures are already sky-rocketing, the government needs to understand that such actions will only add to them."

These increase are "no joke" said AA president Edmund King. "It's a shame that this and other fuel tax increases will severely dent consumer spending and undermine the UK's economic recovery."

"Taking an extra £1 off drivers each time they fill up their fuel tank is a £1 taken away from High Street and leisure spending that would help revive the economy."
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[Vikki]

Funny that this should pop up. I was calculating furiously earlier (on my new TI-89 Titanium calculator) and I'm glad I forsoke the car.

Of course, I calculated fuel at 90p a litre but figure that's way too low really, especially when calculating fuel costs over the next two years. All calcs are done on two years as then when I expect to cough up for a new battery.

Here's what I did. I added up the cost of my bike, the cost of charging it (5p a night is not a bad figure to play with), and the cost of one replacement battery.

Then I worked out what the train would cost (no cost on the 25 minute walk at the other end).

Then I worked out what the car would cost me over 2 years.

Then I got it all down to a monthly figure.

Bike £70/m
Train £84/m
Car £140/m

There's a bit of a boo-boo here. If you haven't spotted it - it's this: I've counted the cost of the bike (£1200 over 24 months) but I haven't counted the cost of a car. Since I can't afford to buy a train I've left that out as well

So, I guess I need to say bike/car is an initial outlay not to be counted in running costs. Thus bike = 70-(1200/24) = £20/m including one replacement battery in two years time.

That's pretty darn good in my book. If you discount the battery cost it's about £1 a month (excluding repairs and wear and tear).

Given that my Wisper covers my 7.1 miles to work in a sniff under 30 minutes I'd say a) I'm laughing myself silly and b) I'm quids in

By not using (owning) a car my bike is recouped in 8.57 months. Or, by not using the train my bike is recouped in 14.28 months.

Intersting what a bit of maths can tell you. It also means I have a bit more money to spend - like on my TI-89 Titanium (slurp). OK, I admit it, I'm a calculator geek, too.

Best regards.

Vikki.

PS. Work out your own savings etc. Judge it on what your car consumes in fuel, tax, insurance, MoT etc. I might be fortunate in that I only ever used the car to go to work and back. Trips to PC World for large objects can be done by taxi (or order online). Post it up.

 

[Patrick]

There's a bit of a boo-boo here. If you haven't spotted it - it's this: I've counted the cost of the bike (£1200 over 24 months) but I haven't counted the cost of a car. Since I can't afford to buy a train I've left that out as well

There's another cost that's not included in your calculations, driving lessons. I'll soon have made it to my 40th birthday without ever attempting to drive a car, so I'd have to figure the costs of aquiring a car and a licence into my sums, I think I'll just estimate the cost of switching to a car as £way-too-many.

My monthly train ticket was was £73, so that's pretty easy to work out (even without a TI-89 Titanium).

I'll be paying about £53 pounds net a month for the next 12 months for my bike (via cycle2work), and allowing for for the odd train journey into Canterbury, the extra bits and bobs thst I just had to buy to go with the bike, and a replacement battery next year my bike will have broken even after about 15 months. After that I could be quids in, but I'll probably start saving for another bike instead.

Patrick