UK survey suggests few Britons would cut car use due to fiscal measures

Swiftcover.com, an online insurance company, says that a recent study they conducted in Britain suggests that "the government's strategy of using fiscal measures to encourage motorists to cut their car use is misdirected."

They state that 57 percent of all U.K. drivers would not reduce their driving if their gas prices doubled. Among the 43 percent that would, the average driver would only cut out one in four of their journeys. Swiftcover.com estimates this would reduce emissions by just 0.01 percent nationally. 63 percent said they would not drive their car less if congestion charges were introduced. Though, drivers on average state that they would reduce their weekly travel by about 35 miles if a per-mile tax were implemented.

So this survey is basically telling us that the threshold for what the typical UK motorist considers reasonable when it comes to motoring fees is fairly high. On the other hand, when asked about what types of cars they would be willing to drive 97 percent said they would consider purchasing a "green" car. Although, 73 percent of them said it would have to be cheaper to buy and 70 percent said it would have to be cheaper to run than their current car. 67 percent of respondents said they would switch to an alternative-fueled car if re-fueling stations were more widely available.

[Source: Auto Industry]

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