Inventor offers London Congestion Charge GPS gizmo

Save Money - Become a minicab!!!

Why waste cash on this when you could for around £125 quid initial payment for the 1st year followed by a £25 per year payment following that, register your vehicle as a minicab which is exempt from charges.

Thanks to Top Gear for pointing this out...

Title

If he's going to call it a KenBuster, then it ought to warn me before I enter the wretched CC zone - and help me navigate around it without having to pay.

My technical alternative

Why don't they put bloody big signs up saying "you're about to enter a congestion carge zone", and maybe even paint big red C symbols on the road, just to make it clear to anyone paying even the slightest attention to road conditions that they're driving into a payzone.

Erm...

Jolyon

Limited Lifespan

When IBM takes over running the system, they will have an option to be automatically charged when you enter the zone. So this system will only have a limited lifespan.

Wrong Device

What is really needed here is a device that informs Ken's 'I hate cars so i'm going to invent a new tax on driving' system that your vehicle is exempt.

( roll on the first V8 Prius conversion. )

@Graham Dresch

What you need is a (briefly) electric kit-car:

Build the kit and leave out the engine. Connect a motor and battery while it's being registered for its SVA test - only needs enough juice to drive in and out of the test centre. Once you've got your number plates (and the bonus of zero-rate car tax) put in the V8 engine.

The zero-rate tax rating (also used for kenTax) never changes after registration whatever you do. So your 'electric vehicle' will be exempt even with a V8! In fact, come to think of it, you might even be able to park for free in those electric-only bays too... (might be worth taking a dummy power cable)

Ken doll/dummy

I guess you all realise why Ken hates cars so much?

He failed his driving test at an early age, still doesn't have a license, and has leapt at his opportunities to harass drivers ever since.

Of course, I hope you all also realise that 'mysteriously' the traffic signal timings in the CC zone were 'adapted' for 6 months before the charge came in to make the congestion really bad and so help justify the charge.

Reminds me of when the speed limit first came in on motorways in the '60s, courtesy of Barbara C. After, the accident figures went down - woo, an instant and real justification. No actually, the real cause of accident reductions was that they brought in the 'no trucks/coaches in the fast lane' rule at the same time.

I applaud the opportunism of the makers of this gizmo, but it kinda misses the point, that we are being royally screwed for daring to own a personal means of transportation and wishing to continue to drive it where we like. I guess we are not far from an all england/britain congestion charge.

@ Ian R

Coaches *are* allowed in the outside lane of the motorway!

I do accept your point about lorries though.

hand holding

Do the little darlings go out in their cars and for get to pay sometimes?

Do their mummies check to see if they've tied their laces and wiped their noses before they leave?

These are supposed to be trained operators of expensive and complex technology, if they need a box to pay for them - should they be on the road in the first place if they can't even trust themselves to cough up for cluttering the roads in London.

Shirley, paying the fine would wake them up - if not they either can afford the fine and don't care or deserve to get hammered for the extra dosh.

Good luck to McCluskey.

I hope he does well - the drivers can't moan about another 'stealth tax' anymore with someone charging them for getting charged to drive in to town and the drivers willing to pay extra.

@ London Drivers

You live in London, you don't need to drive! (unless you're bone idle or impotent).

If you live outside London and drive in... fucking cretin.