Comments on: Is it Karma?

By: Kevyn

Kevyn — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:55:06 +0000

It might also be worth considering this article: ‘Cars and Demographics’ by Charles Lave, professor of economics, University of California.
http://www.uctc.net/access/access01lite.pdf

Or ‘The Marriage of Autos & Transit - How to Make Transit Popular Again’ by Melvin M. Webber, professor emeritasof planning, University of California.
http://www.uctc.net/access/access05lite.pdf

By: Kevyn

Kevyn — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:36:03 +0000

The bill says the proportion of the national land transport fund to be spent on non-carriageway activities to gradually rise:
(a) 20% in the first year after the Act comes into force;
(b) 35% in the second year;
(c) 50% in the third year;
(d) 60% in the fourth year;
(e) 67% after the fifth year.

The bill would gain more traction if it mandated the same gradual replacement of existing street lights and traffic lights with LEDs. At least that way it would actually produce some direct immediate benefit for the planet.

By: Kevyn

Kevyn — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:54:47 +0000

Emerald,

My apologies. I was looking at the old scale of charges before we got a “sustainable” government. CNG & LPG seem to be the only green fuels that have escaped Labour’s “improvements” to roading revenue.

By: big bro

big bro — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:46:29 +0000

Emerald

At least one Japanese manufacturer has a small battery powered car ready to go however there is one little problem.
It creates more co2 charing the battery than it would as a petrol vehicle.

Battery vehicles will happen but not until there is a REAL oil shortage and that is not for some considerable time.

By: Emerald

Emerald — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:56:33 +0000

You are wrong there Kevin.
I had a 3 Ton (2ton payload) LWB Transit, now have a 2500kg payload Hiace. For the heavy stuff. Payed the same RUC for both of them and the same as I pay for my new little diesel car that does nearly 100Km on 4 ltrs of fuel.
The scale stops at 3 tons going down.
Last time I looked electric cars also had to pay the same RUC as diesels.
Govt. greed in action again, screwing anybody that wants to make a difference.

By: Kevyn

Kevyn — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:01:48 +0000

Emerald,

because RUCs were designed as a direct roading cost recovery mechanism. But a 3 ton Transit pays the fee for a 3 ton vehicle, a 2 ton car will only pay the fee for 2 ton car, likewise a 1 ton car pays the one ton fee. Before Labour mucked around with them RUCs were very simple. Approx $20 per 1,000 km to cover non weight related costs (this is the bit that has been increased by Labour), plus a fee based on the 3rd power of axle weight. The latter starts at less than 35 cents per thousand km on a 1 ton car and rises to approx $350 on a 40 tonne truck/trailer depending on the number of axles.

By: Emerald

Emerald — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:27:39 +0000

Electric cars are not going to happen until there is a cheap decent battery. Imagine the explosion from a Sony lithium battery car!!
Do electric cars still have to have to pay road user charges at the same rate as a 3ton transit van?
And why do the little tiny incredibly economic euro diesel cars have to pay the same road users as a 3 ton transit.

By: Kevyn

Kevyn — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:38:14 +0000

Trevor, those are argument I can agree with 100%. They are also true for hybrid technology, especially on suburban bus routes. Although the current mass produced models from GM cost 50% more than a EuroIV compliant commuter bus.

By: BluePeter

BluePeter — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:48:27 +0000

>>it will be a long while before we have enough of them

Perhaps, but how often, on average, do people churn cars? Every five years, or so?

Production will ramp up, driving costs down. The technology is already here.

By: Trevor29

Trevor29 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:34:12 +0000

The problem with electric cars as a viable alternative is that we just don’t have them, and it will be a long while before we have enough of them. To be practical for the average car owner, they need to be cheap enough so the car owner can afford to have them as well as a conventional car, or to have a good range and carrying capability so they can replace the existing cars. Both are tall orders with current technology.

Electric buses can be purpose made, so they are optimised for the type of use that they get. If they can be recharged at stops automatically, they don’t actually need much range. Size doesn’t matter that much, so they can have a significant volume taken up by battery packs or other storage mechanisms - flywheel energy storage comes to mind here. This means that the design can be focussed on performance and efficiency rather than range and weight. It is not unreasonable to consider modifying existing buses. They can be used nearly 24/7 so the capital cost is spread out over a lot of usage, whereas the high capital cost of an electric car might only be used for an hour a day.

Trevor.