Rowan

I heard on the TV news last night that the North Sydney Council is about to double parking fees for SUVs. I can't remember the details, but it seems everyone there is getting a bit jack of the space they seem to take up.

PaulBravey

I presume they're not going to start charging smart cars and (old) minis half price? They're a pain here when they decide to park their huge great SUV in a spot that's marked 'compact' and then leave dents in the doors of cars next to them 'cos there's no room to open the door.

mikdes

Socialism at it's best.

lala

woot!

Rowan

How so? I would have thought commercial entrepreneurship at its best. I bet the privately owned car parking stations will follow suit very quickly.

Chris L

I think the only thing that stopped them from doing so previously was being accused of discrimination.

Cyclist0383

Socialism would make everyone pay the SAME price, regardless of how much space they take. Conservative capitalism would have everyone pay for EXACTLY what they use.

andygates

Socialism would also have them driving the same cars, of course. How else could it be equitable and fair?

This is nothing of the sort: it's resource pricing. Consumer pays. Don't see how that can be objected to in a market economy.

Bolo Grubb

I read or heard somewhere that a state in the USA (maybe Oregon?) is watning to charge a road tax based on how many miles are driven. I like the theory of "pay for what you use" but it all depends on how it is enforced.

I think large SUVs should pay more then my Honda Civic.

FXjohn

Define an SUV.

Does a Subaru count?

Grasschopper

As much as Subaru would like you to think the Forester is an SUV so they can sell more...no it is a station wagon. No other model is even in question IMO, they are cars.

bostontrevor

Actually the Forester and Outback are both SUV's. It's a definition based on ground clearance and curb weight. That makes them light trucks and relaxes fuel economy standards. Last year's Outback was intentionally raised up because the fuel economy had become so bad that they couldn't keep it in the sedan class anymore without hurting their fleet ratings.

mikdes

The difference is that this is a government entity doing this. If an SUV takes up one spot just like a sedan, why charge more? It's probably an overly environmentally "conscious" council that has decided that it's their responsibility to penalize people just because they drive less fuel-efficient vehicles.

As long as they're doing this, maybe they should lower parking fees for hybrid cars and motorcycles. Do you think that will happen? Likely not.

Kabloink

I don't know if I agree with doubling fines for legally parked suvs, but I would strongly agree with doubling fines for suv and truck owners that take up more than one space. I am sure you have seen these drivers. The ones that somehow need to park at an angle taking up two spaces or even worse parking in the wrong direction taking up 3 or 4 spaces.

mikdes

I agree. That goes for anyone, not just SUV drivers. I've seen plently of BMW and Mercedes sedans doing exactly the same thing.

FXjohn

So we've come to the logical conclusion that SUV's are just being scapegoated and all the other cars on the road are pretty much just as bad.

DogBoy

if you charge me twice as much, I'm going to straddle a line and take up two spots. Heck, I paid for 'em. See what happens to parking availablity then.

nick burns

How about just reducing the size of the parking spots so that larger vehicles (regardless of if they are suv's) will be forced to pay double since they're taking up two spots?

FXjohn

That MIGHT work..but also there might be odd size spots left in between vehicles that no one could use though.

halfbiked

Mileage isn't a good variable for calculating 'use'. A long commute in a compact car does much less damage than a short commute in an SUV. If you want to penalize large vehicles for what they use, then set a tax rate based on vehicle weight. Heavier vehicles do more damage to the roads, make 'em pay more.

DogBoy

Seems like the time to do this is with vehicle registration/license renewal since they know the vehicle make/model at that time.

Gardener

Capitalism doesn't make people pay for what they use. Capitalism is all about getting other people to wipe your booty so you can think your stuff doesn't smell. Remember what happened to all those buffalo?

andygates

Well yeah, capitalism is a fundamentally unfair and unsustainable model, but let's not get bogged down in details

As for variable pricing, hell, there exists a tax based on engine size (ie environmental impact) and vehicle weight (ie mpg) - fuel tax. But I understand that you chaps don't like paying $2 for a gallon of gas?