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'Anonymous road pricing is possible'

Wednesday 06 February 2008

IT firms Siemens and LogicaCMG claim to have invented a smart card which would allow the government to charge motorists' road tax without revealing information about their driving habits.

Privacy concerns are one of the main objections to the cabinet's plans to bring in road pricing.
The two companies say their pre-paid card is anonymous and works through the GPS navigational system.

'It is up to individual drivers if they want their movements to be traced or not,' LogicaCMG spokeswoman Anne Tip told Wednesday’s Telegraaf.

The government wants to introduce road pricing for private motorists in 2012. MPs will debate the plans on Wednesday evening.

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Readers' comments

At last, a solution to protect our privacy!

By Bill Fries | February 8, 2008 9:14 AM

Don’t be so naïve; any system like this will need detailed records of your movements for any dispute over payment and also enforcement.

Do you really think the government will allow a system of vehicle tracking without their knowing the results so they can check on “criminal activity”?

Don’t be fooled; road pricing is an excuse for a new form of unfair and intrusive taxation designed to control and manipulate the population. As drivers, we already pay far more than the cost to upkeep and maintain the road infrastructure. Fight road pricing at every possible opportunity, write to your local MP and tell him you will vote for someone who opposes this rubbish.

By Peter Roberts | February 8, 2008 11:45 PM

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