Road tax on driving which makes it more expensive to drive in the city and a return to previous levels of the reduction obligation – without affecting the price at the pump.
That is the Green Party’s new proposal.
– We want to introduce what we call a solidarity reduction obligation, which is that we return to
mixing biofuel into petrol and diesel. But that the cost is charged when you drive. Then you can have different costs depending on whether you drive in a city or in sparsely populated areas. If you live in a sparsely populated area on your way to a job and have no other options, you don’t have to pay anything extra for it, but when you drive in the cities, it becomes an extra cost, says spokesperson Daniel Helldén.
“Will be significantly more expensive”
It was at the turn of the year that the government sharply lowered the reduction obligation. The Green Party now wants the previous level back, where the idea is that the road tax on driving should go to the state, which in turn should finance the biofuel that is mixed into diesel and petrol.
– We need to have a difference in the costs for those who really need the car. Those who live in the countryside and sparsely populated areas versus those who live in the cities, says Daniel Helldén.
How much more expensive will it be for those who drive in the cities then? Yes, it will be an extra penny. But Helldén cannot say any exact sums.
– It will be significantly more expensive, but we have not calculated the exact levels because it also depends on what happens in the future. Unfortunately, we are not in government right now. When we arrive at being able to introduce this, we will see what has happened to the emissions and how much we need to reduce them, he says.
“Then they also have to pay more when they drive”
The electric cars will end up outside the proposal. But only cars that run on fossil fuels are included.
The Green Party also wants to measure where the cars are driving by having them connected with a type of transponder. Daniel Helldén likens it to the system that existed when car tolls were introduced in Stockholm.
– Today, all new cars are basically connected. Then it will mean that older cars also need a connection so that you can measure where they are driving somewhere. That way, you can determine how much you have to pay, he says.
How do you see the state knowing where all the cars are at all times and where they have driven? How do you see it in terms of privacy, for example?
– You must have a system that is structured in such a way that no one other than the debiting itself can access this information. Then there are those who absolutely do not want this and then they can leave it at that. But then they also have to pay more when they drive.