They're going to do WHAT?!

[Zenn3k]

So then, worst country ever?

 

[no oneder]

Whaaa...? And they are charging you? How exactly? Credit card or cash?

Credit card. Theres a little credit card machine mounted on the dashboard of all local cars. Pass through a gantry, it makes a small *beep*. If you don't have a card in the slot, or if you don't have enough money, you have to pay a fine.

isn't this just basically a toll system? We pay for our roads through taxes, but maybe they will instead pay with this system?

Ohhhhh no... there's still road tax, car tax, all the fun stuff. This is stacked additional cost.

But then, there are no tolls at all?

 

[SomeLameStuff]

But then, there are no tolls at all?

Its a small country, so no tolls, though there might be one if you try to get to Sentosa, which is an island theme park/resort.

EDIT: I know I seem to mention this every time I meet you on the forums but... WOW you post FAST.

 

[no oneder]

But then, there are no tolls at all?

Its a small country, so no tolls, though there might be one if you try to get to Sentosa, which is an island theme park/resort.

EDIT: I know I seem to mention this every time I meet you on the forums but... WOW you post FAST.

Yeah, you mention that a lot, but it's ok.

So, no tolls. Maybe one to go to Sentosa, which is an island. So, is it a naval toll? Or is there a bridge?

 

[swolf]

Search bar approved, unless I screwed up again, which is likely. Go self confidence!

Well down in South East Asia there is a little island called Singapore. And on this island they have something called Electronic Road Pricing(ERP), which charges you $2 or more every time you drive through a gantry during rush hour (which translates to about half of the entire day).

Surely you can find a route to your destination without one? Not exactly, these gantries are EVERYWHERE. One is actually right smack on a street directly outside some poor chap's house, so he has to PAY the government to drive OUT of his house and again to drive back in.

Well recently the government has been talking about this, and apparantly they think this extortion isn't enough! They say that they're going to track every local car with GPS satellites and, I'm not making this up here, charge folks based on how far they drive. So essentially everyone's taking a taxi everywhere.

I have no idea if they truely mean to enforce this, or if this is some late april fools joke, or someone in the government made a really bad typo, or if someone's writing stories about photoshopped images again (and passing them off as the truth), or if this is some tax collector's published fanfiction. All I know is this is one of the dumbest things I've heard this year.

Anyway, what are some of the weirdest or stupidest things that someone (or someones) said they were going to do?

Well, I'm not visiting Singapore. Um, stupid things that people do...well, there's obviously the stupid BP oil spill solutions. BTW, check out the "BP Coffee Spill" video on Youtube.com. It's pretty funny.

 

[Queen Michael]

So then, worst country ever?

I'd say Haiti is worse off.

 

[jjofearth]

My brother used to have a t-shirt covered in weird shit you couldn't do in Singapore.

 

[Pikeperch]

They have the same system in central Stockholm. If you pass the tolls during peak traffic you get a bill sent home.

As for the whole price/distance idea, why not just raise the petrol tax? You'll get the same effect of paying more the more you drive without going through the hassle of installing GPSs in every car.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

But then, there are no tolls at all?

Its a small country, so no tolls, though there might be one if you try to get to Sentosa, which is an island theme park/resort.

EDIT: I know I seem to mention this every time I meet you on the forums but... WOW you post FAST.

Yeah, you mention that a lot, but it's ok.

So, no tolls. Maybe one to go to Sentosa, which is an island. So, is it a naval toll? Or is there a bridge?

There's a bridge, but you can also get there by monorail or cable car.

 

[falcon1985]

Um, they're trying to do this is Holland as well. Thankfully the government collapsed before those idiots could push it through. I just hope the next government has more brains. I drive 100 kilometers everyday, and i'll be damned to let some asshole put a little black box in my car. Part of me just knows it's gonna get bolted down on the dashboard or something retarded like that.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Well recently the government has been talking about this, and apparantly they think this extortion isn't enough! They say that they're going to track every local car with GPS satellites and, I'm not making this up here, charge folks based on how far they drive. So essentially everyone's taking a taxi everywhere.

They're thinking about doing this in the UK as well.

 

[no oneder]

Um, they're trying to do this is Holland as well. Thankfully the government collapsed before those idiots could push it through. I just hope the next government has more brains. I drive 100 kilometers everyday, and i'll be damned to let some asshole put a little black box in my car. Part of me just knows it's gonna get bolted down on the dashboard or something retarded like that.

European highways are the best. I remember I once took one from Amsterdam to Brussels. The best thing ever.

And autobahns...

 

[-IT-]

Um, they're trying to do this is Holland as well. Thankfully the government collapsed before those idiots could push it through. I just hope the next government has more brains. I drive 100 kilometers everyday, and i'll be damned to let some asshole put a little black box in my car. Part of me just knows it's gonna get bolted down on the dashboard or something retarded like that.

It's not that bad, classic cars (older then 25 years) are excluded from road pricing. Classic muscle cars for everyone!!!

 

[Fuzzman]

Whaaa...? And they are charging you? How exactly? Credit card or cash?

Credit card. Theres a little credit card machine mounted on the dashboard of all local cars. Pass through a gantry, it makes a small *beep*. If you don't have a card in the slot, or if you don't have enough money, you have to pay a fine.

Ohhhhh no... there's still road tax, car tax, all the fun stuff. This is stacked additional cost.

So why not just remove the little black box? Let me guess, you go to jail if you remove it?

 

[Carlston]

Even better. They have attendants who time to time inspect the public restroom you just used and if you pissed on the seat or left it in a ill state you get a fine.

Mostly for the tourists to suck another dollar from them. They warned us in the military when we stopped by, and damned if they didn't have a guy in there. And the next day we had a kid in the command get busted for 55 dollar US for not flushing.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Prostitutes are technically considered government workers.

You can't be serios! You've got to be joshing us!
OT: Well that sucks...
I can't add to that to be honest.

 

[Lexodus]

I love Singapore (my dad lives there most of the time), but I must admit they due have some strange extremes to try and keep everything looking nice and tidy.

I'll do another Singapore one. Chewing gum is illegal over there.

To be fair, I could live without gum if I didn't have to step in it all the time, and see the pockmarked pavements from where all the shit-for-brains chavs have deposited theirs.

 

[Haunted Serenity]

I heard about this a bit ago i think. They do alot of extreme's to keep the country nice and with a population like it is it's going to seem extreme for us. I think they have the right idea but are going about it a little to agressivly.

 

[Unesh52]

Ok, if there are still regular road taxes involved, that's ridiculous. However, I think these kind of monetary incentive plans are both more efficient and more reasonable. Why shouldn't people who use the roads more have to pay for more of the roads? It seems like it's worse because it's easier to see where the money leaves your hands and goes into theirs, so to speak, but if implemented correctly it would be a totally justified expense. Just as well, direct monetary exchange for road use would allow the government to influence traffic. Higher prices in rush hour would reduce "quantity demanded" among road "consumers," meaning less traffic, fewer accidents, less pollution, etc. I read that they do it it Vietnam or China or somewhere... I can't remember, but it's proven very effective, apparently.

They have the same system in central Stockholm. If you pass the tolls during peak traffic you get a bill sent home.

As for the whole price/distance idea, why not just raise the petrol tax? You'll get the same effect of paying more the more you drive without going through the hassle of installing GPSs in every car.

It's indirect; it would be modulated by individual fuel efficiency, meaning my dad, who's greatest expense is gas, would be hit super hard. He can only afford what is unmistakably a gas-guzzler if it's going to be the size of truck he needs. Why should a white collar commuter that drives some hybrid SUV (and contributes as much wear and tear to the road as my father) be charged less for maintaining the roads?

 

[Macflash]

Having your car tracked would be really convenient if it was stolen. They'd just need to check where it was and go get it.