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Britain to Test Car Satellite Toll
Controversial plan will charge up to $2.40 per mile for British autos
By Dustin Lushing
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Posted Aug 17, 08 7:38 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Britain plans to test a toll system that tracks drivers by satellite and charges them by the mile, the Daily Telegraph reports. Dubbed "spy in the sky," the controversial plan was floated by the Labour government and was considered dead under PM Gordon Brown. "It seems that Labour's unpopular plans for a national road pricing scheme are alive and well," one official said.
Britain will start the trial program in January 2010 by installing black boxes in 100 cars. If the plan goes through, drivers will be billed up to $2.40 per mile for driving on the nation's busiest roads. The scheme is poised to become a hot button issue in the next general election, and the Conservative party is already urging the British transport secretary to drop it.