While our Fight For Fairer Fuel campaign gathers momentum among motorists angry at rising prices at the pumps, there are those who see higher petrol prices as not necessarily a bad thing.
Admitting his view might be considered controversial, Hamid van Koten, director of the North Howe Transition Toun, said discouraging car use reduces production of greenhouse gases.
However, he stressed that more must be done to make public transport more affordable and accessible.
Mr van Koten, a lecturer in sustainability at Dundee University, said, “No one likes taxes or any other additional financial burden but if we look at the bigger picture anything that produces greenhouse gases should, in a sense, be taxed.
“Making driving more expensive is not a bad thing altogether but I would like to see that balanced. The government must be able to provide alternatives. We need to provide better public transport.”
Mr van Koten said that while the western world remains relatively unaffected by climate change, other nations are suffering devastating environmental disasters.
“The long-term effects of greenhouse gases are going to weigh down on us more than most people imagine. There’s so much debate around climate change being a hoax that sometimes we forget what the impact is going to be and the signs are already clear.”
The father of two, who travels from his home in Monimail, Fife, to work by bike and bus, has recently become a car owner — but in a novel way.
Jumping aboard the increasingly popular car-sharing bandwagon, he and wife Leilani have clubbed together with three other families in their neighbourhood to buy a biodiesel car which runs on chip fat.
When one of the families want to use it they pay 40 pence per mile into a kitty to run and look after the Vauxhall Vectra.
Mr van Koten said, “That is what the AA has concluded it costs to run a car, taking into account tax, insurance and maintenance.”
Even with the arrangement, the couple and children Samadi (10) and Aliyyah (6) rarely travel far in the car.
“We use the car primarily for short runs to get to the train station, for example,” he explained. “Sunday services aren’t great, so sometimes we might use the car to go to Cupar if we want to go swimming.
“If I drive to Edinburgh, which I never do, it would cost me £45 to £50 in the car. If I take the train I can travel for less than half that.
“Fuel prices will keep going up. It’s getting harder and harder to get oil out of the ground.”
Pointing to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as an illustration, he added, “People are drilling in very difficult places.”
Mr van Koten said there were many reasons for people to car share, and highlighted schemes around the country.
TripshareFife — at www.tripsharefife.com — allows drivers and passengers to team up to share journeys, cutting costs as well as pollution and congestion.
Mr van Koten said, “It’s more fun. You get to know people, it cuts down on carbon emissions and traffic jams and keeps our urban centres cleaner.”If you’ve read Mr van Koten’s argument but still want to support the Courier’s call for a fuel duty regulator, click here to add your name to our petition.