sayerbloke Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 Latest government findings Some interesting ones in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 Well its not suprising really - Milton Keynes, new town, designed with totally cr@p transport infrastructure - you need a car most of the time, trouble is now no where to park, roads jam up and no alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sufu Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 I wonder whether anyone has thought about congestion licensing, not charging, whereby you obtain a permit to use your car within a congestion zone, but dont have to pay for it. It would at least stop small businesses getting hit, and other users who would need permanent access to a congestion zone (say for instance hospital staff, car poolers ect.) probably wouldnt be viable because it comes back to "who's going to pay for it?" just a thought though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgera Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 Is it just me! The solution is not about forcing people off the roads or conjestion charging it's about removing the need for the journeys. Most journeys are commutes to work, which generally happen at set interval hence rush hour. Being in IT I can work from home and be as connected to the office as if I was there, in fact I was in Coppenhagen airport recently and had to deal with a few office related things prior to boarding and had no problems. So why not give companies tax incentives to make use of technology so people can work from home. Obviously this can't apply to all jobs, but I bet it would apply to enough to make a big difference to conjestion. I find that not only do I not have to worry about the moring commute I can take a few minutes out in the middle of the day to run errands, eg go to the bank or nip to the shops, meaning that I'm not on the roads at peak times, further reducing conjestion. I actually get more work done, I'm more relaxed about it and more flexible. The powers that be seem to forget that nobody wants to be sat in rush hour traffic. If they didn't have to make the journey they wouldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 totally agree - Home working, flexible working are all workable solutions, think of the cost saving someone like Reuters, Citigroup or BT would have, they all have huge numbers of offices and desk spaces in prime locations, sell these up, move a lot of staff to home offices and you get some happier staff, less traffic and less overheads to the business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sufu Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 you make a good point Andrew, from what i hear there are several bank call centres that are trialling this at the moment, with very good prospects so far.... but thats an isolated business model. There will always be businesses that require you to be onsite to prove you're working, but hopefully this kind of system and the associated view and benefits will come around one day, later rather than sooner i fear though. Im in IT support too, and find the only time i need to actually be "out and about" is when theres a fault with a clients machine, one that prevents me from being able to conduct the work remotely, although we're gradually finding ways around that too for our clients (remote boot and management prior to windows loading etc.) hopefully wont be long before the only reason i need to go out to site will be to fix faulty hardware... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 I have to use the bus, and honestly, it doesn't work. Most people at my college jump into a car as soon as is humanly possible, when i can drive I will be included. The bus is overcrowded, one single deck bus serves two secondary schools and my college. You have to leave the house an over hour early to make a journey that doesn't take any longer than 10 minutes in a car. If the public transport system worked the way it is claimed to, I think more people would use it. As it stands, I'll be in a car as soon as is possible, and I won't be convinced otherwise without very good reason. Why should I share a bus with 50 other sweaty people when I can take a car, listen to the music I want without earphones, and not have to walk from a bus stop, and risk missing it. I think this is the major reason why people drive into city centres, rather than take a bus or train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmj Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 The trouble is regards congestion charge, let's face it, it is not so much to do with reducing traffic. It is simply raising huge amounts of revenue. Most people that enter the city do so through need, not a whim! If they only charged at peak times, this would make sence to me as it would be encouraging people that (have the option) to travel at less congested periods. Make sense? So Mc5, I fancy a new avatar? (Image borrowed from> http://www.impactint.com/ ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 I agree, the avatar shall be changed It would make sense if congestion charges only applied at7:30-9:30 and 4:30-6:30. Maybe difference times, but these are the rush hours I suppose. I rarely have to travel home in rush hour, but when I do it's a nightmare. Its getting a bus at that magical twighlight time between the schools finishing and rush hour starting. betwen 4:00 and 4:30. On a morning youre screwed every way, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 I cant change my avatar, I've resized it and it still doesnt stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I have to use the bus ... You have to leave the house an over hour early to make a journey that doesn't take any longer than 10 minutes in a car. [/ QUOTE ] Would a push bike work for you? It's a good way to get a little fitter, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I have to use the bus ... You have to leave the house an over hour early to make a journey that doesn't take any longer than 10 minutes in a car. [/ QUOTE ] Would a push bike work for you? It's a good way to get a little fitter, too! [/ QUOTE ] I fancied the idea of that for a while, but it wouldn't always be easy, I'm a graphics and photography student, so 3/5 days at college I have an A3 or A2 folder to carry. It'sa nightmare on the bus with one of those, but worse again on a bike, altho it would make a nice sail. It wouldnt be so bad getting there, getting back however, full journey is uphill. No doubt I'd get used to it, but for a while I'd be turning up to college all sweaty, and its not pleasant. I used to bike to school though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmj Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I cant change my avatar, I've resized it and it still doesnt stick [/ QUOTE ] How about this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 Just goes back to the Range Rover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I fancied the idea of that for a while, but it wouldn't always be easy, I'm a graphics and photography student, so 3/5 days at college I have an A3 or A2 folder to carry. It'sa nightmare on the bus with one of those, but worse again on a bike, altho it would make a nice sail. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah, I can understand that! [ QUOTE ] It wouldnt be so bad getting there, getting back however, full journey is uphill. No doubt I'd get used to it, but for a while I'd be turning up to college all sweaty, and its not pleasant. [/ QUOTE ] ... but it must be downhill all the way there, so not a real problem! [ QUOTE ] I used to bike to school though. [/ QUOTE ] Fair enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 2, 2006 Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 I wouldnt really mind it actually, I have a bike that seems to have been locked in the garage all last year. Its under all that random crap that you keep in your garage..... I suppose I could do it some days though. I might look into it, I'll have to see where I can kep the bike at college, since I've only ever seen one person on a bike and I'm not sure where he went. Hell knows I could do with the exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Its under all that random crap that you keep in your garage..... [/ QUOTE ] I know, I know ... to get to my bike you have to lift up the Rangie, push the Phaeton to one side, and .... Seriously, there isn't a bus that goes from anywhere near my house to anywhere near my office. Nor has there been in any of the previous home/work combinations that I have had. There's a rail line near my home, and one near my office. However, to get from the one in Bucks to the other in Oxfordshire I have to go via London And the Oxford end only has one train an hour. Miss that and bye bye evening I'd love to cycle but 40 miles one way is a bit difficult. And no, I can't get a closer job because my profession is a bit small so suitable employers are a bit widely separated. And yes, home needs to be where it is now for family reasons. Visiting my Cornish client on a bike might also be difficult. I used to commute by train, in fact. Until I realised that all my money went on the season ticket, all my free time was spent staring at rail tracks, and all my conversation was with jobsworth tossers in uniforms who hated me. Because they could . So I changed to driving 70 miles on the M25 twice a day ... suddenly I gained two hours in the day, about £2,000 a year, and cheered up immensely. So, car it is. Tax me as much as you want, it will only ever be a tax. It will never change my behaviour because I can't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccombie_5 Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Well actually I was thinking along the lines of "that broken fridge that we might need" or "that Morris Oxford engine that might come in handy" but nevertheless, touche I don't blame you for using a car in these circumstances, or in any infact, because until public transport improves to the point where a butler offers you tea and crumpets as you step on the bus, most people wont use it. I loathe using the bus, but alas it is the only realistic way to college. When my college opens its new building next year it will be even worse for those who bus it, because it will be likely that some students will have to travel between three centres, that are scattered in various suburbs accross the city Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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