Who's talking about taking away the right to own private transport? Surely it's just a question of striking a better balance. Cities are not pleasant places to walk or cycle around in because of cars... and in most cities there is good public transport so there is no excuse. Between cities and in the countryside it's a different matter of course.
It's not actually that different. I'm not sure how far into the country this extends, but certainly back home, the buses around the villages are less frequent but far more reliable than the ones in town, which turn up on time once in a blue moon and at all about half the time.
Well for one thing it's consistently cheaper to travel long distances by car than it is by public transport... while this continues people aren't going to be encouraged to get out of their cars and be more socially responsible. Tax the fuckers off the road! *ahem*
Coaches are pretty cheap... connections can mean your journey can take twice as long though... Trains (unless you get a good deal) are silly prices.
It's not that much cheaper: Scarborough to Milton Keynes is £10 by coach, about £25 car petrol money. If you don't make regular journeys, or ever if you do, public transport has the advantage that you don't pay much for it when you're not using it.
Fair enough ... I was thinking mainly of trains when I wrote that, it's often double the cost petrol would be. That's the annoying thing ... we have an excellent rail network providing superb links between every major city in the land, and still car commuters regularly say there is no realistic alternative, when in many cases they are simply wrong. I live on the worst performing rail line into London and there is still very little to complain about in terms of service and convenience ... just the prohibitive cost. There is of course the megabus, but that's only any good if you are able to spend half a day or more travelling to get anywhere, so it's not comparing like with like in terms of convenience.
I've only had a 60% success rate with megabus... they seem to either run late... not at all... or break down. Not good when you're trying to get home for work in the morning or something
Couldn't agree more. When driving, I always try and be considerate if I'm anywhere near pedestrians. If I see kids around, I slow down even further. I always stop and let pedestrians cross in front of me when practical. Just general courtesy, really.
Yeh innercity travel is the worst... I am obliged to do some through my work... I dosn't sit well with my principles but hopefully I won't be in this job for too much longer. I think drivers can be so inconsiderate of pedestrians... i mean, they're stood at a crossing or whatever in the cold and rain... drivers are sat in warm cosy cars... and they dont even bother to stop for 30 seconds to let them cross... Cars etc seem to bring out the worst in people... aggression and inpoliteness etc..
Not only is it cheaper, but it's often the only practical means of getting from A to B. For example, there may be good train links between cities, but it takes me 1hr and 20 mins to get to the nearest train station on the bus. That's another £5 on the cost of the journey each way. Plus I can't get the early trains. I tried to look into going by public transport to the Lakes once, and it was physicallly impossible to do it on a Friday evening. There was no train after 5pm. Then there was the cost - the journey would've come to around £120 for me and the wench with bus links included and going for the cheapest possible tickets. The petrol would probably have cost me about £50. Seems a bit crazy. Sorry mate, that's bullshit. Works fine for you city dwellers, but the rest of us wouldn't be taxed of the road because there's nowhere else for us to go. You'll never get people out of their cars until there's decent public transport.
Yeah, I hate inconsiderate drivers. There's really no excuse for it. Nah, that's just people generally being 'orrible cunts.. When I'm driving, I enjoy the opportunity to be polite by stopping to let people cross the road or to let other drivers pull out.
Correction: Tax the fuckers off the road (within urban areas where viable public transport exists)!*ahem*
Yup, fine by me. Congestion charging's a grand plan. Ken is the leader of the GLC! Oh! Ahem. I had a bit of a Kate Bush moment there!
Where I live in Poplar (E14) it takes me 20 minutes to drive to my friend's in Victoria (SW1), the same journey on the tube would take an hour or more. You would be pushed around by other passengers, probably have to stand and that's without the journey to and from the station. Then I'd have to leave before midnight just to ensure not having to wait an hour to share a night bus with a load of pissheads. No incentive for me to leave my van at home at all.
