Car Sharing lanes/Bus lanes

[BarneyRubble]

I have recently moved out of town and am no longer cycling to work. :cry: My 15 minute morning lung opener has been replaced with an hour and 25 minute crawl along the congested roads of Bristol. My average speed to work today for my 23 mile journey was 15 miles an hour.

One thing I have noticed is that every morning/evening when I am sitting in my car crawling along at 2-3 miles an hour, the bus lane (going home) and 2+ lane (going in to work) are generally empty. I have seen 1 bus in 2 weeks on the bus lane and a handful of cars (normally parents with kids) on the 2+ lanes. I find this EXTREMELY frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I understand why they are doing it and I would even use the park and ride if it went anywhere near my work, but the fundamental fact seems to be that they only serve to hamper the average driver's progress to work.

I have 2 questions:
1: Is there any proof they reduce congestion or help the environment?
2: what is my punishment likely to be if I get caught driving in one, (it would have to be an actual policeman that caught me as there are no cameras on either)?

 

[lewis1641]

every other motorist on the road will think you are a d1ck. like when you are sat on the motorway and some idiot drives along the hard shoulder

 

[cchris2lou]

23 miles is not that bad .

cant you commute one morning with bike in the car , then ride home , ride back to work and drive home and etc...

 

[BarneyRubble]

every other motorist on the road will think you are a d1ck. like when you are sat on the motorway and some idiot drives along the hard shoulder

I know they would. The main reason for asking is because the lanes are normally empty, so if the consequences were very small, everyone should do it and they would have to revert to a normal road. Or they would just make loads of money from fines!

23 miles is not that bad .

cant you commute one morning with bike in the car , then ride home , ride back to work and drive home and etc...

I could but there are no showers at work and my old commute was pretty short so I could get away with the relative lack of sweat. I fancy that if I rode 23 miles along muddy country roads it might not be quite so easy to look fresh upon arrival!

 

[grahame]

Keep your clothes and some deodorant at work and buy some wetwipes from the supermarket - keep them in your desk or locker (if you have one).

Use the wetwipes for a "wetwipes shower" on arival, squirt of deodorant under the pits, run a combe through the hair on your head and job's a goodun.

There are companies in just about every large city who'll launder, iron and deliver shirts to your office for not much money. In London a few years ago I was paying a pound a shirt for collection, clean, iron, and return. £5 a week to not have to iron my shirts, let alone carry them to and from work, seemed a bargain to me.

 

[BarneyRubble]

Keep your clothes and some deodorant at work and buy some wetwipes from the supermarket - keep them in your desk or locker (if you have one).

Use the wetwipes for a "wetwipes shower" on arival, squirt of deodorant under the pits, run a combe through the hair on your head and job's a goodun.

There are companies in just about every large city who'll launder, iron and deliver shirts to your office for not much money. In London a few years ago I was paying a pound a shirt for collection, clean, iron, and return. £5 a week to not have to iron my shirts, let alone carry them to and from work, seemed a bargain to me.

Not a bad idea, although I don't think I'll be needing a comb!

 

[guybe]

I know it can be frustrating for you as I would be too but there is no solution really which you can thank the wonderful goverment for these ideas, in a way they are trying making more people stop using their cars and use the buses to ease the traffic.

Can you use the bus and that should help you getting there and home quicker than the car trips?

Luckly I live outside of city which I walked to work daily which take me 15 minutes each way, traffic would drive me nuts and too stressful.

 

[BarneyRubble]

I know it can be frustrating for you as I would be too but there is no solution really which you can thank the wonderful goverment for these ideas, in a way they are trying making more people stop using their cars and use the buses to ease the traffic.

Can you use the bus and that should help you getting there and home quicker than the car trips?

Luckly I live outside of city which I walked to work daily which take me 15 minutes each way, traffic would drive me nuts and too stressful.

Nearest bus stop to my house is 3 miles away, (very rural) and the bus to Bristol takes 1hr 30mins, then I'd need to change as the office is not in the centre. The most annoying this is I don't work in the centre, but there is no route at all that I can use to avoid it.

There is a park and ride, but ironically they have put it at the end of the 2+ lane, so by the time you get there you've done the worst bit!

 

[Retroboy]

Get a Realdoll for your passenger seat. If you don't know what one is then Google it, just not from work.

 

[BarneyRubble]

Get a Realdoll for your passenger seat. If you don't know what one is then Google it, just not from work.

Seen them before, bit pricey for my "needs"