Lazy Commuters

[highlandsflyer]

The other day I was in Camden eating a late lunch one minute, thirty or so later I was at the O2.

Spent many years travelling, been to most places, and I would certainly argue London has one of the best transport systems in the world.

Great prices too.

Really good prices.

Dirt cheap in fact, if you live in Central London.

The misfortune is for those in rural locales with one bus or none a day, like many I know.

Most Londoners haven't got a clue.

 

[KeepItSteel]

I have a clue, I just think youre easily pleased.

Travelling at night time in london is a nightmare, especially post 11pm.
Night bus routes are limited, and far from attractive propositions with the type of crowds they often contain.

I agree that its relatively easy to get from A to B, but its usually cramped at best. And the prices are way off cheap, and rising way ahead of inflation. Travelling in a lot of other countries is much cheaper almost always. Ive not had the fortune(?) of travelling in many far flung places and im sure there are some eye opening journeys to be had, but in my experience, in comparison - London is good at best.
To travel anything more than a zone or two in London on a daily basis ends up costing a very pretty packet.

My Mrs wanted to commute to work from our suburb location (approx 15 miles from central london), but as things stand we would be approx £180 a month worse off than using the car - that doesnt add up in my book.

I do agree that the underground is the best publics transport system in London though. Dont agree that its cheap.

 

[Drencrom]

I think the 'school run' probably makes up most of that.

I think that's a very valid point. It's half-term here, and it's been bliss. So quiet and calm around 8am.

 

[Easy_Rider]

I lived in Madrid, Spain for a few years, bearing in mind Madrid is the 3rd largest city in Europe, public transport was excellent and cheap, I mean cheap, 35euro for a monthly pass that could be used for buses and the metro for virtuall all the city. The equivilant for London for the equivilant area is something like £300+
Even with the cost of petrol and my car running 30mpg on super unleaded it's still cheaper to drive even taking into account insurance, depreciation (or appreciation in the case of my cars!), parts, wear and tear etc
I think there is one bus an hour in our village, but the first one is too late to get to any other transport links in time to be able to use it for commuting.

 

[KeepItSteel]

I lived in Madrid, Spain for a few years, bearing in mind Madrid is the 3rd largest city in Europe, public transport was excellent and cheap, I mean cheap, 35euro for a monthly pass that could be used for buses and the metro for virtuall all the city. The equivilant for London for the equivilant area is something like £300+

That's my point.
London has a lot of room for improvement. But whaddaIknow?

 

[REKIBorter]

It takes me the same time to ride to work as it does drive the 10 miles in my car. I need the car during the day so commuting by bike doesn't happen too often.

 

[Neil]

Petrol is clearly STILL TOO CHEAP

What utter tosh.

The idea that punative taxation on fuel was anything other than purely revenue gathering is naive. There was no green agenda with it, and I'm far from convinced it was a controlling measure, either.

If you needed any further thought on it - consider why it was never hypothecated.

It's just another lesson in indirect taxation, brought in at a time when important lessons on direct taxation had been realised. Of course, an excuse on the evironmental pretensions may have been made, but that was merely rhetoric designed to appeal to some, and largely keep others in their place.

The government couldn't afford for any significant swing downwards in the use of fuel for motoring - if that ever happened, there'd by a hole, yay-big in the government's finances. I suspect, realistically, the government is probably counting on realistic growth.

 

[highlandsflyer]

There is of course room for improvement in the public transport system across the UK. London has the best I have experienced, and I am not at all easy to please.

In terms of being able to get anywhere in reasonable time, there is nowhere I have had a better experience that is truly comparable.

Yes it can be agonising sitting in traffic on a bus, or standing squeezed into a tube with thousands of sweaty commuters. However, that is more to do with the nature of working practises here than an inadequate transport system.

Outside of peak hours, getting around London is a joy.

I rarely use the tube these days, preferring buses. My wife has always preferred buses, and I have taken to them more and more.

Luckily we live pretty central and walking is viable for most of the central locations, cycling for anything a bit further.

My preference ultimately is walking, and jumping on a bus when we get tired.

If you compare London to Madrid, for example, you have to factor in the area involved, equating to only the very central part of London, the difference in economic variables, London having higher fuel prices and higher salaries.

It becomes complex to equate, but I would also say that ideally we would reduce the costs to a similar level.

The answer to the problem is to make public transport cheaper right across the UK, and how do we do that?

For rural areas with very little public transport provision, we need to look at subsidies for essential journeys by personal transport.

Many employers help with travel card costs, and once you have your travelcard it really takes the weight off. Car ownership is something we should see as desirable on a needs basis, not as some form of human right in a consumer society.

The travel card at current cost for up to around zone 6 (Greater London) works out about the same as running a car for 80/90 miles a week.

It would be hard to understand it being cheaper to use a car unless your journey is very short on reasonable quiet roads.

It should be made cheaper to use the rail system and car parking should be made easy at stations to encourage commuting by rail.

 

[gbsimpsa]

I'm no longer interested in any of the politics or arguments on taxation and duty on fuel to be honest.

I know all the arguments as I've argued them myself some time or another.
Most of my life I've moaned about taxes, duty, congestion, road rage, speeding cameras, slow drivers, middle lane hogs, old farts, young farts, BMWs, car tax (VED), pot holes, narrow roads, car parks, parking fines, yellow lines... etc etc blah blah blah blah ad nauseum.

Frankly I'm sick to death of moaning and moaners when it comes to cars.

My perspective nowadays is: There are way too many cars period, the more people who can and do get out of them and find an alternative the better. It's just too easy to take the lazy option.

Society has gained a great deal from the convenience of cars but I feel it has also lost a great deal too.

Fact is: We are too reliant on a finite resource which I believe is as cheap now as it is ever going to be. Cue the exponential rise as it gets harder to extract oil.

Most liquids cost more if you think about it and most of those liquids are essentially from renewable infinite sources. Pop, Juice, beer even some mineral juices etc

 

[highlandsflyer]

Infinite beer. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Cars are certainly choking the place up. I say close half the roads to them.