MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
what traffic looked like 100 years ago:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6486650610391534812#
We do not have a population three times that of the 50's.
It was an exaggeration (though it's actually true of world population, amusingly!).
Public transport can and does work in various parts of the country. Central Scotland it is fine. Cheaper, easier and not too much slower than a car in the main.
TJ, I live in central scotland, it's not cheaper or easier than my car. A return trip on the bus takes nearly 1:30 and costs around £4, goes every hour and means I have to walk half a mile at one end and 2 miles at the other. My car takes 25 minutes, leaves when I want it to and costs around £1.50 fuel and 50p parking. I can cycle to work faster than I can use public transport, and thats from a commuter village.
There is no shop in your town - why? 'cos all the car drivers shop elsewhere so the village shop is unviable! and so on and so on.
There are still shops in my town. I shop elsewhere because a local shop can't carry the diversity of products that I want.
It took a generation or two to get into this state. It can be reversed in a similar time
Not without people making large sacrifices in their standard of living, which they will naturally tend away from. You see the thing is I believe I'm odd 😆 , I could happily live in total isolation (see the BBC olymic trek thingy last night, I'd love to live in one of those remote villages) but when it's perfectly viable to have the comforts and when you don't have the lovely natural beauty and nice community spirit to go with the negatives of losing those comforts, people will never tend that way, even if the costs are vast.
No one said you cannot have a car - just be clear it is not s nessesity but a luxury
You seem to be implying that it is some kind of vain luxury that we are foolish for wanting.
Now I am fundamentally anti-car. That is to say, I wish there were fewer cars on the road and more people either not travelling or using PT. However I do appreciate that a lot of people would have to make great sacrifices to their lifestyles to do without, and that is impractical to ask since we are all engaged in trying to improve our quality of life. Spending two hours getting to work instead of 45 minutes might make a great personal statement but it might cause misery for your personal life, and people are in many cases not prepared to do it.
Now of course, a lot of people would NOT have to make great sacrifices...
I have not commuted by train so far much since I seem to have a lot of crap with me. I really should work out how to improve the situation and get on the train. It'd mean either not riding during the week or risking having my nice bike nicked from outside a hotel... neither option would cause the world to end, but would be unpleasant for me.
I've never had a car and can't drive. So, I've only ever applied for jobs near to where I live, and I've only ever chosen to live near to my family. This means my kids get to see lots of their grandparents, and we have baby sitters on tap. It also means that I'm not spending a fortune on a car each month and allows me easy access to a moral high horse.
My dad commuted [url= http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=dl1&daddr=Wallsend,+Tyne+And+Wear,+United+Kingdom&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=54.059388,-4.042969&sspn=12.372547,28.168945&ie=UTF8&z=9 ]by car to Wallsend[/url] every day for years. When he stopped and used the train/Metro instead he said it was like going part time; getting rid of his company car meant it didn't really cost anymore.
. So, I've only ever applied for jobs near to where I live, and I've only ever chosen to live near to my family.
Only 2 jobs in the country for my qualifications and experience when I finished, and as it was I didn't get either as they were internally appointed, and I went for a job outside my field, took a wage cut and still had to move 200 miles. Had little choice, without wasting years of study and experience. Jobs near where I lived would be manual labour or fixing cars. Don't have any kids, family is scattered over the country.
So, I've only ever applied for jobs near to where I live, and I've only ever chosen to live near to my family.
that sounds cripplingly dreary. you're a long time dead, its a big world
its a big world
At YOU live in an [b]ANAL Town[/b] 😆
that sounds cripplingly dreary. you're a long time dead, its a big world
I agree, but you can't say he's wrong, just like he can't say you're wrong for choosing to do differently (even if he's doing so!).
i'm not saying he's wrong, in many ways its admirable, but it's not for me
Scruff - An anal town deserves its very own huge cock don't you think?
For those with the 'you don't need a car' comments - I do.
Unless I stop work as car ownership is a prereqisite of the job. Spose I could find another job but whoever took over from me would still NEED a car.
Oh, community nurse,btw.
Your car will cost less than TJ thinks - it always does.
I would never say that no one needs a car. But having given mine away 3 months ago, I can certainly say that I don't need one. I've used public transport outside peak hours in that time, and it's not so bad. It's incredible that some people think it impossible to return to the situation of the 50's. Anything is possible.
I agree that not running a car can be inconvenient for me, and on a couple of occasions I've used the help of friends to move stuff. I've just learnt to adapt my lifestyle slightly. It is a bit limiting, but it's also very liberating. I'm riding at least 300 miles a month so I'm healthier as well as considerably richer.
Regarding the red diesel comments...
Buses get subsidised fuel. It's normal white diesel, but the bus company either gets it cheap or gets a refund. I'm not sure of the details of how it works, but we have to keep an accurate record of how much goes in the buses and how much goes in the service vans and company cars.
my bus to school is insanely cheap compared to the bus supplied by school. £7 for a weekly ticket on the service bus, £5 A DAY for the school bus.
sod em all, drive your car dude, you know it makes good sence.
A monthly pass for a 2 x 45km commute in France costs my wife 70.20 euros. Half of that is reimbursed by her employer. She has used the car twice in six years.
I used to catch the train from Stafford to Coventry (and back). I only got asked to show my ticket about one day in five so I bought an open return and it worked out very cheap indeed.
Bigjohn - likewise with the wigan->liverpool train, almost never met anyone checking tickets, when one came along almost the entire train bought one on the spot suggesting that I was one of the rare ones buying tickets on the station. Sometimes I had to buy one at the terminating station because there was no-one at the start or on the train and I ended up being accused of purposefully being difficult for wanting to pay by card, at that point I told them where to stick their ticket.
Not to mention the number of colds and illnesses I had increased dramatically when I had to stick to the train, I was pretty startled by it.