[Travel] Cars and congestion

[chickens]

buses are far too expensive, I understand they need profit but why would you use it if you've got a car outside your house. unless their is proper investment into a jump on jump off service that is reliable and quick or a proper park and ride for daytrippers then not much is going to change. its all well and good to say put yellow lines everywhere or ban cars but when you need to drive for work or pure necessity your just making things worse

Buses are another form of public transport that have gone backward in design. In my younger days buses had two entrances/exits, so delays were minimal, coz there was no wait for Doris(84) to exit the bus before the new passengers could start getting on. They stopped that design, probably coz fare dodgers kept using it to get on. Surely we can design something now that is effective at letting people on and off?

I’d even bring back the old rear staircase that allowed the athletic to get onto the bus while it’s in motion.

It’s a good way of maximising utilisation, and free entertainment when a cocky bugger misses and faceplants the road.

 

[Stat Brother]

The Cornish have got 3 months of this.

There's no way this level of entitlement just goes away because we have cheaper buses and trains.

 

[worthingseagull123]

For a start we need to get away from the myth that electric cars produce less carbon emmissions than a ICE, at the moment, they don't when you take into account the manufactoring. That said, we really need to start thinking radically. The fact that pretty much, without fail every country I have visited in Europe has better public transport than us in terms of cheapness, cleanliness and reliabilty is a major issue.

Take this for example:

Public transport

Public transport in Luxembourg is a fast, clean and free way to get around. With a network that is constantly adapting to the needs of travelers, this mode of transport is increasingly popular with residents.

luxembourg.public.lu

Free public transport for everyone!

Assuming we cannot do this, then you need to deal with congestion on the basis of need/contribution to society imo not wealth, and yes, i would be one of the penalised by doing this. So carers, nurses, dustman, street cleaners, teachers, postal workers etc all get priority. Once they have filled their spots that are available anyone else can apply for a permit up to a deemed safe limit. Also, we could subsidise these people to buy smaller less polluting cars.

You then need to build decent infrastructure so those that cannot drive into the city can park on the outskirts and get public transport in, at a reasonable cost, quick and reliable.

The public would allow that.

A permit to own a car.

Deary me

 

[Stat Brother]

 

[jessiejames]

Sure, if you want to completely bugger up the supply chain for pretty much everything that goes into shops, supermarkets and businesses, that's a great idea. Not to mention the goods that are bought and sold by private individuals.

What happens to all the commercial vehicles that set out North or South at, say 4am, when it gets to 7am and they have to kick their heels for two hours? There aren't enough truck stops to support them all and it will play havoc with the scheduling done by transport managers who are trying to make their fleets as efficient as possible and maximise uptime. Each one of their vehicles that are off the road for four hours a day will push up their costs and those costs will ultimately – eventually – be passed onto consumers.

This would also increase congestion with having to put more delivery vehicles on the road due to not only tachograph drivers hours but also drivers Working time directive.
There is still a shortfall in HGV drivers despite wages being increased, some by alot. £75k a year for some of our drivers.

 

[Sussexscots]

Rebirth of the trams would help around Central Brighton

I agree. Big fan of trams. Limited stop, mass rapid transit. Has transformed Edinburgh, IMO. Bus takes bloody ages to get down Princes St alone. Tram from East Princess St to Murrayfield now around ten minutes. Far superior.


Now the extension to Leith/Newhaven is complete, happy days.

 

[jessiejames]

As a HGV driver, we could learn alot from rules in Europe. No HGV vehicles on Sundays and public holidays, some countries ban HGV on a Saturday as well, with the exception of those with a Refridgerated unit Carrying perishable goods ( life span of 3 days maximum) seperate licence needed for that.
Make bus lanes open for vehicles above 3.5t. I dont get why you have a set if traffic lights that go green but then the ones 100 yards infront of them change to red. Lack of filter lights at juctions for right turns or the filter lights that we have dont work to keep the traffic flowing.

One final bug bear for me is the number of drivers and i include all from bike up to lorry drivers who dont kniw how to drive. I have seen so many instances of congestion caused by so called idiots who should not be on the road.
Minimum speed limits on motorways and dual carriage way.

 

[virtual22]

The public would allow that.

A permit to own a car.

Deary me

It's not a permit to own a car, it's a permit to take it into a city!

 

[worthingseagull123]

It's not a permit to own a car, it's a permit to take it into a city!

People will allow that?

 

[virtual22]

People will allow that?

They do now in many cities but it’s disguised as a congestion charge where if you earn enough or have enough money you can, if you don’t you can’t.

 

[carlzeiss]

I think that would we need is more immigration to the UK as that would reduce the number of vehicles on our roads and help us to achieve our ultimate goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by the year 2025

 

[Blue3]

The answer is three fold

1. It requires massive investments in bus, rail and trams so that everyone is within reach of public transportation and then make it free to everyone at the point of use funded through taxation.
2. Allow electric bikes and scooters access onto the hopefully reduced traffic roads with insurance and vehicle registration.
3. Make all car ownership so expensive that it forces use of the much improved public transport and ensure that car club rental is easily available

 

[beorhthelm]

The answer is three fold

1. It requires massive investments in bus, rail and trams so that everyone is within reach of public transportation and then make it free to everyone at the point of use funded through taxation.
2. Allow electric bikes and scooters access onto the hopefully reduced traffic roads with insurance and vehicle registration.
3. Make all car ownership so expensive that it forces use of the much improved public transport and ensure that car club rental is easily available

why would one use public transport if there is cheap available car rental. seems to me car rental would end up putting more cars on the road, as those that cant afford them now take up a cheap rental model. its our desire to make journeys that create car use, not a lack of public transport.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Having just cycled from Peacehaven to Seaford, and back, for the first time in over a year, I was astounded by the amount of cars out there. Literally bumper to bumper most of the way in either direction, and going less than 20mph on the A259 through Peacehaven - purely because of the amount of traffic.

Never seen the roads this full before - in the middle of the day, with no roadworks holding anything up, & when the schools haven't even broken up.

Yet some people still think its us folk on two wheels who are the problem on the roads? Crazy.

 

[Chicken Run]

Having just cycled from Peacehaven to Seaford, and back, for the first time in over a year, I was astounded by the amount of cars out there. Literally bumper to bumper most of the way in either direction, and going less than 20mph on the A259 through Peacehaven - purely because of the amount of traffic.

Never seen the roads this full before - in the middle of the day, with no roadworks holding anything up, & when the schools haven't even broken up.

Yet some people still think its us folk on two wheels who are the problem on the roads? Crazy.

I don’t think people work anymore mate, rush hour around Brighton these days doesn’t start till 10am ffs

 

[Chicken Run]

Having just cycled from Peacehaven to Seaford, and back, for the first time in over a year, I was astounded by the amount of cars out there. Literally bumper to bumper most of the way in either direction, and going less than 20mph on the A259 through Peacehaven - purely because of the amount of traffic.

Never seen the roads this full before - in the middle of the day, with no roadworks holding anything up, & when the schools haven't even broken up.

Yet some people still think its us folk on two wheels who are the problem on the roads? Crazy.

Problem is I don’t think people work anymore mate, rush hour around Brighton these days doesn’t start till 10am ffs

 

[dsr-burnley]

There are three main ways to reduce car congestion. One, to make car ownership more expensive so only richer people can afford it. Two, make public transport so good that people prefer it to cars. Three, make car driving so unpleasant that public transport is the better option.

One is obviously going to be unpopular.

Two is impossible because the ease of being able to go at your own time not bus time, no need to change buses, having storage for anything you want to carry, being able to go door to door, is all such an advantage that buses can't compete.

Three is effectively tried in London centre. But could it work in other places, without underground trains? There would have to be deliberate policies to make some, or even most, roads for buses and residents only, and massive infrastructure costs. No politician would dare try and do that IMO.

 

[nicko31]

Variable road pricing is ultimately the way to go, but we're not there yet and there's always the issue of millions of legacy vehicles.

In the short to medium the treasury has more immediate problem and that's falling revenue from fuel duty as EVs arrive, it gets them a whopping £32B p.a. To stop this the government needs to do 2 things

a) Introduce a usage charge on EVs (periodic odometer readings seem the easiest way)
b) Start increasing fuel duty to ensure there is still an incentive to get an EV

 

[jessiejames]

Why do we need to make car ownership More expensive, so only rich people can Afford to run a car.
I need my car to get to work and home again. What about tradespeople who need a van, do we price them out of a job.

If drivers actually knew the law with regards to driving, and were able to drive Properly, and better phasing of traffic lights and road lay outs this would reduce alot if tge congestion not only in Cities but also around the road network.

 

[Stat Brother]

Owners of the most polluting cars to pay double for parking across England

Lambeth council in London is latest to introduce emissions-based fees, with similar charges expected to be widely introduced

www.theguardian.com