[Travel] Cars and congestion

[beorhthelm]

Only one car per person, girl next door owns three cars - why ?

Affordable, reliable public transport and better cycling routes

flexing? having more than one car doesn't affect congestion, only one can be driven.

everyone wants improved public transport as a solution, unaware the problem is private transport has grown exponentially for decades, while pubilc tranport use remains levelish. we haven't moved from bus to car, we've created more and more car journeys that weren't made before. we make many journeys because we have private vehicles.

so solution is to stop using them. only way can see this is through punitive taxes, prohibiting some use, remove car parking so driving is impractical.

 

[schmunk]

What does a tram offer that busses can't?

Nostalgia for a rose-tinted age.

 

[Icy Gull]

That solves a parking issue rather than congestion. The quickest way to solve the parking issue though would be to double yellow every single road in the city and suburbs. Don't have off street parking - tough, don't own a car. Would never happen though as the council would lose a HUGE amount of revenue.

Penalising people who can’t afford a house with a garage or off street parking seems draconian and more than a little elitist though.

 

[BBassic]

Better public transport is a huge thing

Better and affordable.

Cost £13 (return) to get to Brighton on the train from East Worthing a few weeks ago in time for 9am.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

That solves a parking issue rather than congestion. The quickest way to solve the parking issue though would be to double yellow every single road in the city and suburbs. Don't have off street parking - tough, don't own a car. Would never happen though as the council would lose a HUGE amount of revenue.

And more importantly (for them) votes

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Surely reliable public transport is the solution. Without car congestion it would be straight forward to achieve.

Much more achievable that autonomous vehicles that would still experience the fundamental problem of too many cars on the road.

Less car ownership is the solution

Improvements to public transport would definitely be welcomed. But society is to selfish and demanding (and maybe lazy) for it to work for everyone.

Why go to, say, a bus stop to wait for and then sit on a bus with a load of other randoms, when you could wait for a taxi without a driver to take you wherever you needed to go?

You could make public transport the cheapest, most luxurious way to travel and a certain section of society would still shun it.

 

[abc]

Only one car per person, girl next door owns three cars - why ?

Affordable, reliable public transport and better cycling routes

On the basis that she can’t drive three cars at the same time, she is not adding to congestion though

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Interesting article yesterday in the papers concerning ranges of the new EV's. A car said to cover 250mile's range dropped to 140 if radio and AC was on during journey. To travel any reasonable distance it suggested not using any extras on the car otherwise range dips considerably. Anyone experienced this?

Air-con affects different EVs to different extents - that example seems extreme, but possible.

Life with an EV is certainly a lot about compromising and planning...

 

[abc]

Ban all cars except smart cars. They are half the size so we automatically cut down congestion by 50%.
I have suggested to this to many people but strangely no one appears to be supportive!

 

[Mackenzie]

Rebirth of the trams would help around Central Brighton

I'd love to see that.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Rebirth of the trams would help around Central Brighton

This. Bus congestion is a bit daft in central Brighton, sometimes up to half a dozen buses queueing to use a single stop. Still far better than allowing private cars free rein in and around the town centre tho. They need booting out completely, or a swingeing congestion charge imposed.

Part of the beauty of the rebirth of trams is that imaginative new routes to, say, the Marina and the Uni/Amex could be introduced, maybe also a route linking the north of the town to the station. Ah well, we can but dream, eh?

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

No one has mentioned vans and lorries yet. Congestion is not linear, there are peaks and troughs during the day

How about banning all vans and lorries from using the roads 7-9am and 4-6pm, Mon-Fri. Small tweak to the tachograph?

I reckon that would make a massive difference to peak time congestion.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Cheap and reliable public transport. It's not rocket science.

 

[A mex eyecan]

Only one car per person, girl next door owns three cars - why ?

Affordable, reliable public transport and better cycling routes

but unless she‘s very clever she can only drive one at a time so all three won’t be causing congestion, unless of course she doesn’t park them on her driveway then she’s being selfish nicking two other parking bays.

 

[Chicken Run]

Using Brighton as an example, if you want less cars in the city stop building large developments of properties everywhere, the city is a goldfish pond that’s population is growing but the pond stays the same size!!!! And before anyone suggests these developments are car free, they maybe but the new residents certainly aren’t, they just park their cars around the suburban streets unaffected by restrictive parking zones

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

flexing? having more than one car doesn't affect congestion, only one can be driven.

True, but if you have 4 cars on the drive then these 4 cars can be driven all at the same time by 4 seperate people.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Must be some sound system to do that!

Or were they just flooring it and driving like an arse I wonder

The radio thing is obvious scaremongering. I didn't see the story but i wonder if the research was commissioned by one of the fossil fuel pressure groups.

 

[beorhthelm]

No one has mentioned vans and lorries yet. Congestion is not linear, there are peaks and troughs during the day

How about banning all vans and lorries from using the roads 7-9am and 4-6pm, Mon-Fri. Small tweak to the tachograph?

I reckon that would make a massive difference to peak time congestion.

hitting the group that most need to be using roads and have least alternative, would be a terrible idea.

 

[Stat Brother]

Ban all cars except smart cars. They are half the size so we automatically cut down congestion by 50%.
I have suggested to this to many people but strangely no one appears to be supportive!

I agree, which is probably why nobody else does!
Car size should be regulated, but that genie is out of the bottle now.

Car adverts should be realistic.
I drink a pint for every car advert that features a stationary car (10 years sober now! )

Today 5 people will be killed because of car drivers.
We need to do better in reminding ourselves that cars are a problem not the panacea.

No cars should be anywhere near all schools, around start and finish o'clock.
Our generation is doomed, but if there's a planet left to live on kidz today need to know the answer isn't chauffeur driven around in 2 tonnes of metal.

 

[virtual22]

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.