[News] Luton Airport fire

[dsr-burnley]

EVs are fab, I drive one myself. ICE cars are fab too, but we could do without the crap coming out the tailpipe.

Cars en masse are a problem everywhere, but until we subsidise public transport to the point that it’s all but free at point of use, the car will remain king.

Even if public transport is free, many people (those that can afford it) will still prefer to drive. Public transport can never match the convenience of a car. They would need to make car driving ridiculously expensive and would have to close half the roads for buses-only to make a big difference, I reckon.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

I understand your sentiment but I'm not sure what specifically you are meaning. What are the environmental costs/effects/impact associated with recycling batteries that you are referring to? What are these by-products of the process?

Apologies but crap at posting links but a quick google will highlight the issues. Wikipedia also has a page covering this. Basically very nasty chemicals, requires lots of water/solvent which if it gets in the water table will cause major problems.
it also appears that the recycling take up is very low …

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I love NSC, I can absolutely believe that a thread about a diesel vehicle causing a blaze in a multi-storey car park has turned into a binfest about EVs.

EVs are fab, I drive one myself. ICE cars are fab too, but we could do without the crap coming out the tailpipe.

Cars en masse are a problem everywhere, but until we subsidise public transport to the point that it’s all but free at point of use, the car will remain king.

Anyway, I feel a great deal of sympathy for all of those caught up in this mess, and I’m just glad that nobody was seriously hurt.

It could be subsidised to the point of being almost free and some people will still not use it! It's cheaper, for some people, to get an Uber for every journey than to run a car. All the time that is the case, travellers will merely swap one form of private transport for another.

 

[beorhthelm]

It could be subsidised to the point of being almost free and some people will still not use it! It's cheaper, for some people, to get an Uber for every journey than to run a car. All the time that is the case, travellers will merely swap one form of private transport for another.

it is free for pensioners. i still see them in their cars.

some just dont understand or accept the utility of personal transport that public transport cannot offer.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

This afternoon I had a bloke round to quote for some external work on the house. Seemed a thoroughly professional guy etc.

As he was leaving he noticed I had a Tesla and we briefly discussed it. Right at the end he said "Have you heard the rumours about that fire at Luton airport?"

I said wasn't it a diesel car that caught fire, the police said it was?

He came back with, I heard it was a hybrid and the battery caught fire, and they're covering it up.

I couldn't be bothered to argue..... why would they cover it up? Who are they?

 

[HillBarnTillIDie]

You are missing the point. I know they can be recycled it’s the effort required and the environmental costs associated with the by-products of this process. Batteries are chemically very nasty.
The internal combustion engine has had its day, but ignoring the above is asking for trouble. You get rid of one problem and generate another.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head

 

[chickens]

Well, as @dsr-burnley, @Greg Bobkin and @beorhthelm have all made the same point, I hope you don’t me mind me lumping you all in in my response.

Absolutely many will still use their cars, and many will have good reason for that, e.g. caring responsibilities, or work that requires them to be mobile across multiple locations (not all of them well-served by public transport)

However, there is absolutely no hope of getting anyone out their vehicles while public transport remains more expensive than driving, and in almost all situations I encounter, driving is the most economically viable option available.

Even when travelling solo, fuel and parking costs are usually cheaper than train tickets. Factor in the fact that I have a family of four, and there’s no way I’m using public transport to get places, it would make going out economically unviable.

Nobody is going to choose a less convenient and more expensive method of transport. Driving has already been made massively expensive, I have full no claims bonus and yet my car insurance is four times higher than my premium when I passed my test. Has total inflation reached 400% over the past thirty years?

The absolute minimum that public transport has to achieve to be a meaningful option is to be cheaper than the alternatives. It also can’t leave people waiting half an hour in the rain with no shelter. Doing public transport right is expensive, but shared among an entire population it’s significantly cheaper than the alternative, which is all of us sitting nose to tail in traffic queues, frustrated and angry. Nobody is getting out of their car until we fix this. It is broken.

 

[Fungus]

it is free for pensioners. i still see them in their cars.

some just dont understand or accept the utility of personal transport that public transport cannot offer.

I’m 66 today, which means I’ve got my pensioners bus pass. Just got back from a day trip to Falmouth, from Truro, and intend to make the most of it. It was actually quite refreshing to chat to other people, rather than just the two of us in the car, and to see things you can’t see from car level. I’ve been busy downloading apps for bus timetables and routes, which removes some of the guesswork. Don’t know whether I’d want to rely on the bus regularly if I was working, but was happy to leave my EV at home today, and it will stay there tonight when we walk a mile down into town for an Italian.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I’m 66 today, which means I’ve got my pensioners bus pass. Just got back from a day trip to Falmouth, from Truro, and intend to make the most of it. It was actually quite refreshing to chat to other people, rather than just the two of us in the car, and to see things you can’t see from car level. I’ve been busy downloading apps for bus timetables and routes, which removes some of the guesswork. Don’t know whether I’d want to rely on the bus regularly if I was working, but was happy to leave my EV at home today, and it will stay there tonight when we walk a mile down into town for an Italian.

Which route did you take? My daughter was down in Penryn at Uni and the train journey is about 7.5 hours from Durrington, but there are 2 options; via London or via Southampton / Westbury.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

This afternoon I had a bloke round to quote for some external work on the house. Seemed a thoroughly professional guy etc.

As he was leaving he noticed I had a Tesla and we briefly discussed it. Right at the end he said "Have you heard the rumours about that fire at Luton airport?"

I said wasn't it a diesel car that caught fire, the police said it was?

He came back with, I heard it was a hybrid and the battery caught fire, and they're covering it up.

I couldn't be bothered to argue..... why would they cover it up? Who are they?

Love the way you managed to let us all know you have a Tesla there. Top work

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Even if public transport is free, many people (those that can afford it) will still prefer to drive. Public transport can never match the convenience of a car. They would need to make car driving ridiculously expensive and would have to close half the roads for buses-only to make a big difference, I reckon.

Public transport can match, even exceed, convenience in large cities though. Few people I know own a car in Berlin as public transport (trams, u-bahn and s-bahn) is good enough and properly integrated to make car ownership more a burden. And if any of us do need a car an Uber or a taxi is only a few minutes away using an app, and the city is littered with car-sharing companies which are also only a few minutes away. That said, I’ve not driven for over 7 years now.

 

[Fungus]

Which route did you take? My daughter was down in Penryn at Uni and the train journey is about 7.5 hours from Durrington, but there are 2 options; via London or via Southampton / Westbury.

I took the shorter route, bus from Truro! Got off in Penryn and walked down to Falmouth. Can’t imagine using public transport all the way to/from Sussex, but it’s not much fun by car either.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I took the shorter route, bus from Truro! Got off in Penryn and walked down to Falmouth. Can’t imagine using public transport all the way to/from Sussex, but it’s not much fun by car either.

To be fair that length of journey isn't fun whichever way you try.

Return train journey starting Saturday is £95 with 5 changes!

I have driven the route many times, taking a collecting her from Uni etc. About 6 hours each way. I've done it there and back in the day a couple of times, but it tended to make me quite tired as @Bozza will be aware of, as apparently I mentioned it a couple of times on a night out that same day.

 

[dazzer6666]

Public transport can match, even exceed, convenience in large cities though. Few people I know own a car in Berlin as public transport (trams, u-bahn and s-bahn) is good enough and properly integrated to make car ownership more a burden. And if any of us do need a car an Uber or a taxi is only a few minutes away using an app, and the city is littered with car-sharing companies which are also only a few minutes away. That said, I’ve not driven for over 7 years now.

Just as well with the amount of rosé you seem to drink

 

[carlzeiss]

Luton Airport fire: Man arrested over car park blaze

The man was held on suspicion of criminal damage after the fire which destroyed more than 1,400 cars.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[el punal]

Which route did you take? My daughter was down in Penryn at Uni and the train journey is about 7.5 hours from Durrington, but there are 2 options; via London or via Southampton / Westbury.

Excuse me for butting in! Durrington to Southampton will take you the best part of over an hour and a half. You then catch the GWR rattler from Portsmouth Harbour via Southampton to Westbury (or whatever connection) for services to Cornwall. It might be cheaper but it will probably take longer. Maybe the better option would be Durrington to Victoria, tube to Paddington, then a direct service all the way to Penryn.

 

[clapham_gull]

Even when travelling solo, fuel and parking costs are usually cheaper than train tickets.

One small point.

When people make these comparisons they don't tend to factor in that you don't need to buy the train....

No idea if this is true, because I haven't driven for years. Does the below seem accurate ?

The average cost of running a car is over £3,000 pounds a year.

Add parking and yearly 16% depreciation.

 

[Giraffe]

Luton Airport fire: Man arrested over car park blaze

The man was held on suspicion of criminal damage after the fire which destroyed more than 1,400 cars.

www.bbc.co.uk

Interesting. Can you be arrested for just having an electric car? Maybe a Tesla might merit it I guess?

 

[Springal]

Interesting. Can you be arrested for just having an electric car? Maybe a Tesla might merit it I guess?

The fire is thought to have started in a diesel car - possibly a Range Rover - before spreading rapidly.

 

[Giraffe]

The fire is thought to have started in a diesel car - possibly a Range Rover - before spreading rapidly.

Probably sped up by all that Barbour garb.