Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 27 May 2008 10:55:09 +0100, Roland Perry wrote:

200 miles is a very large threshold. I'd use 50 miles as where "long
distance" starts.

Depends where you live. 50 miles is barely enough for our weekly shopping
run, the monthly one is 100 miles...

And how well does an electric car cope with altitude changes? Hartside
rises 400m (1300') in about 4 miles. There is a 1400' difference between
home and the weekly shopping destination as well.


No performance difference at altitude on electric propulsion.

Of course, hopefully the run down will charge the batteries by
regenerative braking for the run back up ;-)


Fine for your 10 mile each way commute but that would be better served
with decent public transport rather than thousands of single occupancy
cars.


Public transport can not do what a private car can: we may have to go
back to it, but not without a struggle.

I remember using public transport exlusively,. It took all day to get
from Surrey to Devon, and involved a lot of strenuous lugging of luggage
between various platforms. In a car, its about 4 hours door to door,
that public transport never achieved.

Public transport constrains where you can operate from as a normal
working person. I remember when my car broke, missing the only bus there
was, and being 3 hours late for work.

Now I agree that we should try not to commute at all, make more use of
public transport, and, indeed, its a fine thing when it works for you,
but it is exrenmely inflexible. And not a cure all for all trips by any
stretch of the imagination.


The extra time it takes might be the death of you when you need to get
to A & E. Strangely the early adopters of small cars in the 50's were
(amongst others) doctors midwives and district nurses...