On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 05:29:56 +0000 (UTC), Edward W. Thompson
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 16:33:04 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:29:23 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:
Maybe public transport should be done properly and where appropriate
and not forced onto people by artificial bending such as congestion
tax.

The congestion tax is only 5 quid. Try finding anywhere to park for that
all day within the zone.

It does what it says. It's also reduced congestion in surrounding boroughs
as well by reducing commuting.

I'm surprised you're so selfish you want unrestricted access by road
traffic where that traffic causes so much misery to the residents.

I didn't say that I wanted unrestricted road access, only that this is
a poor way to achieve it and to fix the transport issue in general.
It is a negative approach, not a positive one.

The correct way would be to make public transport attractive to use,
not to make private transport less attractive. Even with that,
public transport still has the limitation that it goes from point A to
point B at time T. The customer wants to go from point C to point D
and when they want to do so. Non-polluting taxis would be a better
solution than to force people to cram into metal cans which are
vulnerable to the situation that we have seen this past week.

There are two sides to commuting. One is that it is unpleasant and a
waste of time for people who do it, especially when they can work at
home. On the other hand, there are businesses and businesses that
support those businesses who rely on people being in face to face
contact. If they are no longer able to do that, then the supporting
businesses disappear. There is an economic effect.

What do you mean by ' make public transport attractive to use'?

One could start with making it run predictably, reliably and
frequently, providing adequate personal space for its customers and
adequate storage space for items they may wish to carry.


Likely the best way and perhaps the only way is to ban private
transport completely within city centres then public transport, buses
at least, can operate with maximum efficiency.

This is not the answer.

Another possibility in
a new or modern city is to create dedicated bus routes or lanes
throughout. Unfortunately in old cities this is likely impossible
without significant redevelopment.

Neither is this.


With respect to your point of customers wanting to go from C to D,
they can't do that with private transport as they cannot park at point
D.

They may or may not be able to park at point D.

What is the difference between walking from a parking spot to your
point D and walking likely a lesser distance from a bus stop.

If this were the case, then it would be less of an issue. However,
this still doesn't address all of the other unattractive aspects of
public transport.



With respect to your 'better solution' for every bus load you are
proposing 40 plus taxis non-polluting taxis would be better?

Those that wish to use the bus can use the bus. Those who wish to use
a taxi should be able to do so for a reasonable price. It is
perfectly possible for taxis to be more organised and less polluting
than today. Banning and restricting things is not the correct way to
solve the problems of transport.



--

..andy

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