Cheer up car driving work collegues

ince

By letting them know that the price of fuel is still to cheep and should be put up even more. When asked why? State that the extra money can go towards a better travel infrastructure, repair the roads and the extra cost will also help to remove a lot of the unnecessary car journeys made every day as the car owners won't be able to afford to take the car. This will make the roads safer for cycling.

People will be forced on to public transport that with the extra investment will be much improved and service more places and destinations. People will then also spend more on the local high street as travel to the out of town centres will be more costly. This will improve the local economy.

Coming up with stuff like this when ever there is a complaint about the fuel cost really cheers them up. :twisted:

Maxticate

Not forgetting of course that increased fuel costs don't only affect car drivers but all people who rely on goods delivered by freight lorries.

i.e. everybody.

You may be a little less smug when you see the cost of living rising for everybody because the increased cost of haulage is passed straight through to the customer by companies. People may not be able to spend more on the local highstreet as more local businesses close because they are not able to match the economies of scale of the supermarkets. The increased cost of transport pushing their prices so much higher than those of out of town supermarkets so that even with the increased cost of the fuel to drive to out of town supermarkets the overall bill is still cheaper than shopping locally.

ince

Aye, never said it was perfect. Lots of holes all over the place.

How did we survive before the all encompassing supermarkets drove our high streets to the brink?

Can keeping things local off set the transport cost?

Alternative methods of transporting goods? Rather than looking at the cost to fill a lorry with Diesel, is there a better way of delivering what is required?

Blue Meanie

Canals work well, if the whole system were '2-3days' instead of overnight.

ste_

Out of interest, I wonder how many on here also drive? I bet it's actually quite a high %age, although as this area of the forum seems to be quite London-centric that might be skewed somewhat?

I have a few cars and love driving, I have a race licence etc and will be racing again this year. I sometimes get up early on a Sunday to drive for the sake of it - just like I sometimes get up early to ride my bicycle just for the sake of it.

I find the anti-car stuff really boring, just as boring as the likes of James Martin and Jeremy Clarkson wanabees on car forums saying cyclists should be ran off the roads.

Change the record.

suzyb

ste_ wrote:

I find the anti-car stuff really boring, just as boring as the likes of James Martin and Jeremy Clarkson wanabees on car forums saying cyclists should be ran off the roads.

Change the record.

+1

roger_merriman

ste_ wrote:

Out of interest, I wonder how many on here also drive? I bet it's actually quite a high %age, although as this area of the forum seems to be quite London-centric that might be skewed somewhat?

I have a few cars and love driving, I have a race licence etc and will be racing again this year. I sometimes get up early on a Sunday to drive for the sake of it - just like I sometimes get up early to ride my bicycle just for the sake of it.

I find the anti-car stuff really boring, just as boring as the likes of James Martin and Jeremy Clarkson wanabees on car forums saying cyclists should be ran off the roads.

Change the record.

Cars are very useful for long journeys, normally quicker and faster.

people do make their motoring pricey by getting big new cars etc which chew though fuel and drop alarming in value. cars can be cheap if you want it to be.

Monkeypump

ste_ wrote:

I find the anti-car stuff really boring, just as boring as the likes of James Martin and Jeremy Clarkson wanabees on car forums saying cyclists should be ran off the roads.

Change the record.

This. (And 'boring' is putting it kindly).

CiB

ince wrote:

stuff

In your dreams. It was in the paper the other day that fuel would have to rise to about £12 a gallon before people's behaviour changed significantly. [No I don't have a link]

PT is a non-starter for most of us. It may work in theory, but changing buses 3 times and taking an hour & a half to do a 9 mile journey across town on a bus full of poor people* just deosn't cut it for most people.

*Say what you like, but it's a fact. Not everyone wants to sit next to someone stinking of fags coughing & spluttering his way to work at 7:30.

SamWise72

Cheer up your car driving work colleagues by ripping your lycra shorts round the crotch from waistband to waistband while accelerating away from the lights in front of them, rather in the manner of that bobsleigher at the winter olympics.

shm_uk

ince wrote:

stuff

No no. That won't cheer anybody up.
Unless they can then hit you. That'd cheer them up

Cycling smugness is best enjoyed privately...

roger_merriman

CiB wrote:

ince wrote:

stuff

In your dreams. It was in the paper the other day that fuel would have to rise to about £12 a gallon before people's behaviour changed significantly. [No I don't have a link]

PT is a non-starter for most of us. It may work in theory, but changing buses 3 times and taking an hour & a half to do a 9 mile journey across town on a bus full of poor people* just deosn't cut it for most people.

*Say what you like, but it's a fact. Not everyone wants to sit next to someone stinking of fags coughing & spluttering his way to work at 7:30.

quite and once your out of the center some of the bus routes are really slow, I use the bus with my charges sometimes and while it's nice not be just driving it is a lot lot slower.

for my self back to my folks place in wales which I do fairly often is a tank of fuel plus £5 for the bridge so the travel is about £50 the train is a little higher £60 or so but as ever still leaves me with 6 miles over the hills,

plus I normally go with my wife which means for the train it's close on 3 times the cost.

shame as I do like train journeys really.

ince

Ok, i'll stand down. Not quite what I intended the OP to be.

Anti car, hmmmm never thought of my self like that, might take a look in the mirror. Guess my view may becoming skewed in my old age.

I do believe things need to be adjusted away from the car for day to day living. When and how? Best way forward is a big issue.

W1

ste_ wrote:

Out of interest, I wonder how many on here also drive? I bet it's actually quite a high %age, although as this area of the forum seems to be quite London-centric that might be skewed somewhat?

I have a few cars and love driving, I have a race licence etc and will be racing again this year. I sometimes get up early on a Sunday to drive for the sake of it - just like I sometimes get up early to ride my bicycle just for the sake of it.

I find the anti-car stuff really boring, just as boring as the likes of James Martin and Jeremy Clarkson wanabees on car forums saying cyclists should be ran off the roads.

Change the record.

+1 - there is absolutely no reason why "cyclists" can't also love cars and driving. In fact, my driving has improved massively since I started cycling. Add to that, bad drivers annoy me in the car just as much as when I'm on the bike (although I take the point that the risks from bad drivers are higher on the bike).

So, whatcha got mister?

suzyb

roger merriman wrote:

Cars are very useful for long journeys, normally quicker and faster.

people do make their motoring pricey by getting big new cars etc which chew though fuel and drop alarming in value. cars can be cheap if you want it to be.

Yeah I was a bit annoyed that I'd got a little 1.2 when I changed my car in 2009. Glad I did now as commuting to work in that is going to cost around £170. God knows how much it would have cost if I still had the 1.6.

meanredspider

To chime in. I commute by bike as and when I can although I'm lucky to be healthy a fit enough to be able to do the 160 miles a week required by my route (see below). I'm not aware of a single other bike commuter (to Inverness) in my village.

That said, there is no High St to shop at (we are lucky enough to still have a pub and a PO), we have no doctor's surgery and everything has to be delivered (we usually pay a premium - we have no choice) that can't be bought locally. And we live close to Inverness. PT is utter crap (1 bus a day) and the trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow have to be seen to be believed and are MUCH slower than driving.

I too am a petrol head and car racer (fuel prices are insignificant - about a fiver a race). Car racing improves my awareness & reactions, cycling improves my fitness and capability to race.

Drysuitdiver

i am another who finds this anti car crap slightly annoying .

sadly its the minority who give the majority the bad name.

RLJ , pavements, no lights at night are 3 things that a minority of cyclists do that screw it for the majority.

tailgating, stopping in ASL , parking in cycle lanes are some of th things the Minority of drivers do, but suddenly all drivers are anti cyclist.

how does that work for me i drive and i am a cyclist, should i hate myself.

I have apologised to drivers on behalf of cyclists who I have watched rip wing mirrors off with the attitude of its my right of way.

a little give and take from everybody and the roads would be a much nicer place to be.

Kieran_Burns

suzyb wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Cars are very useful for long journeys, normally quicker and faster.

people do make their motoring pricey by getting big new cars etc which chew though fuel and drop alarming in value. cars can be cheap if you want it to be.

Yeah I was a bit annoyed that I'd got a little 1.2 when I changed my car in 2009. Glad I did now as commuting to work in that is going to cost around £170. God knows how much it would have cost if I still had the 1.6.

3.0.... :?

greg66_tri_v2.0

ince wrote:

By letting them know that the price of fuel is still to cheep and should be put up even more. When asked why? State that the extra money can go towards a better travel infrastructure, repair the roads and the extra cost will also help to remove a lot of the unnecessary car journeys made every day as the car owners won't be able to afford to take the car. This will make the roads safer for cycling.

People will be forced on to public transport that with the extra investment will be much improved and service more places and destinations. People will then also spend more on the local high street as travel to the out of town centres will be more costly. This will improve the local economy.

Coming up with stuff like this when ever there is a complaint about the fuel cost really cheers them up. :twisted:

First two bold parts seem a bit idealistic, not to say naive. Money from fuel goes to (a) oil companies (b) the Govt. It doesn't get ringfenced for particular spending purposes.

Plus putting a lot of large vehicles on the road won't really make roads safer for cyclists.

Last bold bit: what about the internet? I can't remember the last time I went shopping for anything (well, I can: it was to Homebase to buy something small and annoying that I needed for a job I was doing right then). Internet deliveries requires vehicles on the road.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Kieran_Burns wrote:

suzyb wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Cars are very useful for long journeys, normally quicker and faster.

people do make their motoring pricey by getting big new cars etc which chew though fuel and drop alarming in value. cars can be cheap if you want it to be.

Yeah I was a bit annoyed that I'd got a little 1.2 when I changed my car in 2009. Glad I did now as commuting to work in that is going to cost around £170. God knows how much it would have cost if I still had the 1.6.

3.0.... :?

4.2. Two of 'em :twisted:

[yes folks, page one and already we're into engine size dick-swinging wars ]

meanredspider

Greg66 wrote:

[
4.2. Two of 'em :twisted:

[yes folks, page one and already we're into engine size dick-swinging wars ]

I'll end it here....

8.3 litres




*it's not actually mine but I have driven it. In the US. Where fuel is 6p a gallon...

emac1987

Don't think the rise in petrol will change much I'm afraid.

The cost of driving, even with the higher petrol price, is about the same if not cheaper than public transport. Don't know how this is possible but it is :roll:

The lack of cycling facilities has never been an issue of funding but of will. It's not exactly expensive to paint a green lane on every roads in a city but they just don't want to.

As has already been said here, the price of oil would have to go A LOT higher for it to have any effect on the transport infrastructure in the UK.

iPete

I think they should drop the cost of petrol for the nation, then charge the living day lights out of people inside cities who have alternatives to those more rural. :twisted:

Be hard to administer when everyone registers at different addresses though