The Big 'Let's sell our cars and take buses/ebikes instead' thread (warning: probably very dull)
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I thought I'd try to cheer you up...
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
I guess you just don't want to. Let's chalk it down as a bad idea and move on 😊
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
If I was mayor, I would also say that there was no plan to introduce pay per mile as it sounds impractical, but I would use the question to start talking about all my other policies against congestion.
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I indeed know that they do, but my point was that the debate on the London mayoral election was manipulated by vested interests to focus on ULEZ because the Tory team had thought that that one issue, divisive as it is, could swing the entire vote their way. The parallel with the wider electorate would be the Rwanda scheme - find something divisive that they think will singularly eclipse all the other considerations, and batter people over the head with it. It was the same with the EU and Brexit: find a totemic issue, and don't give up till enough people have fallen for that one issue being the solution to all the problems.
Forget nuance, just find the one issue that you can tweet about relentlessly, then base your entire government strategy on the tweeting. Obviously, The Plan Is Working.
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ULEZ is not a devisive issue for people living in London even if the Conservatives thought it could be.
I think there would probably be stronger views on pedicabs.
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But it doesn't stop them trying to weaponise it, as they think it plays well to a certain voter (even if that voter doesn't actually live in London). The point is to lead the debate away from substantive and complex issues that deserve nuanced debate.
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I saw something yesterday that highlighted yet again how, for many people, the idea of everything not being based around the car just doesn’t compute. This was on LinkedIn with a landscape architect highlighting the benefits of city trees. Someone replied with a list of all the bad things about trees which included birds nesting in them and shitting on parked cars (they also objected to the noise the birds make and the danger of snow falling off branches onto people). It led to a follow up rant about cyclists being a cancer that stop car drivers being able to get around. That’s a comment on a professional network by someone with the name of their employer visible to everyone too.
I think the OP was from someone Spanish based and the response from someone in Poland so it isn’t just a UK issue.
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And similarly in Exeter, where a scheme near the Quay is specifically targeting people who don't want to be car-dependent and is within 10 minutes' walk of the city centre had people moaning how ridiculous it was to build somewhere that doesn't allow for two cars per apartment. I humbly pointed out that I that the developers and the open market would find out how desirable the development is, once it's built.
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I don't uderstand,10 years after what?
Ed Davey has only been the MP for Surbiton for 7 years, which suggests that the only bit he could have been responsible for is the slowness.
I very occasionally get the train from Surbiton, to be fair it is a bit more than just a new staircase (but definitely not 10 years worth)
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Standard return is £256, so not sure how they have managed that.
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It's for two adults and two children.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Yeah, not sure what they've put in to get those numbers. The most expensive single to London tomorrow is £195.70 and the most expensive single back on Wednesday is the same price (still pricey but way less than above). Just after peak they can be bought for £55 out and the first train back is £75 which seem fairly reasonable.
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But if you've got a family of 4 then you are going to drive. Which I think was the point.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
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They're exploiting those migrunts wanting to escape from Geordieland.
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Ah, yes - just spotted the number of tickets. To be fair, doing a fairly long train journey with 4 people is pricey in most places, I was looking at a 10 minute direct journey for 4 of us from CDG to Disneyland Paris in July and it was 100 euros each way (far cheaper to take the RER into Paris and back out which is what we'll probably end up doing).
Probably an example of where getting a family rail card would pay for itself in a single trip.
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Just two adults, isn't it?
Obviously you can do it cheaper, and nobody who is paying for their own ticket would travel like this, but it's a massive tax on spontaneity.
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I managed to get it to a similar price but you have to pick commuter rush hour trains (ie leaving at 6am and returning at 6pm). The price comes down very dramatically if you leave at 8:30am (£130 one way instead of £500+ for the peak trains)
Driving isn't a viable alternative anyway since it would probably take 2-3 times as long as the train
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That line is expensive and it is hard to get reasonably priced tickets.
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"Driving isn't a viable alternative anyway since it would probably take 2-3 times as long as the train."
Depends. Allow time for getting to and from the main train stations, and reserve time to make sure you don't miss them.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Looks like a major achievement for the Lib Dems.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
It's not quite the achievement he thinks it is, is it?
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
It's a nice building. Was peeling grey, rather than white, when I was growing up.
Filming Harry Potter there has worked like magic.
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I took his point to be that it was a battle but they got there in the end? Not sure why the timescales were so long but I took it as a dig at the planning department although it looks like the Council has been Lib Dem controlled since 2018.
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Sure, but 10 years is getting into 'why did it take so long?' territory.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Needed several coats?
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Not sure they've been in control of Network Rail in that time.
It's been three years since the railway companies decided to actually build it, which I guess is listed building bollocks and having to keep the station open, but even that sounds a long time.
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