The biggest question raised here must be: who on earth is choosing to drive in London, the city with by far the best public transport system in Britain?
me in the Guardian on the most congested city in Europe, apparently
me in the Guardian on the most congested city in Europe, apparently
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We had someone park behind a bus half way across the train track and when the barrier went down drove into the level crossing area
Load of pedestrians had to lift the barrier up to get them out
I don’t live in London, but visit there pretty regularly by public transport
My take away People in London have far too much money. You got tubes and buses ffs.
Imagine the fucking scenes if some of the 2-3 story auto-Parking Garages sprouted up in the suburbs
Get those tunneling machines in the ground!
Post COVID, the demented behaviour of a large minority of passengers has certainly made public transport less comfortable
And I know people here in Scotland entitled to a free bus pass which includes intercity coach services, who drive everywhere
In the centre of town it’s amazing, but even there bus routes are being chopped up. What used to be a 1 bus journey is now 2 buses.
In addition there are only 4 a day from my village to the nearest town.
The risk of getting stranded is very real in most parts of the UK.
Perhaps nationalising the buses might help?
My 2 eldest now live in London (24 & 26) both can drive but not interested in having a car, I think a real shift in young ppls relationship to cars
These are ppl who don’t use public transport
Thoroughly unscientific but…I counted the vehicles I encountered on a mid-week mid-afternoon bike ride from Covent Garden to Streatham. Total = 100; just one third private vehicles - and 90% of those were once you got to Zone 2
That's less because the local schools are bad, and more that this school has status.
Live in the rural Highlands? Aye. You need that car. Subsidised.
Live in London and don't tick a box of disabled, carer, etc...? Pay for it.
I'm a big fan of cycling. The average speed of a car in London is 9mph, the average speed of a bicycle is 14mph. Something for people to consider before complaining of being stuck behind a cyclist.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/discounts-and-exemptions#:~:text=Private%20hire%20vehicles%20(PHVs)%20are,the%20zone%20during%20charging%20hours.
Information on Twitter may well be old and to do with when the black cabbies (who don't pay it) got upset.
It's hard to claim the motorists are being penalised by anyone apart from other motorists in Europe's most congested city?!
(FWIW I drive, cycle, walk, public transport, all of it)
Tourists actually sitting or leaning on the buggy at peak rush hour on the tube was frighteningly frequent on the other hand
Congestion charge is not as high as rail fares. Would suspect the congestion is driven mostly by people coming in.
(And, yes, a salary salary boost. 😂)
Salary boost would have made it a mo brainer for me too.
The maximum single bus fare in England is £3
Until recently it was £2
I drove there recently to deliver a heavy item, it wasn't fun and I couldn't use the bus lanes.
Its also why Londoners are less healthy and less happy than Amsterdammers
My Zone 2 workplace, mind you, near multiple tube, rail and bus stations, paid my colleagues private car parking, but nothing for bike or PT.
Especially the one near my house.
Quite a few tickets were issued over the following few days, and the problem went away.
The argument that is often made — that millions of people "need" to drive in London — is highly questionable, particularly considering that many of those who seem to "need" to drive appear to "need" to drive SUVs.
No way is London most congested city in Europe
If people choose to sit in a metal box for hours & pay thru the nose rather than take a tube that's their lookout
Traffic is better, air cleaner within central London than recent past
Then there are the times you’re transporting a lot of non-human stuff.
The only logical explanation is that gridlock and expense is still cheaper and less hassle than commuting by train and paying train station parking.
And that might well actually be true.
Romford was a bad example for me, but going to see friends in Honour Oak for Sunday lunch would probably entail driving.
Same for when my wife was in hospital in Harrow, and Sunday rail experiences were shocking.
Something went wrong somewhere.
When I suggested making this fair, one way or another, they said 'you can't punish the driveers!'...
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/paddington-station-disruption-closures-hs2-old-oak-common-b1201524.html
Taking your M25 example, you're going to need to massively enlarge the number of lanes and junctions to offset this delay.
Plus for most people don't care about the actual journey time, as that can be managed. What matters is how much it can vary, as that is the buffer you have to add.
Like most of the UK infrastructure there’s no consistency - one tube will be fully step free, another have a stairs in exactly the wrong place