Expanded ULEZ

motorbiking said:
It will drop, because people will no longer visit the businesses and services in the expanded zone. occasional pollution swapped for job losses.
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You think that only people with old, polluting vehicles go shopping?

You must have reversed your earlier opinion that the number of them is small and dropping.

Or more likely you are just dropping in fantastic claims in the hope that, if repeated often enough, they will seem to become true.

Is there a press release you want to quote?
 
Kind of related to this thread, part of the challenge is the different ways in which people live, how they function as individuals and/or families on a daily basis, their age and where they live geographically.

Environmental policies and strategies were discussed on a Debate Night special earlier this week (think Scottish version of QT). The usual things came up, good/excellent public transport within major cities and many large towns. However not so good public transport elsewhere. It was also discussed on QT last night which came from Wales, they were discussing the 20mph zones. Some in favour, some not, to be expected.

We can all reel off examples. Although I mainly WFH these days, the door to door work commute for me takes ~20 mins by car. That's me walking out of my front door and walking into the office. By bus, I've estimated the door to door time would increase to ~60 mins and involve one change (bus to town centre then bus to work.) And of course the lack of flexibility to detour before and/or after work if required. Unless you're a real environmentalist, in this scenario how many would leave the car and take the bus?

I'm stating the obvious, however with things like LEZ/ULEZ, those who are just about managing have my sympathies. If you're above a certain line financially you can either choose to suck up the daily charge and keep your non-compliant vehicle, or you can elect to change your vehicle. However for those who can't afford to change their vehicle but have no choice but to drive into these zones, what are they supposed to do?

Folk who are vehemently against personal vehicle use and ownership (the 'EVERYONE SHOULD WALK, CYCLE OR USE THE BUS!' brigade) are to me more selfish in their views than most vehicle users. As I alluded to above, for many, the requirement to use a vehicle is real and isn't going away any time soon.
 
diy_fun_uk said:
By bus, I've estimated the door to door time would increase to ~60 mins and involve one change (bus to town centre then bus to work.) And of course the lack of flexibility to detour before and/or after work if required. Unless you're a real environmentalist, in this scenario how many would leave the car and take the bus?
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The UK continued to excel in the Europe-wide deployment of battery-electric coaches and buses during 2022, figures surrounding alternative fuels in the sector have shown. 685 of those vehicles were registered here during the year, placing the UK at the top of a 31-nation league table for battery-electric.

Such a return puts the UK well ahead of second-placed Germany, which came in with 581 registrations. France was third with 549. Completing the top five were Denmark (381) and Finland (279). The UK-specific position represents an increase of 145 registrations over 2021’s 540. The latter was ranked second among countries captured, lagging only Germany’s 555.

route-one.net

While it always a pleasure to beat Germany at anything; why would you not use an electric bus when they become more commonplace? Wi-fi connectivity is available on modern transport so any drop in productivity you might sustain away from the office can be compensated for en-route.
 
Odds said:
The UK continued to excel in the Europe-wide deployment of battery-electric coaches and buses during 2022, figures surrounding alternative fuels in the sector have shown. 685 of those vehicles were registered here during the year, placing the UK at the top of a 31-nation league table for battery-electric.

Such a return puts the UK well ahead of second-placed Germany, which came in with 581 registrations. France was third with 549. Completing the top five were Denmark (381) and Finland (279). The UK-specific position represents an increase of 145 registrations over 2021’s 540. The latter was ranked second among countries captured, lagging only Germany’s 555.

route-one.net

While it always a pleasure to beat Germany at anything; why would you not use an electric bus when they become more commonplace? Wi-fi connectivity is available on modern transport so any drop in productivity you might sustain away from the office can be compensated for en-route.
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I don't care if the bus is electric, I don't care if the UK has deployed more of them than other countries, the reason why I still wouldn't use them is as per my earlier post. 20 mins (car) vs 60 mins (bus) ... no thanks.
 
I think in London all busses are now electric or hybrid. it's not the fuel type that is the problem its the flexibility. The same with trains. In dense populated cities, public transport is a no brainer.
 
motorbiking said:
I think in London all busses are now electric or hybrid. it's not the fuel type that is the problem its the flexibility. The same with trains. In dense populated cities, public transport is a no brainer.
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This is what annoys me, people that base what they think everyone else should do based on their situation. Folk that live in larger towns/cities with a great public transport service don't have a clue what it's like for others in areas where public transport isn't as flexible/regular.

For those that have to use public transport, it is what it is. For those who don't, there's still an uphill battle ahead re getting them out of their cars. More so when it comes to areas that aren't nose to tail traffic all the time. Personal vehicles are infinitely more flexible and convenient. I do agree though, in densely populated areas with near constant nose to tail traffic, public transport obviously makes sense.
 
It's the likes of the sustrans and other lobbyist who poor their crazy ideas in to the ears of councillors who don't need to drive for a living. You get the same in the countryside with the bobble hat NIMBYs who want to ban off-road cycling and green laning, because they are "destroying their peace and quiet".
 
diy_fun_uk said:
Folk who are vehemently against personal vehicle use and ownership (the 'EVERYONE SHOULD WALK, CYCLE OR USE THE BUS!' brigade)
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I don't know anyone who claims that, but it makes a good headline.

Use the car if you want, or need, to. Sometimes there are better ways than driving and people need encouraged to use the alternatives.

I also mainly WFH but when I commute i can do it quicker, and cheaper, by train.

Scotland now charges off peak fares for all rail journeys. For example you can go from Edinburgh city centre to Glasgow city centre for less than £15 return in less than 50 minutes. Why wouldn't you.
 
denso13 said:
Scotland now charges off peak fares for all rail journeys. For example you can go from Edinburgh city centre to Glasgow city centre for less than £15 return in less than 50 minutes. Why wouldn't you.
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In this sort of scenario, I 100% agree.
 
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