my solution to the traffic problems is
1) more free school buses, why is it come school holidays all the traffic at morning rush hour seems to disapear, cannot be that all the car drivers
are on holiday as well. so it must be people taking kids to school.
2) to allow left turns at red traffic lights if clear ,(like americans can with the right turn) how many times have you sat at lights wanting to turn
left from a major road into a minor road and cannot do so because the lights are red.
what is your solution
quote:
Originally posted by Aboardman
my solution to the traffic problems is
1) more free school buses, why is it come school holidays all the traffic at morning rush hour seems to disapear, cannot be that all the car drivers are on holiday as well. so it must be people taking kids to school.
in london the main prob is too many people,jabba the hut wants more and more houses/flats built here=more people=more cars.
public transport cant cope so cars are a necessity.
agree re the school run,its women in urban assault vehicles that cant park that cause most probs.
remove bus lanes and pointless traffic lights,they cause more probs than they solve.
spend some of the money us poor motoring mugs are relived of every year on making the roads for for the 21st century.
wait till the olympics hits town...........
How many people travel to work every day just to sit in an office emailing people?
I think companies should be encouraged to, where possible, allow their employees to work from home via broadband link up (It's what I'm
doing at the moment). I'm linking into to one of our customers in Saudi today as well (saving aircraft fuel as well - I'm so green, and I
don't want to go to Saudi). The technology is here to do this.
I know there are a lot of jobs where you have to be physically there (i.e factories, shops etc), but taking as many office jobs as you can off the
road, I think, would make a huge difference.
1) Remove 10% of the cars from the road - i.e. the ones that currently arn't taxed, insured, MOT'd, registered or driven by somebody with a
licence...
2) Go back to having to send the kids to the school nearest your house.. Our parents managed to make that work - so can we.
3) When tendering for roadworks, speed is the number 2 priority, after quality. Not Cost 1st....
FREE condoms posted to everyone on their 16th Birthday. Eventually there will 'hopefully' be less unwanted pregnancy's, less people on
this planet, less drain on the NHS and less chavy mums with 5 kids, all with different fathers who have the kids so they can live of the state 
Scumbags!!
quote:Good point!! My wife has told her lot at work that she is going to spend 1 day a fortnight at home and do her work remotely. She spends 90% of her time in meetings so it's difficult to get any more time working at home but it's something she is trying to get to work at work.
I think companies should be encouraged to, where possible, allow their employees to work from home via broadband link up
quote:
Originally posted by donut
quote:Good point!! My wife has told her lot at work that she is going to spend 1 day a fortnight at home and do her work remotely. She spends 90% of her time in meetings so it's difficult to get any more time working at home but it's something she is trying to get to work at work.
I think companies should be encouraged to, where possible, allow their employees to work from home via broadband link up
[Edited on 21/2/07 by donut]
Andy
If mrs nut works from home she will see exactly what you do all day 
1) That every 'Office enviroment Company' with more than 10 employees is forced to run a flexi-time system for a % of its workforce.
2) That car parks on train routes have CCTV
3) Schools are encoraged to set-up walk to school clubs.
4) Working from home enitiatives for % of weeks.
5) A tax reduction for people that work within 2 miles of there work.
6) Improved rail network for moving goods ( anyone watching the amount of wagons on the M62 moved to )
Regards Agriv8
Rush hour traffic is bad now due to changes in society:
More families have both parents working now to afford the high cost of housing.
Two working parent families don't have the time to walk their children to school so drive them to save time
Children have to travel miles from home to get to a decent school rather than walking to the nearest one.
People no-longer have a job for life and so no-longer live near work. The cost of housing stops people moving house when they get a new job, plus
spouses job and childrens schools are probably not near you new job.
Other contributary factors are:
Cars are bigger than ever before - the original Golf was the size of a Lupo. There is a Polo in between sizes. Not to mention the popularity of
Chelsea Tractors. The larger the cars in a queue, the longer the queue is for the same number of vehicles.
Towns were laid out for horses and carts. They cannot cope with large volumes of cars.
The solutions? Remove or reduce the need to travel (work from home, make children walk to school). Improve road layouts in towns. Improve public
transport (though in low density suburbs this is not going to solve the problem)
Average motorist (taxed or untaxed) does 12000 miles per annum.
The most popular car in England 2006 was the Ford Focus 1.6 does combined of 40mpg (allegedly). Sits in class d £125
12000/40= 300gallons per annum.
125/300=~42p per gallon
4.54 liters in a gallon= 9.25 p added to a liter. Of fuel.
If you sit in traffic you use more petrol, and pay more tax. If you drive on the motorway you get higher mpg and pay less tax.
No need to set up expensive schemes to claim tax.
-ves
1) Well they are getting rid of all the post offices anyway.
2) No check on mot for Tax disk. Make insurance companies check the mot.
3) Won't get rid of any un-mot'd vehicles.
This could be sorted out by impounding.
Oh yes, and kids should get free bus passes to school no matter where they live.
P.S. Congestion is, and has always been self regulating.
[Edited on 21/2/07 by clockwork]
I live in the North East where traffic congestion isn't as bad as other areas of the country.
However what we lack in the North East is a single body responsible for planning our transportation needs. We have North Tyneside Council, South
Tyneside Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle Council, Sunderland Council, Durham City Council, Durham County Council, Tynedale Council and
Northumberland Council and the Highways Agency.
The Govt seems to think that we all live and work in little communities, like Albert Square or Coronation Street. When will they realise that in
todays mobile society we cross boundaries all the time.
Today I will drive through 7 of these council areas. None of which have the same rules, plans or public transport links. Using a car, for me is
unavoidable until someone takes the bull by the horns, invests in a proper, integrated public transport network, that takes into account real peoples
transport needs, AND has an overall plan for each region.
I hate to say it, but I think Newcastle will end up one of the areas "trialing" road pricing.
Mike
quote:
Originally posted by clockwork
Average motorist (taxed or untaxed) does 12000 miles per annum.
The most popular car in England 2006 was the Ford Focus 1.6 does combined of 40mpg (allegedly). Sits in class d £125
12000/40= 300gallons per annum.
125/300=~42p per gallon
4.54 liters in a gallon= 9.25 p added to a liter. Of fuel.
If you sit in traffic you use more petrol, and pay more tax. If you drive on the motorway you get higher mpg and pay less tax.
No need to set up expensive schemes to claim tax.
[Edited on 21/2/07 by clockwork]
How about a council tax discount for living within a certain distance of your work ? (say 5 miles or less - just a small incentive)
where I live (East Lothian) the whole county is filled with Edinburgh commuters (who mostly seam to work in insurance/ banking) and want the ideal
life in the country (exactly as seen on TV)
in fact that relocation, relocation program did a search up here a while back (stone farm house with outbuildings and a some land within commuting
distance form Edinburgh) they ended up looking in Northumberland
If certain people would make an attempt to live and work within a reasonable distance it could only help (at least for permanent or long term jobs/
homes when they have the choice)
The other side of this is that the people who actually work here generally can't afford to live here so they have to commute the other way
As for the fuel tax, it might not be the best way to deal with congestion - I hate to say it, but it has to be the best way to tackle CO2 emissions
form cars
if for example the current car tax rules were changed so that it was based on how clean the engine burns (but not on the mass of CO2 produced) but
remained at approx. the same cost, then a fair way to tax CO2 its by how much fuel you burn (i.e. fuel tax) - this way its directly proportional and I
think fair - however certain industries (i.e. haulage & agriculture) would need some kind of rebate/ discount (at least until there are
alternatives)
Unfortunately I work in a managerial role for a national construction company and therefore find myself travelling quite a lot and generally through
rush hour periods. Although I think that on balance we do have too much of a face to face meeting type of culture, but there are certain things that
can only be seen/addressed when visiting the actual site.
As we do get involved with major road schemes, the cost of these will also increase as a result of staff costs, deliveries of both materials and plant
etc and the number of government officials who also seem to require an inordinate amount of meetings.
As a slight aside, TB's figure of up to £30m/mile to provide a new road is not the actual construction cost which would be far less than this.
The balance is all the government induced bureaucracy and redtape that goes with such a scheme!!
Just a point didnt I read somwhere that the congestion in london is nearly as bad now as it was before the charge ?
So IT HASNT WORKED but somwone somwhere mut be collecting a Clucking lot of revenue !!!!!!!!!!!
Regards
Agriv8
crush any car without a valid mot, insurance and road tax and a fully licenced driver... there are approximately 1 million cars on the road that are
uninsured... getting them off the road is a must as is eradicating illegal minicabs ,
i think its about time they make driving licences with our retina scans on them
that will stop certain individuals using the same licence
Smart51: I think in a roundabout kind of way it would reduce congestion.
As much as I hate paying tax on fuel, it does make me consider my journey, and the car I buy/travel in. I couldn't really care about the car tax
as once that's paid the pain is gone.
Road charging is very expensive to administer, and with londons traffic back up to its pre-charge days is obviously not a solution.
Have a look on the way home tonight at the number of people that sit in the outside lane when they are not overtaking! most sitting at 65mph
preventing me from making any progress To**ers! prevent them from doing this and the traffic will flow better
[Edited on 21/2/07 by kitcar007kev]
Ban anyone using mobile phones while driving, that should almost clear the roads of Lorries
Then all the folk without seatbelts, that would clear up even more in Bradford 
But seriously, the school runs are terrible, I know, I do it. I'm going to get my kids from school in a while, but at least I get my own 2 and 2
of the neighbours. Oh and I don't drive a 4x4
We have the technology to put man on the moon (unless you believe the conspiracy theory), so instead of ploughing the money into government coffers,
use it to develop and build hover cars. At £30m per mile of road, there should be loads of money available for research and development.
Then introduce a tiered altitude system for different types of vehicles/drivers/journeys, leaving the large haulage/transport vehicles on the roads
and responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the same.
Congestion problem solved and loads of capacity for further expansion if required, with little associated cost. Daft idea?..... Maybe not.
Phil
quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
We have the technology to put man on the moon (unless you believe the conspiracy theory), so instead of ploughing the money into government coffers, use it to develop and build hover cars.
Then introduce a tiered altitude system for different types of vehicles/drivers/journeys, leaving the large haulage/transport vehicles on the roads and responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the same.
Congestion problem solved and loads of capacity for further expansion if required, with little associated cost. Daft idea?..... Maybe not.
Phil
I'm with mike on this one, we actually live somewhere peolple think is the county of Tyne & Wear when actually it was wound up years ago and
we now live in the boroughs Mike described. The congestion is not that bad and the trip to work on mnorning is actually fairly traffic free... that
is, as mentioned, when the kids are off school.
I remember 100 years ago in Hetton we had electric trams and a train station and no cars...
You went to work at the pit, which was walking distance away and had no need to travel. On the rare occasion you could go on the tram or the train...
I live in the city of Sunderland but actually closer to Durham and have to cross the (lawless) border into Co. Durham for work. There is NO public
transport.
Ahhh, the good old days..
I live 70 odd miles from work and get the train to work every morning and I usually cycle to the station.
My 70 minute train journey costs me £368 a month.
My wife works a similar sort of distance but drives because there are no transport links, her journey by rail would take 3 hours! Her monthly commute
in the car costs us £180-200 in diesel.
If the thought of driving in london didn't fill me with dread and the fact that Red Ken's C Charge is a farce I would drive to work as
it's cheaper. The expansion of the C Charge has actually made things worse, people living in the new area now get a 90% reduction in costs so
they drive to work again.
The easiest way to reduce congestion is to use road planners that actually drive and have an ounce of common sense. Information to the press in
Hampshire actually proved that the local authorities are engineering congestion, trying to force people out of cars.
In my employed years I have learnt a hell of a lot about problem solving. I have worked as an "engineering problem solver" (ci engineer) for
the last 8 years.
One OVERRIDING thing I have learnt is that it is EXTREMELY rare for a complex problem to have one neat solution.
Unfortunately our USA type capitalist society always leans towards the "miracle cure" solution not the "tiny steps" solution. Have
a think abotu most things USofA and you'll see what I mean.
Our government is no different it seems. Big problem must have one big answer.................................... well emphatically NO!!!!
The solution is lots of small measures taken.
Here are a few of my suggestions, and that's all they are.
1) Offer government funding, grants etc to aid the progress of multi-mode freight transport, i.e. roll-on roll-off truck-trailer to railcar and barge.
This was supposed to be the big thing at DIRFT bu I've never seen any trains running it??
2) Put added funding into public transport. not gimmick schemes, but billy basic coaches and trains, and LOTS of them, plus year on year increase in
rail network funding to include track upgrades to take high speed trains.
3) Offer substantial tax breaks to companies operating a private coach service for their employees (in a similar manner to those run prior to cars
becoming so commonplace!! )
Start with the basics of travel.
Reinstate ALL the railway branch lines (if they have been built over then tough. that attitude works in Europe).
Bring back a PROPERLY funded and regulated bus service.
Regulate & enforce driving laws from the basics.
People can either drive or they can't. If they can then they WILL pass the test within 5 attempts, no more people taking test after test over a
period of 33 YEARS (1 good day of driving in 10,000).
If you fail five times in a row thats it your out for EVER.
Retest every 10 - 15 years.
Loose your licence then you retake the test AFTER ban to get it back.
The majority of the population need to realise that the licence is a privelege and NOT a god given right.
Traffic monitoring would not work. Comercial traffic would virtually ALL be driven to Europe. The government would be unable to equip ALL in coming
continental vehicles with mobile transponders to track movements so they would all come in to this country and travel the roads for free.
Rant over.
Duck & run for cover after comments above
quote:
Originally posted by chockymonsterThe easiest way to reduce congestion is to use road planners that actually drive and have an ounce of common sense
quote:I know
Originally posted by bob
Andy
If mrs nut works from home she will see exactly what you do all day
There's always a downside to everything
Subsidised bus travel for all. That will get the buses running to non profit making rural areas and allow a frequent service at peak times.
Schools to setup car/bus sharing schemes for parents to access. This will allow parents to arrange secure travel for children to get to school.
More park and ride services into cities in areas not serviced by branch line trains.
Incentives offered by the government to people that choose to cycle/walk to work paid directly into your wage controlled by employer.
More freight moved by rail.
Better use of our crumbling canal network to move goods. Yes its slow but a 70ft barge with all that surface area could possibly generate enough leccy
to maintain its 4mph speed with a motor to maneuver.
Allan
Im sure in Oxford, they plan the traffic lights to cause congestion. They are big on getting people out their cars here. Massive off road cycle lanes
everywhere, pedestrianised town centre, park and ride at every juntion where the ring road meets a main link road.
Its good if you dont want to get anywhere by car!
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
I remember 100 years ago in Hetton we had electric trams and a train station and no cars...
You went to work at the pit, which was walking distance away and had no need to travel. On the rare occasion you could go on the tram or the train...
Ahhh, the good old days..
We will be priced out of our cars by crude oil prices. The only question is when. Then there will be no congestion problem!
Partly why I'm doing the leccy car (but mostly because of the EEC law compelling my work to give me a recharging point...)
I reckon biodeisel & maybe alcohol & pushbikes will be big, can't see rail (or horses) making a big comeback. Solar powered barges - the
solar cells cost a fortune - they're almost never cost effective - the world definately needs a price breakthrough on photovoltaics.
Ah, bus lanes. Only active for 1 1/2 hours on a weekday morning around here, that's 7 1/2 hours a week, but cars avoid them at all times.
I was in London a few weeks ago and the signs there were the same (maybe a bit longer) so I was about the only car using them
Force governement/major companies in lodon to relocate (lets face it the gov don't do incentives only forcing these days) to other areas of the
country. Stop being so Darn Saft and London centric so people arn't commuting from Derby to London to work (freeing up more train space). Stops
the lack of water down there too.
Clamp down properly on uninsured/untaxed cars/no driving licence. Build more schools to reduce crowding and the "school run".
Nationalise the busses, put an extra couple of quid a month on council tax and ring fence it for a flat rate of 50p per trip for busses. There is no
point in having public transport that costs 2 to 3 times more that private transport.
quote:
Originally posted by Catpuss
Stop being so Darn Saft and London centric
I've always thought we should get lorries off the road. I live in a small town which needs a small fleet of lorries to keep local shops topped up
(Waitrose has about 6 artics a week) when the store in next to the railway - part of their car park is built on what used to be a siding.
Canals could carry the equivalent of a couple of dozen artics, for a fraction of the cost (and pollution - overhead electric supply). If lorries must
use the road, it would be better for everyone if they were used from late till early. Town deliveries would be quicker and more efficient.
Train prices are ridiculous for fare payig passengers. One of the few things I remember from studying economics, was Economies of Scale. I could (in
theory) drive a diesel car to London and back on say three gallons of fuel say £12. I could do the same thing with 4 people on board. Down to three
quid.
Train holds about 1000 people. Costs £12 offpeak, £18 peak. Should be no peak times (or 1st class) and cost should be a quid.
I don't do public transport but when I was in Lux seeing bro we went everywhere by bus. It was cheap, clean, fast and on time. By
cheap, my bro gets a travel card for €30 (£20) a month. He can travel as much as he likes all over the place for that.
ATB
Simon
[Edited on 22/2/07 by Simon]
A mate of mine at work has suggested that Ministers and their aides are forced to use public transport standard class, if they wish to move up a class
they pay the difference themselves. For shorter journeys black cab taxis (they are never comfortable). His reasoning: the sooner they realise how
bad the problem is, the sooner they force change. If they don't ever bear witness to the problem on a daily basis then nothing will get done.
I think he has a point.