Best way to travel 5 miles to a train station?

*Sigh*

Go read it all again, and stop wilfully misinterpreting.

 

That was NOT the point being made originally (cyclists don't pay
anything) and you know it.

 

Last time I was in central London I had to get out of the taxi and
walk, otherwise I would have been late.

 

Have you seen the sort of cars and motorbikes that the beardy-weirdies
can afford? Makes a 2CV look like quality.

 

In my bit of Hove we've recently had residents permits and *strictly*
enforced metered parking [1] for non-permit holders. IMO it's been a
great success.

Yes it's a pisser I have to pay £80 pa to park the car. However since
last November I've been able to park the car outside my house every time.
As opposed to before when I was lucky to be able to see my house - often
it was a different street; after much searching.

I'm pretty sure the Wardens in Brighton and Hove are self financing as
are the meters or at least the Council Tax has not gone up any more than
I'd expect.

The meters themselves are pretty cheap too - 10p for half an hour and £2
all day. I have an ashtray of 10p bits for the quick drop and pick ups
that need the car outside my zone.

Where they've been unable to make a full car slot, say between drives or
odd bits here and there they've been marked as M/C bays. Most roads have
two or three free M/C bays.

Gone are the common sights of dangerous; inconsiderate; double parking
and dumped cars. As I said before it's been a success and, personally, I
was very wary of it before.


[1] Brighton and Hove has one of the lowest rates of successful appeal
against issued tickets. When a ticket is issued it's justified and
backed up by a photograph of the offending car and warning signage.

IME the wardens are pretty sensible - if you say you're going to be five
minutes they'll give you five minutes. There are a couple of vehicle
workshops in my road and I've seen the wardens warn the mechanics they'll
be along shortly to give them time to put 10p tickets in their customers
cars.

 

You sound like a car driver. Have you been tested for
can't-see-bicyclesitis?

 

Arround here in West London? (Hammersmith). Approximatly zero cars parked
on the pavement. I once say a van parked halfway across the pavement on
Wood Lane while it was unloading.

Bikes on pavements (not including shepherds bush green)? About 3 or 4 in
the average half hour walk home.

As for cycles going through red light, I'm not talking about when the
light has just changed to red, like cars. I'm talking about when cars are
stopped, and the bike rides up (the inside) and shoot straight through
ignoring other traffic that does have right of way. That's about 2 or 3
bikes in my half hour walk (and there aren't many lights on the walk)

 

No more susceptible than any other motorcycle I've ridden, which isn't
that many. It feels pretty solidly planted.

It doesn't exactly soak up potholes and bumps, and it's easy to make a
fool of oneself while manouevring into a tight garage or backwards off a
driveway, but once in motion you can't really tell the difference.

Daniele

 

Tony W () gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

Point of order...

This twat petrolhead has several bicycles. I know how to use an apostrophe,
too.

 

Last time I was in central London, I left home in plenty of time
otherwise I'd have been late too.

 

Attilla the Hungry says...

I drive through Central London almost every day for work, it's alot
better than it used to be.

 

This has become more and more common over the last 7 - 10 years to the
point even Scooters are doing it now.

I've had to resist the temptation not to do it on the Guzzi. The MZs
I'll take on the pavement.

 

Almost deserted - I rode down to Holborn the other week and was amazed
how empty the town was inside the zone. I think it's a great idea, but
it should be extended to the outside of the M25 (including the M25) and
the toll should be £500 per day - that would sort out the essential
users.

Bikes (obviously) should remain exempt.

 

This is a different London to the one I know? It doesn't seem any
different regarding "flagrant disregard for laws" to anywhere else - IME.

 

Velvet () gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

I suspect you are deliberately missing my point. Maybe I'm overestimating
your abilities, and you genuinely don't get it.

<slowly>
Several people seem to me to be arguing that the fact they pay VED for a
car indicates that they are somehow paying directly to cycle on the road.
No, it doesn't. They aren't.

The VED paid for a car pays for that one car and only that one car to use
the road. All bicycles use British roads for free.

I'm making no value judgement on whether that is correct or not, by the
way. I'm merely pointing out a factual error in the argument of several
posters.

 

A cyclist shouldn't be on the pavement. I hope that's not what you're
implying.

Eh?
If it was parked completely on the road, you still have to go round it if
you're on a bike. The fact it's partially on the pavement actually makes
things easier.

 

Velvet () gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

It's a correction to the false statement that cyclists pay for their
bicycle use of the road by paying VED for their car, and you know it.

As has been pointed out, I was factually incorrect on the "bicycles
contribute nothing to the exchequer", as I was ignoring the small amount of
VAT payable, therefore I've excised that statement.

Some cyclists may pay VED, but they do not pay it in their capacity as a
cyclist - they pay it in their capacity as the keeper of a car, as is
legally required.

 

Ambrose Nankivell () gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

There is a legal link between VED and road use for most classes of vehicle.

 

In the same way that all [British] hospital patients use British
hospitals for free.

I think the point people are making is that there's no link between
VED and road use.

A

 

Gunga Dan () gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Ssshhh. Don't confuse the poor thing with logic.