Edinburgh Congestion Charge

There was no specific vote, but there was a "public consultantion", the
results of which were ignored by the wretched newt fancier.

 

Err, right. What kind of way is it to run any sort of government if one has
to consult continually the unwashed masses. That's what they're elected to
do.

The charge was in Ken's manifesto. I suspect however, that given there was
no real alternative to Ken, a lot of people either didn't bother reading the
manifesto or just didn't care at the time.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Martin

So, nothing has changed in the fifteen-or-so years since I lived there
then.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

That's a bus-ride from being anywhere near true.

 

have a look at the maps at the ottom of this page.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4287145.stm

 

*Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding d......crash*

Bell's broken. How right you are sir. In fact I'm sitting here
having just read an article in "Traffic Engineering and Control" (its
a thrillling read), which states that there has been a 33% drop in
cars entering the congestion zone and the total number of public
transport journeys has increased 34%!

To be blunt, most people who spout on about how crap the congestion
charge is, actually know very little about the matter and are purely
focused on the NIMBY side of the issue.
--
Andy Cunningham
Stockholm, Sweden
STX1300A
UKRMMA#17
The UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmfaq1.html

 

without wanting to seem against the congestion charge (I'm all for it),
since it's introduction the traffic on the lower Upper Street/Essex
Road/Pentonville Road/Roseberry Avenue area has got really shite.

 

I think the reason for this is more to do with the introduction of
traffic lights at Islington Green to control the Essex Road traffic, the
new bus lanes and priority lights by Angel Tube Station plus the whole
of the Angel junction has got new traffic lights with revised phasings.
There have also been lots of road works in that area.

 

Well it depends on how you measure this. Are there more buses running
in Central London and are they running much more reliably? - Yes. I
think the bus network is generally very good but many people are
lamenting the loss of the Routemaster.

Are there more buses in the outer areas and are they running more
reliably? - Yes and No. Some parts of London have had improvements but
many have not. The suburbs were the next phase of improvements to the
bus network and the money has run out. This is a great shame as many
routes need improvement and if the money had been there I think the
network could have been fantastic. It would certainly have been a
showcase of how well buses can work. Given the change in emphasis in
Ken's transport plans I think a golden opportunity has been lost.

To set matters in context the increase in bus ridership in London has
been sufficient to meet the government's target for growth in bus usage
for the whole of the UK. Ridership went down in the rest of the country
although there are some bright spots like Cambridge, Oxford and Brighton
where the local companies have increased ridership.

DLR runs very well all the time and has been voted best rail operator
for several years now. It is currently getting two extensions built and
there is the prospect of at least two more. DLR is another shining
example of how to do public transport very well.

On the Tube well it's fair to say that there have been some improvements
but there are also still lots of big issues to deal with. The Northern
Line is in a dreadful state at present while the Piccadilly Line is
generally doing very well indeed. The Tube is a big thing to fix and it
will take years but at least money is going in to the system now. We
also have the prospect of the East London Line Extension being built and
Crossrail might possibly see the light of day if the money can be sorted
out.

On the railways I'm not sure I'm really qualified to comment as I don't
travel by train very much these days. Some companies seem to do OK but
the overall level of performance is not where it should be and with
government now taking back full control of the purse strings I think
performance will not get any better for many years to come because some
serious money needs to be spent on extra capacity and Alastair Darling
has said very clearly that there is no extra cash available. The
Treasury has wrought its revenge against the SRA and the Rail Regulator.
Sweller is far better placed to provide comments about the rail side of
things.

 

If we the people got to vote on every single issue it would cost a fortune
and we'd spend all our time in polling booths, (those of us who gave a
shit, anyway).

We elect representatives to make decisions on our behalf.

 

darsy says...

I was in that area today, visiting Burwins in Essex Road. Traffic
congestion round there really is shite.

 

So was I, about 5 ish... and agreed.

 

He appears to irritate Bliar, good enough for me. Especially as not
living in London I don't have to suffer his grandiose schemes.

 

^^^^^

You've mispelt driver

 

It's no different to living anywhere else. Not counting things like
traffic congestion, air pollution and a host of other things, bills
still have to be paid, petrol still has to be bought etc, etc.

It's one of the evils of living here, but like I said before, I know
nothing about those inside the political machine.