Manchester Congestion charge approved

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

Take a look at what they have done in London.

Firstly they closed off many junctions, put bollards across roads that were releiving pressure off the main routes, Changed whole traffic-systems to exclude private vehicles etc.

Next they dug up almost every single set of traffic lights in the city using "lights-in-a-barrell" that were no timed to work with surrounding lights.

They then waited until they had the majority of the roads clogged-up solid whilst at the same time rolling-out the new congestion charge cameras.

When the system fianlly went live what did they do? They started it during schools half-term so that the traffic was lighter anyway and gave themselves a huge pat on the back and claimed it a roaring success.

A few years on and what's happening now?

Public transport fares have gone sky-high. Not only have tube fares increased but you also get penalised for wanting to pay cash for the underground fare.

Bus-fares are now a minimum of £2 even if you want to go one single stop.

Westminster Council last year declared that they did not regard the motorcycle as having any role to play in the reduction of congestion. This year they are removing ALL free motorcycle parking and putting in charging meters in the bike bays. They now say it's because of the increased number of small bikes on the road trying to beat the charge.

Let's not be naiive about this - it's ALL about the amount of money they can gain in revenue from the motorist. They just keep playing the green card over and again by way of justification.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

froggeh · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Karma :

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

froggeh · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Karma :

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

Actually kickstart has defeated you,

Kickstart is making perfect sense

you say:

Why can't you understand the concept of having drivers for the time that it takes to drive?

and also

I would have people work the hours required.

Which boils down to 2 solutions:

A-- 2 Short shifts per day

B-- hiring people all day having them sit around doing nothing

You can't just hire 150 staff after 2 hours in the morning send 125 of them home , and ask them to
come back, nobody'd work for you, unless you made it worth their while and factor in the cost of
commuting= increased wages which then costs you more = less profits = fares increase.

Which means B is the only solution ie keeping all 150 on at a lower rate.

which means you have to keep them occupied, being kept busy is very important in work for morale purposes, I worked
for a high pay telephone hot line once , I spent all day waiting for calls , time moved very very slowly and demoralised me
while now I work as a chef and accountant , its tax return season baby , I have so much work to do days seem to
fly by , chef at weekends its busy time flies by.

Remember people are humans it they think they are getting a bad deal they'll go try find something better

Oh and manchester bus companies except on Oxford Road , run an illegal cartel , with a gentlemans
agreement, Stage Coach and First are the only companies which run the non Oxford Road routes,

They were caught abour 4 years ago , in that they would meet before the bidding for routes and agree
not to bid on each others profitable routes. They were caught , nothing was done about it.

Exactly - there should only be one bus company.

Is also flawed , you do realise monopoly is very very bad don't you? , if there is only one bus company C charges
are too high , then the bus company can charge whatever they like , infact last year bus companies already
planned their own congestion charges in reaction to government plans to get people off the roads.

you know like if you are in the desert I have a bottle of water , you have £10000 , I can ask for £10000 for this
bottle of water , you have NO choice,

And as said its always self defeating , they should just be more fucking honest about it ,

you want more revenue , put up income tax , income tax is 96% efficient only 4p per £1 is spent on collecting
it, such schemes are horribly inefficient , create economic distortions and generally have the same negative
political consequences that putting up income taxes do and people really notices these non income taxes.

5 or so yeras ago NI went up 20% hardly anybody noticed , council taxes keep going up , people notice.

thus almost all young working folks will vote Tory next time, since NL has the worst of both worlds.

Tory = lower taxes + cuts

Labour = higher taxes + cuts

My general problem with this gov is their solution to everything is a new tax , no carrot always bloody stick
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

froggeh · World Chat Champion Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Karma :

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Itchy · Super Spammer Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Karma :

The only way public transport can possibly work is via the use of AI computers to
drive around everywhere ,unfortunately this still requires a human backup ,
aircraft can take off and land fly across the world and drop bombs in a 1 sq metre
radii , fly back refuel by an aerial tanker land and park itself back into the hanger.

It still requires a pilot for backup since AI can go wrong in the air its not such a big
deal since there are no pedestrians everywhere and or aircraft filtering in super
close proximity.

An AI controlled bus will still require a human backup thus bringing back kickstart's
human employment problem.

Kickstart also does not meantion commuting costs money AND time not all bus drivers live
on the doorstep of the depot (nor would many want to , since the Bolton one is near
hooker city , the Manchester one is in crack alley),

Time be precious money is compensation for time , commuting costs money and yet
does not compensate for time , I did have a boss once who'd pay you for your commutes
and I also get paid for off site work. Such bosses are extremely rare.
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

natv4 · Brolly Dolly Joined: 31 Dec 2004 Karma :

stevebid · L Plate Warrior Joined: 22 Jan 2007 Karma :

used to live in Oldham worked in city centre & trafford Pk.

emigrated to Northern Ireland....no traffic, no cops stalking your every move with fines for small plates & illegal cans, great roads, road racing on proper road 15 times a year, no rip off prices, pubs that never shut....need i go on....heaven!

demoNSR · Scooby Slapper Joined: 06 Apr 2007 Karma :

Don't know about Manc, but in Newcastle, its the fekking traffic lights that hold everybody up.
The amount of times i have been stuck at one particular crossraods, on a red light, traffic building up behind me. And there is nobody waiting to pull out across you. They are designed/programmed to stop you for no reason.
And the lights sometimes only give a few seconds on green, but the traffic keeps on building up, because the green light does not allow enough time to clear the back log of traffic.
Can't people see, this is deliberate to add more weight to the argument for congestion charging/road pricing. Twisted Evil

The vindictive fekking councillors/government, know exactly what they are doing. they just play on our complacency and ignorance.

If we want real change, either vote for someone other than the top 3 parties, BNP springs to mind, (Take time to read their manifesto before you start brow beating me,) RACISM is not what they are about. PATRIOTISM is. And thats no bad thing.
Or rally for a mass fekking riot in London. They abandoned the poll tax for that reason. And now would be a good time, since most of our troops are out of the country, fighting for these wankers who govern us.
Lets give them something worth coming back for, the RIGHT to our FREEDOM, and the RIGHT to drive on our roads (which we already pay for), without being surcharged. Mad

KTM Gordo · Brolly Dolly Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Karma :

Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

demoNSR · Scooby Slapper Joined: 06 Apr 2007 Karma :

Bus lanes cause bottle necks in my opinnion. And are used by 90% of the buses, 10% of the time. I have just started riding a bike, after 5 years of public transport use, and yes, i agree with you KTM. They are busy in peak hours. Sometimes fully loaded. But does that not make them dangerous too? imagine if a bus toppled over on its side, how would people get out if it was resting on the emergency exit? The same goes for commuter trains.
As you say, they are commercially funded, so bus companies want to move the maximum number of people for the minimum cost.
ie, less services.
And trying to get off a bus, when you have to fight your way through standing passengers is a nightmare (not for perverts though i expect) and you do get those sort of people travelling on buses too. Not the first time i have felt the blunt end of someones crown jewels pressed against my arse.
So there are a lot of arguments against bus use, but not many for.
Streamline the buses for those who want them, get rid of the bus lanes, and we will see a marked improvement in congestion.