If I was the transport minister

I used to travel by Virign Trains a lot when I was doing a part time course in Choke on Trent and I was only once late due to train problems. That was because they were short of Voyagers so decided it would be funny to replace it with a class 91 pulling MK2 carriages not a clever idea.

I really hate moaning about Virgin Trains because they are genuine sucess story, some of the things they have done on regarding passanger numbers is staggering, they are truely taking cars of the road.

 

I think Branson is really taking a long term view of things and actually has the guts to put his money where his mouth is. I seem to recall reading that he's using profits from his other successful businesses to fund the losses he was continually seeing with his trains.

I am not actually a huge fan of Branson on many issues, but he gets my respect regarding the trains.

 

If I were transport minister I'd make anyone fat walk to work, no matter how far they live from their place of work . I'd also ban bio-fuels that use palm oil as it encourages destruction of some rain forests (or so I read at the weekend) for use as palm plantations.

Then I'd subsidise all the public transport network so that it's actually cost effective for people to use it rather than their cars.

I'd also encourage people to grow their own wings, as I'm sure we'd all be a lot happier if we could gracefully glide to work, as long as it isn't too windy.

 

Fair enough

Why? Cycling has a massive range of benefits: improved health and longevity, lower NHS costs as a result, zero emissions, etc. What's the benefit of adding cost and regulation?

 

That these tossers can cycle about causing mayhem and injury with no requirement to be insured is outrageous. And I wonder how many of these so socially responsible planet friendly pedallers also leave their hifi permanently turned on. Hypocrites.

 

haha....mayhem and injury!? You make cyclists sound like those ring wraiths out of lotr. :JOEL: Not everone rides just because of the environmental angle you know. I ride because I like riding bikes, I like being fit and if I'm in the city I like racing the traffic and looking cool infront of the ladies I also happen to think its a great solution to the fact that the nation is overweight, has traffic issues and needs greener transport. Get out and give it a go Bob...it might just lighten your mood

 

thats true. rollerbladers, rollerskaters, skateboarders and bikers all don't stick to the cycle lanes in hyde park..

but then I see lots of pedestrians wending and weaving all over the cycle lanes in Hyde Park too.

probably needs some sort or raised/cordoned off area to make it harder for people to cross.

 

Anyone see Channel 4's "Dispatches" last night on public transport with Bob Kiley.

Oh, dear, what a mess. Couldn't believe it when Bob said he wasn't even able to speak directly with Gordon Brown after >50 requests. Shows what the Government thinks of public transport then.

 

some of what you say makes sense, however:

noise is a big factor, a lot is tyre noise, and makers have had the know how to make quiet tyres for years, but they won't do it.


the emissions thing is total rubbish. not what you say, but the limited info and understanding people have.

(also, get rid of the oil industry and force cars to run on alcohol and vegatable oil it can be done now.)

New cars to make take loads of energy, loads of oil in the plastics.

(((They also design shelf lives in so you have to buy again when it wears out, in japan its 7 years I think, but that's a legal requirement when cars become out of service.))

Black and decker design their motors to last just after the guarantee expires, on the basic equipment.

So more tougher on makers to enforce longevity, which isn't hard now, but its all about business profit.)))

FAR FAR worse by magnitues of 1000s than old cars chucking out fumes.

Also, catalytic converters having platinum and other precious metals again take far more energy, use up loads of precious resouces, oil to get out of the ground, than they will ever make up for, and do far more damage than the products.

There is no commensense regarding those last issues.

We pay more than enough on the roads as it is, 4x4s should be banned or licensed with due reason to own one. That would help a little.

Its not really consumers who are the problem, business wastes so much more in waste, packing again by 1000s of degrees of magnitude.

Similarly, lead in electronic components has been phased out to be replaced with tin and antimony.

Still as toxic, if not more so. whilst there are billions of tons of lead in house roofs

With no due regard to reliablity, longevity and other issues, whilst china and the US don't give a hoot about EU regs, and guess where all our electronics come from?

Old amplifiers from the 50s/60s are still running strong, and they are full of illegal materials now. But what's worse, that stuff, or making brand new every 3-5 years?

Just saying lower emissions is total rubbish, you need to be aware of the full story, about the energy useage by business.

Pick on them before the legal makers come knocking on people who have little choice.

I was in a tescos lately, some of the bacon comes in plastic, with a great big cardboard box, with posh photos, lettering all that.

They are very guilty indeed of this. Double packing. Totally uneccessary, high value product, big profit.

razor blades also are designed to blunt quickly, after all if there was a long life blade, less profit. Again, not my fault, they can do it, they just won't so regulate here. Force businesses to make lasting products.

Not my fault, I would happily have in brown paper. So start regulating big business with regards to

product life, packing, waste, before picking on us who have little alternative.

 

As an alternative approach to reducing congestion, I'd make it an employee's right to work from home for a proportion of the working week (subject to the real feasibility of doing so - i.e. heavy machinists wouldn't be able to do this, but office workers most definitely would). I'd also make telecommuting facilities fully tax deductible and increase the cost of business travel (so many pointless flights filled with business types travelling so far for meetings which could be avoided using remote methods).

 

The Channel 4 program gave an excellent example in Birmingham of why privatisation can have downsides.

Birmingham used to have an integarted bus/rail system where the bus operators ran suburban routes that all terminated at the light rail stations. The light rail then served the inner city so no need for buses in the city centre.

After privatisation, the bus operators quickly found that the city routes were most PROFITABLE so cut back the suburban routes and saturated the inner city with buses. Now the Light Rail system is lightly used and the iner city is full of buses!

Bob Kiley basically said that integration has gone to the dogs since privatisation.

 

If I was transport minister..............

I'd stop the legislative nonsense that stifles the spread of electric bicycles as a practical proposition for millions. 14 mph is very sensible but the stupid limit on power stops bikes being configured for torque and thereby able to deal with hills and heavy riders so they may arrive at work without sweaty pants. If we crack that one the industry would then be able to go to the public and offer them the chance to get to work with no effort and save them thousands a year. Its a chicken and egg thing , you see. Forget the green motive; indeed I think a lot of that is spurious. But green thinking is what government pretends to promote so isn't funny how they have proved so obstructing over this issue ? Really, it could be big. As transport minister I'd see to it. The technology has arrived. The law is a deliberate obstacle.

But I'd also see to a crackdown on bad cyclist behaviour first !