Petrol prices

[Pudding]

Originally Posted by The Flying Mouse

If the price of petrol was high enough, then a lot of cars would be taken off the road, making the air cleaner for us non drivers and reducing the nations carbon footprint.

You actually make a very good point...for once

There are too many cars on the road. People do complain about petrol prices but they still drive their cars regardless and don't look at alternative means of transport. On my recent trips back to the UK I got increasingly frustrated by the amount of traffic on the roads and the amount of fumes being pumped into the atmosphere by vehicles with bad exhaust systems.

My main grumble about petrol prices is when the oil companies are making $40Billion plus profits, yet the price of petrol is still going up and up.

Pud

[Paul191]

I have to say I live way out in the countryside and looking at this from a purely economic perspective, the only option is for me to drive because it's more expensive getting the bus everyday to work.... Even after considering how high petrol prices are. If buses were a lot cheaper I would consider getting them but at the moment I can't and at the same time i'm being hit hard in the pocket from the price of petrol. I could ride my bike I suppose, but then I would have set off to work three days early.

Simple solution, reduce tax on petrol (considering it is percentage driven depending on the price of oil) and/or reduce the prices of public transport.

[Pudding]

Originally Posted by Paul191

and/or reduce the prices of public transport.

That is something I absolutely agree with. If public transport was a cheaper reliable alternative, then more people would use it I'm sure.

Pud

[daveake]

Originally Posted by Pudding

That is something I absolutely agree with. If public transport was a cheaper reliable alternative, then more people would use it I'm sure.

Pud

It's a laugh when we get told by the government that we should use more public transport - out here in the sticks there isn't any. Well, I think the postbus will take passengers into town, once a day, though how you're supposed to get back I don't know.

Dave

[Pudding]

The only public form of transport I've been more than impressed with in the UK lately is National Express East Cost railways. Where you can get around a tonne of places dirt cheap (Leeds to London for only £10.00 )

Pud

[Deb]

Public transport with a family (especially mine lol) costs much more than using the car unfortunately

[djfierce]

Originally Posted by daveake

It's a laugh when we get told by the government that we should use more public transport - out here in the sticks there isn't any. Well, I think the postbus will take passengers into town, once a day, though how you're supposed to get back I don't know.

Dave

The place i just moved from had 2 buses per day, one about 9am the other about 5pm. Only going to the town centre

[~Helen~]

When I first moved back to this area I was trying to make the decision whether to drive or take the bus into work I sat down and calculated cost of petrol and parking (excluding insurance/tax as I'd have to pay that anyway - you can't live where I live and NOT have a car!) versus cost of getting the bus (with a weekly pass thingy) and the annual difference in cost equated to something like £50 (more expensive via car).

When you then look at public transport for where I am living currently, the convenience of going by car was worth way more than £50 a year. I think the only reason my village HAS buses is that there is no bypass and they therefore have to go through it to get elsewhere. The bus to/from work also takes almost twice as long as it does by car - and it's lucky there actually IS a bus to/from work. If I actually wanted to go into Manchester (which is only say 40 minutes by car) I have to walk two miles to the nearest bus or train stration

Anyway, about a year ago I discovered somewhere I could park for free, so despite the rise in petrol costs, it's still cheaper, and a million times more convenient to travel by car. Plus, not wanting to sound like I'm being snobby here but buses I've been on tend to be mucky and untidy - that also pays a part in my reluctance to travel that way!

[~Helen~]

And maybe it was just because I was on holiday and it therefore seemed more fun because of the novely value, but getting around by public transport always seems much easier outside of the UK - some places I visited in Canada certainly seemed much easier to travel around by public transport...but then again maybe it was the novelty value as well as excitement of being on holiday! At least there though, you could go straight from one mode of transport to the other and they went frequently. Here they don't seem to be all that frequent and it's not easy to get!

[SamCat]

No its the holiday thing!! Tourists are always saying how amazing the transport in London is and it is probably the best in the country but when you use it day in and day out it doesn't seem that great!!

And now we cant even drink on it!!

[~Helen~]

Originally Posted by SamCat

No its the holiday thing!! Tourists are always saying how amazing the transport in London is and it is probably the best in the country but when you use it day in and day out it doesn't seem that great!!

And now we cant even drink on it!!

Haha I nearly praised the London Underground in my last post, but it still doesn't seem as great as when you're on holiday! The inventor of the London underground map is a genius in my mind though, even if it makes no sense to mere mortals who like 'normal' maps! There is a lot of convenience in the London Underground though (although maybe this is me comparing to buses and trains here) - you can easily change from one line to another (thanks to the very clever inventor of that map!) and and it's quite fast - and better than driving around London (and I'm a person who isn't phased by driving anywhere and hates public transport so that really is saying something!) but on the other side of things, it has all the downsides of public transport - being crowded and the risk that 'the weirdo' is going to make you his/her pal today When I was last in London though (December) I don't remember thinking the tubes were so much full of litter as I remember from my last bus experience up here.

I would probably hate the London Underground if I had to travel on it frequently (to be honest I'm not that keen on it as it is, it's just way better than public transport up here and quicker than getting around London by car) but at the end of the day I'm possibly a little ashamed to admit that so long as I can afford to go by car then I will always choose that option. I can have it whatever temperature I like, not have to sit next to anybody I don't know or don't want to be there, I can listen to whatever music I like and sing (warble) along at the top of my voice and not be deemed antisocial (or as 'the weirdo' ) and it's relatively clean (well, any mess in my car is mine anyway!!)...most of the time however (extreme weather conditions aside) I'd much rather walk to work though (shockingly! I just enjoy the walk for some reason!) and am house hunting in the same town where I work for that very reason (so hopefully my laziness of prefering car over public transport is balanced out by my desire to walk!)

Edit...apologies for the hugely long posts today, I've developed an excessive waffling disease

[Cpl Mickey]

Originally Posted by daveake

It's a laugh when we get told by the government that we should use more public transport - out here in the sticks there isn't any. Well, I think the postbus will take passengers into town, once a day, though how you're supposed to get back I don't know.

Dave

I agree with you if public transport was more accessable and cheaper then i would use it more. We have buses in harrietsham but only every 2 hours. trains rune every hr but i live about a 10 min walk from station, so would take a while to walk back with shopping etc. I usually only try to use the car to do my weekly shop. i can walk to work as is only round the corner from me.

[Pudding]

Originally Posted by Deb

Public transport with a family (especially mine lol) costs much more than using the car unfortunately

With a family it's different, as it's economically not viable to use public transport and a car would be the cheaper option. I'm more thinking about people commuting to and from work. Maybe introduce a single car occupency toll, so people car pool more often would be an idea.

I also think that heavy goods vehicles should only be allowed to travel at night when the roads are less congested.

Pud

[Monstro]

I think that there's roads/lanes being trialed for cars with more than one occupant, along the same lines as bus lanes.

[geordieloaf]

There also trying sections on the A1 near Durham where lorry's can't over take in certain zone's which work's well.

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Monstro

I think that there's roads/lanes being trialed for cars with more than one occupant, along the same lines as bus lanes.

Yeah there's quite a few. Bristol I know is littered with them, and there's a lane on the m62 near Leeds now as well.

[Monstro]

Originally Posted by geordieloaf

There also trying sections on the A1 near Durham where lorry's can't over take in certain zone's which work's well.

Oh yeah, remember seeing them now

[duke knooby]

Originally Posted by SamCat

No its the holiday thing!! Tourists are always saying how amazing the transport in London is and it is probably the best in the country but when you use it day in and day out it doesn't seem that great!!

And now we cant even drink on it!!

you can have a packet of crisps though lol

[Paul191]

Originally Posted by Pudding

You actually make a very good point...for once

My main grumble about petrol prices is when the oil companies are making $40Billion plus profits, yet the price of petrol is still going up and up.

Pud

I did overlook this comment earlier.

I have to say you're absolutely correct. I laughed when somebody mentioned on here a few days ago that there isn't much profit in fuel. There clearly is, and it's ludicrous, even after considering a LOT of it goes to the government. Socialism at it's best.

[Pudding]

Originally Posted by Paul191

I have to say you're absolutely correct. I laughed when somebody mentioned on here a few days ago that there isn't much profit in fuel. There clearly is, and it's ludicrous, even after considering a LOT of it goes to the government. Socialism at it's best.

A lot of money might go to the government, but the government needs a lot to help pay for the benefits of lazy gits who sit on their ass all day pretending to be unfit to work. One thing people need to fully realise is, the British Government is going bankrupt, they have too many outgoing and not enough ingoings. Spongers are bleeding the system dry.

Now if the government came up with a scheme of not paying benefits to those who can work so the lazy sods get off their ass, work and pay their own taxes...and stick to it, then they wouldn't need so much money in their coffers and therefor wouldn't need to keep raising the tax on fuel.

Pud

[Paul191]

Originally Posted by Pudding

A lot of money might go to the government, but the government needs a lot to help pay for the benefits of lazy gits who sit on their ass all day pretending to be unfit to work. One thing people need to fully realise is, the British Government is going bankrupt, they have too many outgoing and not enough ingoings. Spongers are bleeding the system dry.

Now if the government came up with a scheme of not paying benefits to those who can work so the lazy sods get off their ass, work and pay their own taxes...and stick to it, then they wouldn't need so much money in their coffers and therefor wouldn't need to keep raising the tax on fuel.

Pud

Aboslutely.

China almost got it correct when they forced everybody into work or labour. However, their sheer greed and brutality f**ked that one up. Britain thought they had it correct when they designed a tax system which runs on people not actually working. Where the hell is the sense in that?