LONDON'S GAS LEVY
Thread started by
Limeyfly at 04.3.08 - 6:47 pm
Anyone read the front page of LA times left side today???
$50 a day to drive your gas guzzler in London inner city yay
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Yeah, saw that too. Pretty bold move. I love the woman who complains that she has three kids to drive around. Apparently they don't all fit into a sedan/wagon, etc. I just hope the mayor doesn't get the election boot from disgruntled SUV die-hards.
0gravity04.3.08 - 6:52 pm
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Here's the story:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-congestion3apr03,1,1773318.story
Read the whole thing if you can; it's good.
mr rollers04.3.08 - 7:32 pm
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Over-protective parents trying to protect their young.
This way they could grow up to be plump and round, then eaten!!!!!!
bentstrider04.3.08 - 8:56 pm
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Absolutely brilliant! I get into arguments over issues like this with my motorcycling friends all the time. Motorcyclists, as a bunch, are a pretty conservative bunch, and I've got more than a few acquaintances who will still argue, fiercely, that global warming is a liberal conspiracy plot. But from my perspective, something like this can be justified purely on a quality-of-life and resource conservation basis.
The vast majority of people in London just flat out do not need to drive. And shopkeepers and the like can easily be offered a deduction to cover their increased expense. London Transport is a pretty phenomenal system, but it would be so much better if the surface vehicles didn't spend their days stuck in traffic. I prefer the bus, because you are more likely to get a seat and the air is cleaner and it the temperature is usually better, but it can take an awfully long time to get anywhere during daylight hours if you insist on going by bus in London.
If all the money raised continues to pour into public transport and bicycling initiatives and the like, the system should become even more effective than it already is. They really need a higher degree of automation on the subway trains so that they can increase speeds and run trains closer together in the tunnels, but that's a pretty expensive upgrade.
I will say that the air quality in London is just light years better than it was in the 80s. I was a bicycle courier there in the late 80s and early 90s and they had only just started to offer unleaded fuel, and the average speed of traffic was less than 11mph due to congestion. These days, it is so much easier to breathe while riding around London. You no longer have to wear a bloody particle filter over your nose and mouth just to keep you lungs clear. And traffic sure feels to me like it is flowing faster than it was 15 years ago.
I hope they go through with this, but I gather from some of the headlines I saw last week that Ken Livingstone isn't exactly the world's most popular mayor, so its unclear whether he'll be in office long enough to get it done, regardless. I can't imagine this will do much for his electoral chances, but maybe there's a big population of green-minded folks who weren't already planning to vote for him? That's the onlu reason I can imagine he would make such an announcement with an election pending.
--sam
ideasculptor04.3.08 - 9:40 pm
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ideasculptor
04.4.08 - 12:40 am
YOu are right that Ken Livingston is not a popular mayor - at least in some peoples minds, however, you have to give him props for having the gaul? balls? or whatever to take these initiatives! I wish the folks in office here had a little more than pea sized balls (or whatever is the female eqivalent) and effected bold moves, but alas, they are always pandering to someone..........with deep pockets.
You from UK originally???
I grew up in London taking buses, tubes and trains to school and then work. It has vastly improved since then. I wouldn't consider hiring a car when I visit there anymore unless on a road trip.
THe key thng here is 'improve'!1 Can you imagine what the public transport system would be like today in Los Angeles had they 'improved' upon the system that existed many years ago!!! see below
The Red CArs of years ago
Limeyfly04.4.08 - 2:10 pm
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Ridazz Roulette!