I sometimes wonder if our elected politicians think we will get cars like the DeLorian in "Back to the Future part II", that fly! That's the only suggestion that is not quite as balmy as Alistair Darling's latest.
Its so obviously not thought through its scary, and makes you wonder if these, recently elected no less, politicians are actually just monkeys being manipulated by a hidden organ grinder. Who stands to make money out of this?!
The BBC talking-point says it all, most of the opinions are similar, there are a couple who think that driving is a luxury, but that might have been the case in the 70s and 80s, but now nobody drives on congested roads for fun. (Unless they are seriously ill). Some of the correspondants who think multiple car families should ditch them? Well, a lot of the car owners have them to get to work, what with house prices being so high, and rental prices being so high, many young (18-25) are having to live at home, and thus need car to get to work, and of course pay that lovely TAX!
Darling seems to think it could cut congesion by 40%, in what universe is he living?!
One good opinion, from my Dad, wasn't published:
There are always unforeseen consequences, Channel Tunnel predictions missed low cost airlines. An environmental proposal to end road tax and add to Fuel duty forgot road tax is the main mechanism for checking vehicle safety and insurance. One car per household idea has missed employed adult offspring unable to afford a house of their own. Claims of reducing peak time congestion by up to 40% may be unrealistic. Nobody is queuing on the M25 at 7am every morning who has a realistic alternative transport. Where is the discussion of perhaps 500,000 new buses needed to provide alternative transport, let alone new railway tracks. The only practical solution is to widen the existing motorways to buy time for alternative transport to be built. Henry Ford said "If you need a tool and don't buy it, you pay for it without receiving any benefits."
London congestion charging hasn't been an unqualified success, and Darling's own constituancy rejected soundly the same idea (Edinburgh)!
People are already breaking good families lives to hit the 'road' due to congestion. Colleagues already starting at 5am to get to work before 8 to avoid road jams, and this has been going on for the last 10 years. We need solutions Mr Government, not "pie-in-the-sky" ideas from "lame-brains".
Without any re-engineering of work and society in general it might happen that M3/M4/M1/A1/M11/M25 commuters simply stagger their commute times even more than they already do now, with worsening family life and perhaps more social problems. The congestion might be solved, with no reduction in fuel use. However work places would have to increase their heating & air conditioning hours. From 40 to 48 hours per week is 20% more energy. 40% of Europes energy usage is by buildings so this is another 'unintended consequence'. With new public transport not even on the horizon widening the principal motorways by one lane might actually reduce UK total energy used over the next decade. Inadequate public transport is due to Whitehall lack of vision, so why should their 'solution' be any more credible?
The Times reports that Rod Eddington (former Chief Exec of BA) is creating a report on the future for UK transport. It sounds as he knows what is needed, expansion. Roads, rail, sea ports, airports. Otherwise this country will go to the dogs.
The technology can't work reliably, and be 100% tamper proof, even in 10-15 years time, with an EU version of GPS (Galileo) operating, and what are we supposed to do for 10-15 years? Sit in more and more traffic jams?
Why doesn't the Govt use a quarter of the proposed expenditure, and re-nationalise BT. Give everyone in the country an ADSL connection as fast as their line can support downstream and up. Then create legislation forcing employers to let people tele-commute, and video conference. That might actually reduce some of the traffic and CO2 emissions.
Also we should all be planting trees. Restore Sherwood Forest to former glory, replant the Weald, and have forests along all motorways, as they might make reasonable crash barriers too!
Perhaps emigrating is not such a silly idea. Remember to turn off the light the last one out.
