Discussion
On my walk into work yesterday I did a slight detour to get something from a shop in the local high street.
The street itself has been turned into a bus lane (no cars allowed) and what did I see but a traffic jam of buses!!. There must have been around 15 buses in one long line. I glanced into some of them as I passed, one bus had only one person inside (this at the height of the rush hour) most were only a third full at most.
So buses are the green alternative.
The street itself has been turned into a bus lane (no cars allowed) and what did I see but a traffic jam of buses!!. There must have been around 15 buses in one long line. I glanced into some of them as I passed, one bus had only one person inside (this at the height of the rush hour) most were only a third full at most.
So buses are the green alternative.
I drive through Rusholme in manchester everyday and its heavily congested by empty buses. When the Undergrunt students are here they are relatively full but for the 6 months of the year, when the students aren't here, the buses are completely empty. It has me ranting every single day (if i buy a rag top i'll start getting some very weird looks).
You see a long line of buses clogging up a major thoroughfare in one of the largest cities in the country and they are transporting 20 people!
You see a long line of buses clogging up a major thoroughfare in one of the largest cities in the country and they are transporting 20 people!
I used to do a bit of work for First and I can honestly say they are about as 'green' as the inside of a cooling tower.
They are MOT'd with catalysers, which are then removed to improve fuel economy. mpg is improved to 8-10 mpg. At most times of the day, there is less than 10 people on them (buses are only 'fuel efficient' in the two rush hours), and when there's no more room at the depot, they send them round on the routes, empty, with 'not in service' signs on them.
So most of the time, buses are the equivalent of chauffer-driving a few people around in a '50s Cadillac limousine. Clean? Green? Efficient? Bollocks. The fact that they have a priority lane is utterly laughable. And I can quite confidently say that bus drivers always speed in urban areas too - 40 in 30 zones is de rigeur and more often than not half the dashboard instruments don't work either.
I also heard the other day that you're more likely to be hit and injured by a bus than any other vehicle, but these statistics are not released by the government and accident stats are lumped in with the cars to pass the burden off to the motorists.
If the environmentalists looked further than the ends of their placards, they'd be boycotting buses, not hindering 4x4s.
They are MOT'd with catalysers, which are then removed to improve fuel economy. mpg is improved to 8-10 mpg. At most times of the day, there is less than 10 people on them (buses are only 'fuel efficient' in the two rush hours), and when there's no more room at the depot, they send them round on the routes, empty, with 'not in service' signs on them.
So most of the time, buses are the equivalent of chauffer-driving a few people around in a '50s Cadillac limousine. Clean? Green? Efficient? Bollocks. The fact that they have a priority lane is utterly laughable. And I can quite confidently say that bus drivers always speed in urban areas too - 40 in 30 zones is de rigeur and more often than not half the dashboard instruments don't work either.
I also heard the other day that you're more likely to be hit and injured by a bus than any other vehicle, but these statistics are not released by the government and accident stats are lumped in with the cars to pass the burden off to the motorists.
If the environmentalists looked further than the ends of their placards, they'd be boycotting buses, not hindering 4x4s.
buses and bus lanes
London is grid-locked by the bloody things. Most of the buses I see are nearly empty. The bendy buses take up at least two lanes of the road to go round corners (when they are not on fire) and the bus lanes whcih have reduced previopsuly negotiable roads like Mile End Road into car parks at rush hour.
London is grid-locked by the bloody things. Most of the buses I see are nearly empty. The bendy buses take up at least two lanes of the road to go round corners (when they are not on fire) and the bus lanes whcih have reduced previopsuly negotiable roads like Mile End Road into car parks at rush hour.
Twincam16 said:
If the environmentalists looked further than the ends of their placards, they'd be boycotting buses, not hindering 4x4s.
You're assuming that the backlash against cars has something to do with environmental concerns. Its obvious that the only idealogy that public transport fits into is that of the far left. They think that a mass public transport system owned by the people for the people is the only way forward. Personal freedom and common sense don't enter into their outlook.
Personally i'd rather walk than get a bus, but even that's been made impossible by the powers that be....
MilnerR said:
You're assuming that the backlash against cars has something to do with environmental concerns. Its obvious that the only idealogy that public transport fits into is that of the far left. They think that a mass public transport system owned by the people for the people is the only way forward. Personal freedom and common sense don't enter into their outlook.
I know. In fact, I've written a PH article about the deep flaws in the anti-4x4 protestors arguments which are similar. I've sent it to Manek but I think there might be something wrong with the site at the moment - it hasn't updated since last week.
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff