Nice architecture in the last photo ; perfect time to photograph places without pesky people getting in the way .Except that Saddiq hasn't changed the number of buses running. Because that would involving laying off people like his dad.
Saddiq simply kept running empty buses and stopped taking bus fares.
You can't blame this on the cackhanded NHS lockdown. TFL were already losing a billion a year.
It's particularly hilarious that while Central Government is telling people to use cars & bikes to get to work, avoiding the infection cesspit that is over-crowded public transport, London's Mayor is increasing the taxes on London car usage to seven days a week "because of Congestion."
London Congestion Charge and ULEZ to Recommence
- Thread starter Dippo
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Yes, it looks like a film set!
I live not too far from the C-charge zone, but I almost never have cause to drive there. Even now with public transport off-limits I can’t think of much reason to drive into the zone. I don’t see the extended Charge as much of an issue, apart from being rather surprised at the sudden increase in charging hours. Maybe there’s a small group of people out there for whom this is a genuine issue, but for most Londoners it’s not going to make a difference.
ChipChop
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Do as the French and destroy all the enforcement cameras.
It’d make a change from phone masts I suppose
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There are several things that can help reduce traffic congestion in Central London:
1. Get people to work from home.
2. Get businesses to move out of Central London.
3. Get those who can, to walk or cycle to work, e.g the 'Boris bikes' scheme, the Cycling to Work scheme, and adding cycle lanes (and indeed many roads around London have been deliberately made narrower to allow two-way cycle lanes).
4. Get businesses to have a staggered starting time.
5. Make Central London a hostile environment for private cars, e.g. John Prescott's M4 incoming bus lane, or Ken Livingston's Congestion Charge, etc.
Public transport is not part of this equation, because the buses, tube, and trains were already running at well above capacity during rush hour (pre-Corona), and so can't be used as means of enticing motorists out of their cars.
As for ULEZ, the future is EVs, which moves the air pollution away from city centers. But this in itself won't reduce traffic congestion.
Personally, I would close down Central London for private cars altogether (with exceptions, e.g. tradesman, disabled, etc, who could apply for a permit, Licensed taxis), and make public transport free for London residents, financed through the Council Tax. With far less traffic on the roads, we could have much more buses, and possibly also see trams making a comeback.
1. Get people to work from home.
2. Get businesses to move out of Central London.
3. Get those who can, to walk or cycle to work, e.g the 'Boris bikes' scheme, the Cycling to Work scheme, and adding cycle lanes (and indeed many roads around London have been deliberately made narrower to allow two-way cycle lanes).
4. Get businesses to have a staggered starting time.
5. Make Central London a hostile environment for private cars, e.g. John Prescott's M4 incoming bus lane, or Ken Livingston's Congestion Charge, etc.
Public transport is not part of this equation, because the buses, tube, and trains were already running at well above capacity during rush hour (pre-Corona), and so can't be used as means of enticing motorists out of their cars.
As for ULEZ, the future is EVs, which moves the air pollution away from city centers. But this in itself won't reduce traffic congestion.
Personally, I would close down Central London for private cars altogether (with exceptions, e.g. tradesman, disabled, etc, who could apply for a permit, Licensed taxis), and make public transport free for London residents, financed through the Council Tax. With far less traffic on the roads, we could have much more buses, and possibly also see trams making a comeback.
I just think it will put visitors off , just as it has put me off driving into Edinburgh for anything but work with all the one way streets , reduced parking spaces , increased charges etc . I no longer go there for pleasure or to buy things ( which I would need the car to pick up ) .
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That is very true but why would a visitor to London ever want to drive in? Current situation excepted.
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How does reinstating the congestion charge have any bearing on knife crime etc? If anything surely more money raised in London can go towards policing.
ChipChop
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Because they choose to spend time discussing increasing taxes instead of tackling far more important issues.
As for policing there appeared to be no shortage of police resources to hassle law abiding citizens sitting in parks during lockdown.
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But the other way around won't work either. We obviously need both.
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Sadiq no longer in control of TfL
Surprised nobody had posted the above on this thread yet. Maybe it's fake news?
Surprised nobody had posted the above on this thread yet. Maybe it's fake news?
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Shame that a its impossible to do two things at once. Anyway the reinstating of the congestion charge was decided by central government not the mayor, so at least one less thing for the local authorities to think about.
Just a thought isn't it the met who should be doing things about knife crime not the mayor?
Foreign tourists , touring the country by car , may well want to see major cities ; I’ve done it myself on the continent, or indeed the city itself may be the destination at the end of a road trip .
Although I live 500 miles from London , so have only gone there a handful of times , I used to drive in to Edinburgh or Glasgow of an evening to meet up with mates , go to a movie , concert , out for a meal , lots of things that I simply wouldn’t go there to do now .
I imagine same will apply to many people living within, say , 50 mile radius of London . Not everyone wants to take the train then walk .
More likely, and as I have done in the past , living midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow , I have driven in to either city to audition a piece of hi-fi equipment, with the intention of purchasing and taking home whatever I ended up buying - not something I’d want to lug home on public transport, nor would I want to wait for delivery .
womenkind also love shopping trips into big cities , but not having a car very much limits what you can buy . Hence shops are moving out of cities , to places more car friendly
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It's not fake news - it's an opinion, a claim put forward by the Conservative candidate for Mayor at the next election.
ChipChop
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Maybe you are right. To me an existential threat like "climate change" is pretty low down the pecking order when citizens are really being murdered on the streets of our capital on an almost daily basis.
Maybe it is the Met who are responsible, maybe it is the mayor. Either way they should be doing more to prevent these crimes.
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Completely agree, more should be done to prevent and detect murders I'm just not sure the congestion charge has any bearing on it one way or the other.
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Personally I would prefer to be a tourist or shopper in a cleaner, less polluted environment so would actively seek out cities that discourage traffic. The centre of Barcelona and bruges come to mind as more pleasant places to walk than Madrid or Delhi.
