[BBC News] Island review of public transport

[bluemonday]

Monorails.

For all.

Everwhere.

[Utah 01]

Can you explain why?

 

Because it is a vindictive, discriminative tool and, as been shown time and time again, serves no other useful purpose other than to fill the government coffers for them to then squander. Just look at our idoits' record over the past 5 years and how the taxpayer is having to pay for their incompetence. Car tax, in terms of 'value for money' is already punitively high here on the Island. The car should be considered as a part of any integrated transport system and its use can be balanced against public transport utilisation eg public transport to work and the car for runs to the off-bus route detinations that our everyday lives demand - kids to football practise, weekly run to the supermarket etc.

 

Thousands of cars are driven (the vast majority of which have only one occupant) into Douglas daily, sit in car parks for 8 hours and then set off home again at the end of the working day. Why? I would suggest that the public transport option (bus) is so unappealing that the commuter would rather pay for a gallon of petrol each day plus parking charges than use the bus. Why? There is no incentive to use it. The 'incentive' must come from the government but it mustn't be a 'negative' incentive eg use public transport or we'll double road tax, but a positive incentive eg use public transport your fares can be offset against tax at the end of the year (proof required, obviously).

 

I have no problems getting on a bus to go into Douglas IF the return fare wouldn't otherwise keep my car in petrol for a few days and I know there is a frequent service and there is somewhere dry and pleasant to wait for the bus at each end of the route.

 

Please, let's not reopen the 'gas guzzling tax 'em off the road' debate that already has been done to death on these fora.

[triskelion]

no one is going to get in their car, drive to the bus, get on the bus, then walk from the bus to work when you might as well just drive to work.

 

Daft idea.

Its just a park-and-ride scheme, which is hardly 'out there.' With the planned developments of the Lord Street car park, and the site behind the Lord Street cop shop, parking is going to be reduced in the centre of Douglas. Few people can literally 'drive to work,' at the very best they can 'park nearby,' and if there is going to be reduced opportunity for that, then alternatives need to be looked at.

 

Got it in one; the price of bus fares have to come down if commuters (and families) are to be prised out of their cars. Return bus fare for mum, dad and the 2 kids from Ballasalla to Douglas is £12 - it's an no brainer to jump in the car. And try to get from anywhere in the west or north direct to the south and the airport - nigh on impossible! Pricing cars off the road isn't the answer - a frequent, reliable and comprehensive bus service is. The decision not to invest in upgrading the Douglas - Pt Erin line into a fully useable railcar commuting system was also short sighted.

Your argument about families is irrelevant really, as few family trips are made before 9am and between 5 and 6 PM on weekdays. There is no Peel-/Ramsey-Airport service because very few people would use it.

 

Ultimately, this review is going to conclude the Government needs to declare war on the buses - this isn't a case of buses vs. cars - the showdown. They are going to be looking at whether or not those that need buses are properly served. It isn't the responsibility of the Bus Company, or the DTL to make life harder for drivers in order to push more people onto buses. How sustainable would that be anyway? The service already suffers from concentration of use into a short period - maybe less that four hours total every day. Basically, the potential for greater use and lower congestion is during the same period when demand is high, making it difficult to improve operational efficiency.

[Slim]

Because it is a vindictive, discriminative tool and, as been shown time and time again, serves no other useful purpose other than to fill the government coffers for them to then squander. Just look at our idoits' record over the past 5 years and how the taxpayer is having to pay for their incompetence. Car tax, in terms of 'value for money' is already punitively high here on the Island. The car should be considered as a part of any integrated transport system and its use can be balanced against public transport utilisation eg public transport to work and the car for runs to the off-bus route detinations that our everyday lives demand - kids to football practise, weekly run to the supermarket etc.

 

That may or may not be true, but raising the cost of car use does discourage car use. The trick is to make the short stupid trips that cause everyone problems expensive enough so people don't do it.

 

Thousands of cars are driven (the vast majority of which have only one occupant) into Douglas daily, sit in car parks for 8 hours and then set off home again at the end of the working day. Why? I would suggest that the public transport option (bus) is so unappealing that the commuter would rather pay for a gallon of petrol each day plus parking charges than use the bus. Why? There is no incentive to use it. The 'incentive' must come from the government but it mustn't be a 'negative' incentive eg use public transport or we'll double road tax, but a positive incentive eg use public transport your fares can be offset against tax at the end of the year (proof required, obviously).

 

I disagree. Motoring has become too affordable, that's the only reason car use has risen so much over the last few decades, and the only way to reduce it is to make it less affordable. That's the way people are led sadly, by their pockets.

 

I have no problems getting on a bus to go into Douglas IF the return fare wouldn't otherwise keep my car in petrol for a few days and I know there is a frequent service and there is somewhere dry and pleasant to wait for the bus at each end of the route.

 

See

 

Please, let's not reopen the 'gas guzzling tax 'em off the road' debate that already has been done to death on these fora.

 

You started it.