Cost of fuel.

[Ming the Merciless]

Surely ANYTHING can cause congestion, if there are enough of them?

In theory but the number of buses is tiny compared to amount of traffic.

This photo demonstrates the space taken up by bus, cycle, car for same number of people.

 

[vickster]

Try Oxford Street on a Saturday with its queues of the big red jobs (with the odd black cab interspersed)

 

[MrGrumpy]

True that transport and all costs will go up but imagine if it was just goods vehicles on the road. No congestion !

Of course EV vehicles will cause no congestion either ?!! Dearer fuel equals dearer goods, everything is going to get more expensive including those electrons charging your EV. Plenty to rejoice right enough !

 

[Brandane]

This photo demonstrates the space taken up by bus, cycle, car for same number of people.

No it doesn't.
That bus is a 52 seater (approx)..
The line of cars is hard to count as it disappears into the distance for effect, but I counted at least 20. Each car can probably hold about 5 people, so I make that 100.
So how is that representative? It isn't, it doesn't even try. Just more BS from people with an anti car agenda. 😄

 

[Mo1959]

No it doesn't.
That bus is a 52 seater (approx)..
The line of cars is hard to count as it disappears into the distance for effect, but I counted at least 20. Each car can probably hold about 5 people, so I make that 100.
So how is that representative? It isn't, it doesn't even try. Just more BS from people with an anti car agenda. 😄

In saying that, I've walked up the street first thing around commuting time and see a couple of people in the bus while streams of single occupancy cars are driving by. Something needs to be done to encourage these people away from their cars surely?

 

[Brandane]

In saying that, I've walked up the street first thing around commuting time and see a couple of people in the bus while streams of single occupancy cars are driving by. Something needs to be done to encourage these people away from their cars surely?

I don't have a problem with that. Give us a good, reliable, affordable public transport system which goes where I want, when I want, and I will happily use it.
My issue was with that misleading photo. Trying to convince us to do the right thing by telling us lies and thinking we are stupid enough to fall for it, is NOT the way to go about things, IMHO..

 

[Cerdic]

I don't have a problem with that. Give us a good, reliable, affordable public transport system which goes where I want, when I want, and I will happily use it.
My issue was with that misleading photo. Trying to convince us to do the right thing by telling us lies and thinking we are stupid enough to fall for it, is NOT the way to go about things, IMHO..

Nail on head…bus stop is a bit of a walk, then you have to wait in whatever crap weather we are having, bus doesn’t go where I want to go, journey takes longer than driving because the damn thing keeps stopping every two minutes, not to mention the other passengers (unruly teenagers, drunks, demented old biddies etc). This is why people prefer to use their car that is on their doorstep ready to go directly to their destination with the temperature set to their preferred level with Zoe Ball on the radio!

Public transport is great in theory but a lot of work needs to be done on making it more convenient if you want to entice large numbers of people out of their cars.

Before the mid-20th Century almost everyone used public transport. They didn’t switch to personal cars for no reason, they did it because it suited their needs better…

 

[winjim]

No it doesn't.
That bus is a 52 seater (approx)..
The line of cars is hard to count as it disappears into the distance for effect, but I counted at least 20. Each car can probably hold about 5 people, so I make that 100.
So how is that representative? It isn't, it doesn't even try. Just more BS from people with an anti car agenda. 😄

Those bikes ain't moving either. I would have thought that in motion, a single cyclist takes up about the same room as a car, don't they? But a single person on a bus takes up much more space. Buses may be empty, or full, or inbetween. Cars may contain single or multiple people. There's differences between peak and off-peak usage. You've got to factor all that into your modelling and then it becomes a lot more complicated.

 

[winjim]

Nail on head…bus stop is a bit of a walk, then you have to wait in whatever crap weather we are having, bus doesn’t go where I want to go, journey takes longer than driving because the damn thing keeps stopping every two minutes, not to mention the other passengers (unruly teenagers, drunks, demented old biddies etc). This is why people prefer to use their car that is on their doorstep ready to go directly to their destination with the temperature set to their preferred level with Zoe Ball on the radio!

Public transport is great in theory but a lot of work needs to be done on making it more convenient if you want to entice large numbers of people out of their cars.

Before the mid-20th Century almost everyone used public transport. They didn’t switch to personal cars for no reason, they did it because it suited their needs better…

Ditto longer journeys with luggage and children.

 

[vickster]

Do away with children and in the relatively not too distant future, we can do away with all cars, buses, trains, planes, trucks…even bicycles Not to mention fossil fuels… Job done

 

[Ming the Merciless]

No it doesn't.
That bus is a 52 seater (approx)..
The line of cars is hard to count as it disappears into the distance for effect, but I counted at least 20. Each car can probably hold about 5 people, so I make that 100.
So how is that representative? It isn't, it doesn't even try. Just more BS from people with an anti car agenda. 😄

How many cars do you see with 5 people in them? Go stand on a street and look at the cars going by. Mostly one person and rarely two or more. Cars are the most inefficient way of moving people about on town / city scales.

 

[Cerdic]

How many cars do you see with 5 people in them? Go stand on a street and look at the cars going by. Mostly one person and rarely two or more. Cars are the most inefficient way of moving people about on town / city scales.

From a big picture perspective of course cars are inefficient in cities. But people on an individual level just want comfort and convenience. You could make buses and trains free, and you would still have loads of cars on the road…

 

[Brandane]

How many cars do you see with 5 people in them? Go stand on a street and look at the cars going by. Mostly one person and rarely two or more. Cars are the most inefficient way of moving people about on town / city scales.

And how many buses do you see with a handful of passengers in them?
If you're going to present that photo as some kind of evidence, then you need to do it fairly, and assume that each type of vehicle is filled to capacity, or it is meaningless.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

And how many buses do you see with a handful of passengers in them?
If you're going to present that photo as some kind of evidence, then you need to do it fairly, and assume that each type of vehicle is filled to capacity, or it is meaningless.

A car filled to capacity is meaningless as it’s as rare as hens teeth. It’s not the reality. The reality is bumper to bumper cars with just the driver in them.

 

[winjim]

How many cars do you see with 5 people in them? Go stand on a street and look at the cars going by. Mostly one person and rarely two or more. Cars are the most inefficient way of moving people about on town / city scales.

It depends how you measure efficiency. A car will take you point to point, by the most direct route and with the flexibility to change your route if desired. That's pretty efficient on an individual level. A lot of car journeys are quicker and easier than the equivalent bus journey.