this is the best time..

[cmonstanley]

i think with rising fuel costs thats out of the goverment's hands this could be the best chance to change a generation and more of people habits.instead of everybody being lazy the goverment should invest heavily in public transport by making public transport more accessible and maybe take control and make an intregated structured transport system ie with electric buses that are prioritised in traffic zones and more trains plus whoever runs them have to keep to a standard of cleaniless puncuality and prices capped.with the rising cost and population britain is just going to become gridlock which will cost business time and money.i also think it is time to reverse the thatcher policies that are bearing fruit now.if we kept british gas and nationalised the oil companies kept british telecom ,the railways ie give the profit to greedy shareholders instead of investing for the future and not sold the family silver this country would be in a better position..

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

i think with rising fuel costs thats out of the goverment's hands this could be the best chance to change a generation and more of people habits.instead of everybody being lazy the goverment should invest heavily in public transport by making public transport more accessible and maybe take control and make an intregated structured transport system ie with electric buses that are prioritised in traffic zones and more trains plus whoever runs them have to keep to a standard of cleaniless puncuality and prices capped.with the rising cost and population britain is just going to become gridlock which will cost business time and money.i also think it is time to reverse the thatcher policies that are bearing fruit now.if we kept british gas and nationalised the oil companies kept british telecom ,the railways ie give the profit to greedy shareholders instead of investing for the future and not sold the family silver this country would be in a better position..

Sorry but the rising fuel costs are not out of this government’s hands. Brown could reduce the duty and VAT on fuel to maintain a cash level at the pump if he chose to.

Every time that the fuel is increased the duty and VAT gained in cash terms is also increased thus giving the Chancellor a bit extra. Sort of a triple whammy.

[cmonstanley]

Originally Posted by jambutty

Sorry but the rising fuel costs are not out of this government’s hands. Brown could reduce the duty and VAT on fuel to maintain a cash level at the pump if he chose to.

Every time that the fuel is increased the duty and VAT gained in cash terms is also increased thus giving the Chancellor a bit extra. Sort of a triple whammy.

but then the goverment would have borrow money for the shortfall and the country would have to pay iinterest on that and that would mean even more higher taxes..

[Bonnyboy]

Seems to me that the Government are in fact breaking even and will be quids in by October when the 2p increases in fuel duty is to be made - British Chamber of Commerce

[SamF]

It costs 1.90 to get the bus from clayton to great harwood.

Public transport is terrible.

[pipinfort]

Just been in Tenerife for a week and you can go for miles and miles for 80cents..........our public transport is poor and expensive, over there you can travel to the other side of the island for 2 euro`s.....

[derekgas]

When the tories brought in things like decimilisation, vat, council tax and selling off council houses and nationalised industries, labour were all against it, didnt see new labour scrap any of them though!

[cmonstanley]

Originally Posted by SamF

It costs 1.90 to get the bus from clayton to great harwood.

Public transport is terrible.

never said it wasnt.im saying this is the best time to invest in a public transport system with alternative fuels and intregrated with the rest of the public transport structure..

[jambutty]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

but then the goverment would have borrow money for the shortfall and the country would have to pay iinterest on that and that would mean even more higher taxes..

Very true but if Brown and Co didn’t waste our taxes on illegal wars, foreign aid where only a fraction of the money goes to where it is supposed to, pretending to be a world power and re-newing Trident, spawning Quangos by the hundred and not forgetting our EU contributions, there would be enough cash in the kitty to slash the tax on fuel and energy.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Investment in public transport should have been done years ago, before trying to price commuters out of their vehicles......and as most public transport is currently privately owned, you can't expect the companies to want to do anything other than make a profit...which in the current economic climate and with the price of fuel, road fund and insurance is highly unlikely.

[Margaret Pilkington]

When i worked at the Blackburn Hospitals it used to take me three hours a day in travelling time. I could've flown to France in the time it took to travel the 7 miles from my home......and the cost was roughly the same too(calculated per mile).

[Boeing Guy]

Hummmm I am all for public transport. However it is not simple, quick, clean and convenient for me.
When I was training in Gatwick and also Bournemouth, the lack of transportation up and down the country was a joke. Too expensive and not organised.

When I was based at Manchester Airport the early starts and late nights meant a car is a must.
Last week my Fiancee picked me up from the airport, 40 mins to get home. When I returned to fly out, I took the train. It took 1 hour 40 mins. cost £15.00 Was dirty and smelly and not nice at all.
Accrington Train station is a awful place and because it was wet people were smoking in the shelters. I don't scare easily, but the type of people smoking made me wonder if it was better to get wet.
I'll keep my car thankyou.

[Margaret Pilkington]

It can also be dangerous, especially for lone females travelling late at night as I frequently did after a late shift. It is also unreliable..many times i have waited for scheduled services that failed to turn up...not such a problem on the way home, but going on duty, if the bus didn't turn up it was disastrous for my colleagues as they couldn't go off duty until I arrived.....and don't get me started on what happens if there is a dusting of snow!!!
Boeing guy, your post indicates why public transport is not viable for many people.....and this will remain so until some drastic changes take place

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Investment in public transport should have been done years ago, before trying to price commuters out of their vehicles......and as most public transport is currently privately owned, you can't expect the companies to want to do anything other than make a profit...which in the current economic climate and with the price of fuel, road fund and insurance is highly unlikely.

Hit the nail on the head there, Margaret. Private transport companies are, obviously, concerned about profit and nothing else. However, transport isn't just a profit-making exercise in the way that other private companies are. It's a service to the community and a way to help safeguard the environment. The government should be subsidising public transport to improve it and make it more user-friendly, instead, as Jambutty says, of wasting billions and billions of pounds on overseas military adventures, nuclear weapons, a massive proliferation of bureaucracy, propping up the EU, unworkable computer systems in the NHS and all manner of madcap projects.

What we end up with instead is the worst of both worlds - the highest fuel taxes in Europe and one of the poorest public transport systems.

[andrewb]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

i think with rising fuel costs thats out of the goverment's hands this could be the best chance to change a generation and more of people habits.instead of everybody being lazy the goverment should invest heavily in public transport by making public transport more accessible and maybe take control and make an intregated structured transport system ie with electric buses that are prioritised in traffic zones and more trains plus whoever runs them have to keep to a standard of cleaniless puncuality and prices capped.with the rising cost and population britain is just going to become gridlock which will cost business time and money.i also think it is time to reverse the thatcher policies that are bearing fruit now.if we kept british gas and nationalised the oil companies kept british telecom ,the railways ie give the profit to greedy shareholders instead of investing for the future and not sold the family silver this country would be in a better position..

I was with you all the way until you started to introduce socialism. We'd be paying even more than we do now and being taxed to hell for the privilage! Not to mention the strike rubbish that used to bring the country to a standstill because of the dictate of the few.

People are already hurting enough.