Energy crisis

Don’t know if it’s same in Barnsley, but here in Lincoln the local bus system is run by Stagecoach and since Covid every day they cancel regular bus runs due to shortage of staff.
Don’t actually encourage people to swap.

 

Point taken, but people can still drive to work,,,,but slower. People can have a think about whether their journey is necessary, and if it isn't, don't go,,, if it is, go but drive slower and save fuel.

 

I'm off to Stevenage tomorrow from home (West Yorks). Dead easy on the train, office is 5 mins walk from Stevenage station. But even booking advance ticket on the train is £100+
Reluctantly, it's still more beneficial to me to stick £60 diesel in the car and drive in the comfort of my own vehicle.

Something needs to change.

 

Government just don't seem interested in helping. Probably because it's all part of the plan to transfer wealth upwards and make you eventually dependent on the state.

 

Problem is that poor public transport goes along with increased car use, the more we drive the less folk on the buses , the less services …
I’m at my mums at present and always struck by how good the buses are here compared with South Lakes. Took the bus on Saturday to the match and will do again on Tuesday, on time, quick, what’s not to like. Many more people using the buses here is a good thing. Use it or lose it!

 

Bus users don’t vote Tory?

 

I've always found it galling that subsidies tend to go towards so many practices that are hugely damaging. I mean, how on earth are there still subsidies for fossil fuels that equate to something in the region of $11m every single minute?

Imagine if the world collectively spent its wealth on doing the right things and instead on trying to rectify the problems that people had created in the first place.

 

Not a single bus route subsidised in Cumbria but if you get to the multi-story car park before 8 am you can park all day for free. Not joined up with climate change , not much is.

 

If I drive from Bingley to the Motorway network, the amount of busses I pass is staggering, but not as staggering as how empty they are. There is literally no incentive to get folk out of their cars.

 

You're spot on regarding thinking that's not joined up. Yet you can understand a local council wanting to drive up footfall for "shopping" and hedonistic whims. Ironic that the very activity is hugely damaging inclined to increase needless consumption, the exact thing we should be trying to avoid.

I've said it before, mankind has neither the intent or ability to tackle the problems it has created.

I was reading through some articles in the last RSPB membership magazine (why it's not digital, I'm not quite sure) and in particular, the decline and change of ratings of endangered bird species in the UK. Greenfinches now on the red list. Swifts and House Martins too.

And then moves from green to amber of birds such as moorhens and sparrowhawks. Yet still, decades and decades after climate change was identified, after we found the vast plastic pollution of soil and water and the continued practice of burning rubbish in parts of the world, it's still getting worse day by day and it's practically impossible to do anything other than contribute to it.

 

The ironic thing with the RSPB magazine is how they continue to take dirty money from advertising for eco holidays. Fly to Madagascar fook the planet but see some lemurs.
Rant over.

 

I agree. And again shows how unbelievably difficult it is to do something that's completely clean and morally right.

 

Living rural and was toying with the idee of a PHEV until I read this...

https://electrek.co/2022/01/13/vala...pulls-the-plug-on-hybrid-and-phev-incentives/


Sounds like they are anything but environmentally friendly.

 

The problem isn't just carbon. It's the whole vehicle. The energy, parts, materials and elements that go into making it and how they are acquired and from where and the once its on the road, you have the emissions just knocked out from the tyres alone.

Plus of course, you've got huge monies being ploughed into advertising to undermine a shift from fossil fuels (despite their vast subsidies) and the lobbying of governments and part factions to try and halt a shift to greener industries.

 

The thing that annoys me is the one price fits all when it comes to annual vehicle tax. Admittedly the banding does penalise gas guzzlers to some extent but even then someone running a large car who only does 5k per annum compared to someone who clocks up 20k+ per annum is penalised. The technology now exists to enable a small device to be fitted on all new vehicles and retro fitted on others with a sealed 'black box' that records distance travelled, emissions andaverage fuel cosumption figures. These could form the basis for charging for useage and environmental impact scrapping existing annual charges based purely on vehicle type and engine size. . Like utility bill these could be read monthly via telemetry either from readers at petrol station or EV charge points (like the Telepass transponders fitted on windcreens for toll motorways in Europe). After all it is only fair that those that use the roads and cause the most pollution would pay the most. The system would ONLY record mileage fuel consumption and emissions so could not be used for 'tracking purposes'. It would also incentivise people to cut out unneccessary journeys.

 

I'm sure that sort of technology has been around a good while, and you're right, usage you'd think would be a fairer measure, combined with the level of pollution or damage your vehicle does.

I doubt that would be brought in universally anytime soon given our current incumbents lack of grasp of anything coherent detail wise.

I have noticed around here that there has been a very significant jump in electric vehicles, but mainly "chelsea tractor" style ones. There are probably 50 houses on my street and most houses have at least one car, there are 2 charging points (in old lamp posts) on the street and I think 4 EV's so far.

 

No i think it`s because he came on the train.

 

I saw an article the other day from a while back where Northern Rail excused the overcrowding by saying that it’s safer if there’s more people in a crash as they’ll get less hurt if they’re all squashed up against each other.

 

I mean.... they could just bung an extra carriage on, but that seems too much like hard work.

 

Human air bags then.