End of the Line?

[Jerzy Woking]

My issue is I live 60 miles from my workplace, and public transport is a joke AND expensive. My work means I am often travelling to and from work at times when there is none. I like where I live and don't want to move. For the majority of the time I love my job, so don't want to chuck it in - not just yet. And I love my older bikes and cars - I don't want anything more modern than I have.

 

Not sure pushing a 180kg bike 500 yards from the border of the ULEZ to the office is a good idea - anyone who drives from Tower Hill to Monument will know that. Anyway, I am sure the tfl would still charge me even pushing it with the engine off.

 

Maybe this will make me decide to retire that bit earlier.

[sheffcortinacentre]

yes Sheffield was ballsed up years ago when we got the trainset. as for the other London stuff can't understand how this stuff doesn't come under some kind of human rights law, restricting poorer peoples freedom of movement or similar freedom of choice??

[STUNO]

You have me very worried now. Our "powers" read the newspapers too. Maybe they will come up with some ideas ro help the unknown problems here where I live. We might even get a set of traffic lights, or maybe a parking warden, but I think a ULEZ would be taking things a bit far !

[JohnDeere]

I'm all in favour of improving air quality. But I don't know why TFL goes after private car drivers. There are hardly any private cars driven within the congestion charge zone as it is. 95% of vehicles are buses, black cabs, minicabs, vans and HGVs.  So they should focus on these and give private car owners a 10-year 'sunset' exemption.

 

It's particularly harsh on private car owners who've been told for the last 10 years to buy low-CO2 diesels (and indeed getting C-charge exemptions for them). Now they're being told to throw away that 2014 Kia because it's not actually clean after all.

 

Good news for anyone with a post-2006 petrol, expect values of these to hold up.

[New POD]

It's all about da munny munny munny...

 

I Fuking hate London and everything that it's created for itself.

 

2350 grand for a bedsit inside a chip shop... No thanks...

 

Fixed that for you.

[New POD]

Londoners should all ask themselves "why don't I move"

[bigstraight6]

It's all about da munny munny munny...

I Fuking hate London and everything that it's created for itself.

250 grand for a bedsit over a chip shop... No thanks...

Indeed, I would rather remember London how it was in the age of Minder/The Sweeney/The Professionals, it's a hateful place now.

[andrew e]

Nah, London's rather excellent, I always enjoy it.

[himoverthere]

I'll give you £400k for the flat.

[Jerzy Woking]

You have me very worried now. Our "powers" read the newspapers too. Maybe they will come up with some ideas ro help the unknown problems here where I live. We might even get a set of traffic lights, or maybe a parking warden, but I think a ULEZ would be taking things a bit far !

 

Is that Baldwin Street you have as your avatar Stuno? I rode up there on a VX800 Suzuki-pulling away from a standstill (uphill of course) needed so many revs I must have increased the pollution levels 100 fold.

[tooSavvy]

Londoners living in benefit rented should all ask themselves "but I don't want to be moved to Walsall"

EFA

 

TS

[Isaac Hunt]

Buy a pre-72 Wartburg Knight and get right up Bawris's Knose with a good old nostril full of Castrol R  http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/wartburg/353knight/

[ERNO]

I like London. People who have spent limited amounts of time here are always quick to criticise. It has its downsides, but most of the rest of the UK is fucking boring in comparison.

 

That said, the ULEZ, in common with the congestion charge, excessive tax on fags and booze and other public health initiatives, conveniently comes with revenue raising potential for central government. Funny that.

[STUNO]

 

Is that Baldwin Street you have as your avatar Stuno? I rode up there on a VX800 Suzuki-pulling away from a standstill (uphill of course) needed so many revs I must have increased the pollution levels 100 fold.

 

Yes Baldwyn st Dunedin for the uninitiated. Steepest street in the world (Mr Guinness? says so). I tried it in a Corolla 1300 auto and gave up very quickly.

[catsinthewelder]

London is great but I only drive there if I'm being paid to.  A few runs in with big vans over the last year have been surprisingly stress free but taking a Tourneo into the centre last Tuesday was bloody awful.  It took a good hour longer than expected in each direction but if thats the price we are paying for a city that is safe to cycle in then it's probably worth it.

[dieselnutjob]

"All vehicles that have a 'historic' vehicle tax class will be exempt from the ULEZ."

 

I have 3 1/2 years to sort the 604 then.

[seth]

Huzzah! Another thread for those who don't live here to slag off the city!  This will have an effect on a very small number of 'our sort' of motorists.  It is very unusual to see something Autoshite motoring about within the C Zone.

 

Londoners should all ask themselves "why don't I move"

 

No, they'll probably choose to stay here for the employment and culture opportunities it provides as they have for 400 years+ especially as the vast majority of them have no need whatsoever to drive within this small area.

 

On a personal note this will only affect me if they decided at some future point to hold to a very strict definition of the historic class that allows for no modifications.  If that were to happen then it'd probably be a nice excuse to be on the look out for something older than our current cars, something just pre or post war, to do any central London motoring I might fancy.

 

As a genral rule I choose to drive through the zone affected (outside of C zone hours obvs) because it is nice checking the time on the Westminster clock, nod appreciation to the Cenotaph/Nelson and people watch on my way home from the dungeon.  I can ovoid it altogether if I go up past Victoria/Park Lane.  Only times we generally pay the C charge is on admission/discharge days for daughter's hospital stays when we get to park for free on some specific streets and it is more convenient - and a similar cost to - getting the tube.  This wouldn't change since our cars would be ULEZ exempt.

 

The biggest effect on the high polution in certain places (like Oxford Street) will be the conversion of buses to all hybrid/electric.

[dieselnutjob]

It will have an impact on our church which is inside the congestion zone.  Most of the meetings are in the evenings, and so the congestion charge and parking is not a problem.  The 24/7 nature of this charge will be a problem.  People travel from all over London to go to meetings in our church and quite a few of them have have borderline finances.  You can't just move a church building outside of the zone or tell the congregation to go somewhere else.

 

I suppose that members of the congregation with older cars will have to park in Camden and walk 10-15 minutes to where the church is which is fine until it's raining on a freezing cold January evening.

[Adrian_pt]

What a pain. Having said that I've lived in (quite) central London for over 6 years, and only had reason to drive within the CCZ about ten times. Appreciate it'd be a struggle for others though. 

 

By 2020, all pre-1980 vehicles should be exempt......

[Guest Hooli]

Londoners should all ask themselves "why don't I move"

 

 

Apart from the royals is there any that have English as their first language?

 

I hate london as we've taken everything crap from the rest of the world & imported them to ruin our capital.

[cort1977]

Yep, London is one of the best places in the country to spot old tat parked out on the street, and overnight it's going to become a barren shite wasteland like Dublin or whatever. 

 

I must admit, I was most worried about the grey grill Sierra succumbing to the ULEZ - at least that one has survived.

 

Love the phrase 'barren shite wasteland'...

[tooSavvy]

^^^^ Visited Sulgrave, Washington lately

 

TS

[New POD]

I like London. Most of the rest of the UK is fucking boring in comparison.

 

 

 

In what respect ?

[ERNO]

In what respect ?

 

I like being here for the arts, culture, good food, the interesting, attractive people from all four corners of the globe that you meet on a daily basis, the sights, sounds and smells of one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, etc, etc, etc. It's true that rents and house prices are ridiculous, but job opportunities are abundant.

 

I have no intention of moving because of some silly stealth tax. Like someone said, it affects a tiny minority of people. It's just unfortunate if you happen to be one of them. Commuting by car here is daft when public transport is so good. I know very few people amongst my colleagues and in my social circle that own a car. I myself haven't owned one for six months.

 

It just bugs me that people who know very little about London life are often very vocal any time the subject comes up. London is a big, scary place to the uninitiated, teeming with the types of people that you don't see outside of here very often. Have you spent any time living here New POD?

[theorganist]

I love London, I probably wouldn't want to live there as I like being close to the countryside, however it is great for culture and the arts, then again, so is Birmingham but on a slightly smaller scale.

 

My mother is a Londoner and still very proud of it, despite her and father moving to the Midlands in the 1970's and I have family there still.

 

I don't understand all the angst against the place. People often go on about how all the attention is on London but it is our Capital city and one of the most famous in the world. I wonder if the French have such a downer on Paris?!

[the judge]

I dont mind London to visit,as above,but its just too full of people for me. But that is me,5 kids and used to a bit of space. Makes total sense for a lot of people.

 

It does seem expensive for everything,but wages reflect that I suppose

[ERNO]

I dont mind London to visit,as above,but its just too full of people for me. But that is me,5 kids and used to a bit of space. Makes total sense for a lot of people.

 

It does seem expensive for everything,but wages reflect that I suppose

 

This is the sort of reasoned argument for not living in London that I like. It's definitely not right for everybody. If I was bringing up five kids I probably wouldn't live here either. It isn't expensive for everything, the prices in Aldi or Lidl are the same as they are everywhere, competition is so great amongst fast food outlets that kebab and fried chicken prices are lower than other areas of the UK and I spend less on my inner London commute than I did running a 2 litre beater 40 miles a day to from Hamilton to Glasgow and back. Rent is a killer though.

 

Apart from the royals is there any that have English as their first language?

 

I hate london as we've taken everything crap from the rest of the world & imported them to ruin our capital.

 

This is great. The majority of my friends and work colleagues (French, Belgian, German, Greek, Indian, Brazilian, Argentinian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, etc, etc) don't have English as their first language and that's just fine with me. The cultural diversity of London is one of my favourite aspects of living here.

[cms206]

London is just a city I don't understand. It's not a city I hate, but like Edinburgh and Birmingham (sorry chaps!) it's a city I just can't get on with. I dislike crowds immensely and every single time I've been in London I've ended up wanting to punch 90% of the people I've met. Also for some reason anyone who is Scottish and doesn't live there attracts attention because we all sound angry to everyone. Those two points may be related.

 

Also my least favourite vehicle of all the vehicles ever to have wheels is the fucking London icon AEC Routemaster and until the last one leaves the streets I might see one and get all upset again.

[simmo]

Attended an end of project affair at the bar that is at the top of Centre Point.

Fantastic night view of a great city.

[Dave_Q]

Not here to try and argue with anyone in particular but hear dis:

 

I get that Londoners think that it's the most amazing place in the world. Surely you have to get yourself into the mindset that the place has some sort of mythical quality to it in order to convince yourself that it's in some way worth what you pay to live there.

 

I do rather resent the implication that the rest of the UK is somehow a cultural wasteland, ERNO, I live in a fairly small town and we have foreign people, kebab and chicken shops, and even things like theatres and museums. 

 

It shouldn't be us vs them, some people like to live in a large city, I don't, that's cool.

 

However, for those in the thread saying "just move to a field somewhere" that's not really an option for lots of people either. Like it or not people HAVE to travel to cities (London or otherwise) to work.

 

Having to go in to work is what should be targeted here as for the vast majority of people, commuting into an office is done only because it's traditional to turn up in a suit and have meetings in the same room. 

 

If I were in charge, instead of penalizing the chod drivers of Mayfair I would give a financial incentive to employers for every avoided journey. Enable people to work from home, web meetings and whatnot and reward the employers for reducing the traffic. Obviously some people would still need to go to their actual workplace but I bet about 80% really don't.

 

As a final point, to drift back in the vague direction of the OP, which journey results in more absolute emissions - the OP on his Euro2 motorbike or the same journey in a Euro6 Range Rover Sport TDV8?