Motoring News » Commuting

Mayor Boris ponders congestion charge

Alan — Sat, 29 May 2010 08:42:03 +0000

The London congestion charge was initiated in February 2003 as a means of reducing traffic pollution and raising revenue for TfL (Transport for London). The area included in the ‘charge zone’ was expanded from central London to parts of West London in February 2007.

Currently, drivers entering and travelling in the charge zone between 0700 and 1800 are required to pay an £8 fee on each day of travel Monday to Friday. London Mayor Boris Johnson recently announced plans for raising the charge for each driver from £8 to £10 per day. This applies if the fee is paid in advance or on the day. If paid the day after travel, the charge will increase to £12.

To make it a little easier, drivers can register for an automated payment account. For an annual charge of £10, the daily rate would be only £9 and the system would record the number of days travelled each month and bill the driver accordingly. Residents in the charge zone would also be eligible for the reduced rate in addition to the 90% residents’ discount.

The new proposal also calls for reducing the charge zone to almost its original area, removing West London from its parameters. The mayor said that residents of West London didn’t want the charge in the first place, and the proposal is partly in response to their objections.

Interested parties are urged to express their opinions before August 2010, when the proposals are set to be finalized.

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Kids hate dad’s school runs

Alan — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:16:01 +0000

It seems that most kids have a definite preference when it comes to who drives on the daily school run. Researchers have discovered that 60% of children aged from five up to sixteen much prefer to have their mothers behind the wheel instead of dad.

The children are of the belief that their male parent is definitely more aggressive, drives too fast, and is more inclined to lose his temper while at the wheel. They are also of the opinion that when it comes to road rage fathers are far more likely to lose their temper, if that were not enough, they also consider that he is less considerate to other road users.

According to a poll of 1300 kids for breakdown cover and road safety organisation, GEM Motoring Assist, mum is certainly the children’s favourite when it comes to who drives the family car. But mothers did not quite have it all their own way as children also believe that mothers are more likely to stall the car traffic, and have a much harder time when it comes to parking the family people carrier.

It seems that many kids not only prefer mom to drive them around, but they actually dread being passengers when dad is driving, they point to the unpredictability of men’s moods when driving, and say that dad is far more obsessed with getting there as quickly as possible, rather than as safely as possible.

According to kids 83% of dads drive too fast, over 70% of mums sing or hum while driving, 35% said that their dads shout and or swear at other road users, with 52% claiming that mom talked too much while driving, 66% of children believe that he weaves unnecessarily in an out of traffic in order to get where he is going as quickly as possible.

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Cumbria motorists in turmoil

Alan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:26:03 +0000

Thousands of Cumbrian citizens and those from surrounding cities are facing travel difficulties from recent floods after 25 roads are closed and 16 bridges are termed unsafe for travel.

The flood hit the town and nearby villages on Friday forcing some commuters to reroute their travel plans and cutting off frequently used roads and bridges.

Military experts and structural engineers are currently conducting an emergency look at over 1,800 bridges to determine if they are safe. Already 13 primary schools and five secondary schools have been shut in the area as a result of the flooding. As cleanup work continues Cockermouth town centre has been closed off by utility workers and structural engineers.

Duncan Stewart Fairbairn the City Councillor stated that there are not too many roads in the area that do not have a bridge that may have faced damage, which will lead to chaos on the roads. He stated that there are many people such as teachers, policemen, and healthcare that will not have to take detours leading to long journeys that will create a ‘logistical nightmare.’

Due to the collapse of a Northside bridge, means Workington town has already been split in two, and an additional bridge on Calva is expected to collapse as well causing further concern.

MP for Workington, Tony Cunningham sad that in order to get to Seaton travelers most now plan for a 90 minute detour in place of a trip that under better road conditions would only take a few minutes. Cunningham continued to say that he is worried about those that are cut off and need prescriptions, aid, or baby nappies because the medical centre cannot keep up with demands.

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National Commute Smart Week – How much time to do you waste commuting?

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:20:40 +0000

British workers are wasting 4.6 million hours a day commuting, according to a research report by Citrix GoToMyPC launched today to coincide with National Commute Smart Week. The survey of 2,000 adults found that 62% of commuters want to reduce the time they spend travelling to and from work, with the biggest frustrations being stuck in traffic (42%), issues with public transport (38%), travelling in the dark (36%) and cost (30%).

The report, available to download from http://www.workshifting.com/downloads/, reveals how British workers believe they could significantly reduce the astonishing 26 million hours a day they spend travelling to and from work, by adopting a smarter approach to commuting. The most popular solutions include home working (34%), varying start and finish times (22%) and using technology to enable flexible and remote working (32%).

However, workers are facing barriers to adopting smarter commuting, with 46% saying bosses won’t allow them to work from home or work flexible hours. This is despite almost one in four commuters voicing concerns about the amount of time they waste that could be used more productively.

The report also suggests that smart commuting could have a positive impact on the British workforce, helping them to become fitter, healthier and more relaxed. Over a third (35%) of commuters said they would spend more time with family; 31% would take more exercise; 22% would make healthier meals; and 21% would take up a new hobby or join an evening class. A cheeky 16% even revealed they would make the most of the extra time by spicing up their love life.

Graham Jones, Internet Psychologist, said: “Bosses who insist that people all go to work at the same time and stick to a set routine are actually weakening their business. That’s because people generally don’t like being told how to run their life; they feel their boss is controlling them and therefore are actually less motivated. Using the Internet, for instance, to gain increased flexibility means that motivation levels in office staff could rise as people feel more in control of their own destiny.”

Richard Ward, a Multimedia Designer at Oxford-based BOCC is using Citrix Online’s GoToMeeting remote collaboration tool to benefit from his company’s approach to smarter commuting; allowing him to work from his Northumberland home instead of travelling to the office every day: “I was incredibly lucky to find an employer that was willing to give me the flexibility to work from anywhere. Using web-based remote access and meeting technology, I can still take part in weekly staff meetings and I actually think I am more productive working from home than I ever was working in an office.”

Commute Smart Week is a national initiative, organised by Work Wise UK, aimed at encouraging workers to reduce or even eliminate their daily commute to improve health, wellbeing and productivity. The week, now in its third year, takes place from Sunday 8th November to Saturday 14th November 2009.

Citrix Online is offering UK commuters a unique 60-day free trial for GoToMyPC, which enables fast, easy and secure access to a desktop from any remote location: www.gotomypc.com/free; and a 60-day trial for GoToMeeting, hosting easy online meetings anywhere, anytime: www.gotomeeting.com/now.

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