Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 09:45:03 -0000 From: SkodaPilot <carl.robsonnopsamcing-czechs.com> Subject: Re: check engine
In article <3E25B51C.5030002nopsamnline.net>, trn244nopsamnline.net says... > Sorry for answering, being that I'm American. It's the taxes. And many > Europeans voted those taxes in, because they feel that a disincentive to > driving is a good thing for society. (Consider the impact on the > economy, ecology and reserves of fossil fuels!) They have alternatives > there, so I respect that choice a lot. > If the alternative worked I would be happy to use it. As with most males in the UK (and probably most females too no doubt), as soon as I reached 17, I applied for my learners car license. Here it is (or was when I applied) good until your 70th Birthday. As it happened I either never had the time, or the money (at the same time) to actually take a course of driving lessons. So I spent most of my time using the train, local busses, or when neither were available, either car sharing with a co-worker, or using my bicycle (sometimes 100+ miles a week). I've watched the rail service go from being irregular but moderatley clean and comfortable, to being late, underfunded, privatised, run down, overcharged for, unsafe, and over crowded. The final straw was, during a period of storm weather, I found that all trains going to my destination had been cancelled. As the rules of the railway stand, if you are delayed by more than one hour, then you can (after that one hour, even if they know in advance that you will be delayed for that hour or more) get them to provide alternative transport, either a cab for if there is only one or two people, or a coach if it is a train full. After 2 hours the deputy station manager, and the PA the station manager still refused, insisting instead that we go across town to another station (3 major ones in Manchester), and catch a train from there. When we got there we found that the tain we were supposed to catch only went part of the way to the destination we wanted, and would have to change at one of the intermediate stations, for a train that should have been leaving from our initial station, but had been cancelled. We went back to the initial station, kicked off, and finally after 3 hours a cab was arranged for the two remaining people going to the same destination (myself and another passenger). That 3 hours wait was for a train journey that was takes 45 minutes. After that things went from bacd to worse, with a minimum delay of 30 minutes being experienced at least once daily, with waits of an hour not being rare. The upshot of this was that people from two, and sometimes 3 trains (cancelled or delayed) would be waiting to board one, leaving you standing in conditions that would be declared illegal for animal transportation. Windows don't open because the train is air conditioned. Air conditioning can't be used because it only blows hot air. This was in the height of summer in the evening rush hour. This is what finally caused me to get round to learning to drive, after 15 years of trying to support alternative transport. and the procedure for learning to drive is complicated too. First apply for your provisional (learners) license. (pay for it) about £18 I think. Order driving lessons, or a crash course. (pay for it, average £17-18 a lesson (most people need between 2-30 lessons), or about £400 for a one week residential course). Part of the lesson cost will be VAT. Complete a theory test (pay for it). £20 approx I think, can't remember. Complete a practical driving test. (pay for it)£30 ish I think. Have license exchanged from provisonal to full drivers license, pay for that. Buy a car (your choice how much it cost, but for young or new drivers insurance may cost more than the cost or value of the car). Buy car insurance (compulsory). Pay the Car insurance tax as part of the premium. Buy road fund license (tax to pay for maintenance of roads, but actually just put into the pot). Compulsory (an offense punishable by either a £1000 fine, or your car crushed). Pay fuel tax and VAT when you buy your fuel. VAT is probably the equivalent of Sales tax for much of US. And now coming soon to London, and not far from now other cities,a congestion charge that you will pay to enter a busy city in a car, proposed £5 a day (although block booking/season tickets should be available) payable at any time during your stay, but if payed after 10pm including an addition £5 late pay surcharge. Also Toll roads are to be introduced to allow those who can afford to pay to have faster transit on main routes, this faster transit fee is additional to the basic road fund license, fuel tax and car insurance tax that you have already paid to allow you unhindered access to the main arterial routes, but which you have now discovered have ground to a halt due to over crowding, or road works, or disrepair of the road surface that actually damages wheels and tyres as your drive along it, or down right dangerous major bridges that are on the verge of collapse less than 10 years after they were built, and have to be closed for a year to be re-inforced, leading to a contra flow system and 40mph limit with 3 narrow lanes on what was previously a 4 lane 70mph major through route from the North to the south of the UK (Thelwall Viaduct for those who know the M6). Transport in Britain is a joke for such a small island. For journey over 200 miles, and especially those to rural areas, If you need to garrauntee to be somewhere today, then drive, and be prepared to exceed the maximum motorway speed limit on motorways when conditions allow, because on an allday journey, somewhere, you will encounter either congestion that bring things down to 30mph or slower, or camera operated speedlimits for repairs to the road surface (tank tape and elasto-plast when a plaster cast would be a better idea). If your journey isn't urgent, and don't need to know what day you will arrive at your destination then by all means take a train. Local journey would be easier if more people used trains/busses/bikes/walked, but nobody seems to work local anymore. I have a 40 mile round trip daily, and that seems to be short compared to what a lot of my friends do. Today it has been announced that to improve the running of the railways, and to increase customer comfort and satisfaction, they are going to cut rail services. Shades of 1984? Doublespeak, coined by a Blair. Promoted by a Blair. -- Carl Robson http://www.bouncing-czechs.com
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