Round and Round the Mulberry Bush...

[Shizara]

I see that the ring road is having the road dug up. Taxi drivers often know what is going on so I asked. It seems that bus lanes are to go in on both sides. Will this not create more congestion due to less space for cars and other vehicles, followed by cries from official sources about having to introduce congestion charges?? Hence "ring - congestion - charges - ring - congestion - charges - ring.."

[cathidaw]

Ihave more than a suspicion that 'they' are intent upon forcing us to use the buses as eventually car lanes will be -literally-squeezed out.
Along the Foleshill road just past the sky blue ribbon monument , the road is immediately and ridiculously narrowed (single track) by the bus lane and can be quite tricky to negotiate at busy times when cars are coming from the bypass at speed.
More people would use the buses if , a, they were reliable , and b, if they were cheaper.
I am quite sure that if the fares were a lot lower many more people would use them. To be able to hop on and off at a reasonable cost like we did in the old days -------well it's only a dream isn't it.

[Shizara]

Getting the bus is all very well if it is going where you wish to go. If I want come home from Coventry Railway Station after working late enough to miss the last train back to Nuneaton there is no way in this world that I am going to trek it out on my own through the subway into the town centre to get a bus.

To be able to hop on and off at a reasonable cost like we did in the old days -------well it's only a dream isn't it.

There are two parts to that. One being the reasonable cost and the other being hopping on and off like we did in the old days. Additional to that is that lovely PC act. Drivers were not bound by the overbearing PC rules and regulations. If youngsters were occupying seats with the adults standing then the driver would speak to the youngsters, sometimes threatening to not take the bus further until they moved. When seats became in short supply, sometimes another woman sitting next to mum would offer to take one of the little ones on her lap to provide an extra seat for adults or those that needed a seat because of being pregnant, disabled etc. It is with great sadness that I see able bodied school children and young people occupying seats whilst those that really need it have to stand - often with difficulty. We could argue that "they" should make more seats available and some could even argue that they had paid for a seat and they were having it, that it isn't their fault there are not enough seats. The reality is, that only a couple of generations ago there were still seating issues on busy services but people had the wit and the good manners to act unselfishly to help someone else by giving up a seat to someone with a greater need.

.... and they wonder why more people choose to use cars. What a way to go? Try and force people to use public transport by applying congestion charges after reducing the amount of space cars can use somewhere like a ring road. - I'll get off my soapbox now.