Given the traffic volume, it is worrying to see a pedestrian using a phone while crossing the road, as they are clearly not paying attention to what is happening around them.
Can she not see how dangerous it is? How cars turning left into this road would have to swerve round the parked car FG08KGU without warning. Pedestrians like this need to go on a safe-walking course before they should be allowed onto our streets. This could be one of the campaign points of the Association of British Drivers: make all pedestrians pay a walking tax proportional to the number of miles they walk a year. Only if pedestrians pay for the upkeep of the roads should they be allowed to get in the way of tax-paying cars.
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This reminds me: have we established of the A of BD is a spoof, or does it really exist?
the A of BD really to appear to exist; they are the ones organising a "Bristol is anti car" meeting and keep writing letters in. If they are a spoof, they are being very subtle about it -and given their "global warming doesn't exist" pages, putting a lot of effort into denying modern evidence-driven science.
I can't stand the ABD. As a petrol-head maybe I'm expected to side with them but they're just a bunch of biggoted, Daily-Mail reading old farts who complain about 30mph speed limits.
None of them actually seem to enjoy driving.
I don't think Bristol is a particularly anti-car city. It may be heading that way, some of the eco-mentalists might say that's what needs to happen - I say - maybe, but we need better public transport first to provide people with an alternative.
There are quite a few residents (and blogs!) in Bristol that are anti-car though.
Yes, if Bristol was anti-car, they'd have a more viable alternative than FirstBus. To be fair, Bradshaw hates FirstBus too. As we do here.
If Bradshaw hates FirstBus, why on earth are they still operating - or at least, why are they still charging people so highly?
http://bristoldaverants.blogspot.com/2008/11/bristol-anti-car-city.html
Good question. Main reason: no alternatives. Although bids for routes are put to "open" tender, no other bus company applies because the few national bus companies don't want to get into a price war with each other. By effectively not competing with each other they keep prices and margins up.
Also the council has minimal control over bus frequency and hours. They get to subsidise unprofitable times (evenings, weekends) and pensioners, but firstbus get to keep the profit from peak hours. It is not like London where TfL's peak income can fund other bits of the system. Interestingly, London is the only city in England and Wales where bus use has increased in the last few years.
One reason for routing choices of the proposed BRT routes is to have more than a certain percentage on dedicated BRT routes then the council suddenly gets a lot more control. Of vehicle types, frequencies, maybe -just maybe- charges. Will they use that effectively? Who knows.
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