Sidelines

this bus isn't good enough

The lightweight Enviro 300 single-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis of Falkirk isn't a good enough experience to get people out of their cars. It's becoming commonplace where buses are run by First and Stagecoach-Bluebird; operating even quite long routes such as Aberdeen to Inverurie. Lightweight it certainly feels: a combination of biscuit-tin metal and huge expanses of glass. This leads to its primary drawbacks: it's always cold: no double-glazing or internal panelling behind the thin metal mean the passenger is barely separated from the outside and the walls are just too cold. The engine is whiney and loud, presumably because it's isolated only by lightweight materials. Finally, they've packed too many seats in: it would be harder to find a bus with less leg-room, and the seats aren't well upholstered. Many motorists considering a switch for the daily grind would be reeling at these hardships on a Monday morning.
02.05.08 @ 11:28 AM CST [link]

info at bus stops

Bus stop timetable information can be viewed as a spectrum. At one end is accurate real-time information, backed up with full timetables. At the other end is, well, a post saying "Bus Stop" at the top. While we get excited about the former, let's not forget there are all too many urban bus-stops that correspond to the latter. A complex question, but we need a cost-benefit analysis of providing expensive resources at well used stops against basic resources at less used stops. Somewhere along the spectrum is an interesting provision such as solar powered illuminated timetables at stops in Camden.
12.04.08 @ 12:36 PM CST [link]

talk it up

With all the focus on Network Rail's improvements to the West Coast main line, which should, by January 2009, reduce the journey time from Oxenholme (Lake District) to London to 2 hours 34 minutes, a big commitment has just been made by Network Rail for the East Coast main line. They will be spending £225 million upgrading track parallel to the East Coast main line between Peterborough and Doncaster, allowing freight to come off the main line on that section, currently a bottleneck where the track goes down from 4 to 2 lines. A look at the network map shows what a great idea this is. However the work is not scheduled until 2014. This plan needs talking up: it would be great to see work begin as soon as possible after resources are freed up from the west coast.
01.03.08 @ 02:17 PM CST [link]

high-speed rail

The excitement generated by the St Pancras opening has caused a new wave of chatter about building more high-speed rail. However John Grimshaw questions the purpose if it simply causes people to travel further, while a letter in transporttimes questions the received wisdom that high-speed rail would kill demand for internal flights. There is plenty of evidence to the contrary, with good air-service on TGV served routes such as Paris to Lyon or ES high speed rail routes like Milan to Rome.
31.01.08 @ 09:49 PM CST [link]

matthew parris

Matthew Parris's vile Times article What's smug and deserves to be decapitated? is at least being investigated by the Press Complaints Commission, which has no legal powers however. Cyclist killed or seriously injured numbers, unlike those for car users, climbed in the first quartile of 2007 compared with that of 2006, continuing a trend of the last couple of years. Which makes it a good time for this joke: what's the difference between the Times and the Sun? About 50p.
10.01.08 @ 08:01 PM CST [link]

Forth Road Bridge

With the urgency involved, the The Forth Replacement Crossing was maybe never going to put aesthetics high on the list. Just before Christmas the Scottish Government announced that the replacement would be a cable-stayed bridge, which seems to be the first choice for new big bridges now. If it ends up with the row of pylons in this artist's impression then fingers crossed it will at least be as flexible and functional as the government is saying.
06.01.08 @ 01:03 PM CST [link]

how things should be

The directgov web application to exchange a paper driving licence for a photocard one might just be a harbinger of the efficiency e-government should bring. It is simple to use, and here's the really impressive bit: if you've got a digital passport (which seems to be nearly everybody, although you probably hadn't realised) then the driving licence site contacts the passport service and uses the photo they already have. No need to send a photo! The icing on the cake is that the price seems to have come down: could someone confirm that until recently the exchange for a photocard cost 19 pounds? (And maybe still does by post?)
10.12.07 @ 09:01 PM CST [link]