the public transport system was made better?

if Sheffield had a

reliable (on time) bus service
more busses (running more in one hour)
less vandalism
cheaper fares
easier links to other areas in the country
more space on busses

just to tip the odds would you be prepared to get rid of your car if they introduced a fee for cars to get into town?

I've got a business in town and if my customers and suppliers had to pay every time they came to see us, they probably wouldn't come. I can't see how driving commerce out of the city centre would help anyone.
I'd love to use public transport but how could I get out and about, as I do, to do business?
If the tram went anywhere near my house I'd use it. Have you seen the fuss they've kicked up at Crystal Peaks over people parking their cars and using the tram? Its way cheaper to use your car than park & ride everyday.
The buses are invariably scuzzy and I'd sooner be in my own space with music on than squeeze onto a hot smelly bus with lawless teenagers.. it's wrong, I know, but I bet there's lots like me.
The trains to anywhere are an absolute nightmare. I went to Manchester with my daughter a few weeks ago on what can only be described as a cattle train. Sheffield station is a complete mess and a disgrace.
Sorry to be negative and all that, but Sheffield (and everywhere else for that matter) need to clean up on the scumballs before I use public transport anymore than I do.

Not using my car would add nearly two hours travelling to my day.

Its not practical for me to use public transport as it is, it would mean a bus to drop off at school, then another bus to town, then a bus to work! I have enough trouble getting to work on time as it is!

thats the point though if it all had more money spent on inproving and expanding the system would you use it more?

I would not give up my car (even though I don't have one ATM :loopy: ) for any reason, because I love driving. There's nothing wrong with public transport IMO, I've used it for 3 years now and never had any major problems. I don't find it inconvenient, I don't find it unreliable and I don't find it impractical.

Wow.,.... 87% would not give up their car!

I think it's time we stoped worrying and learned to love the car.

I better just add to, that I by no means think that everyone who uses Public Transport are scumballs and lawless teens.. far from it. It's the minority who make it uncomfortable for the rest.

Originally posted by Fletch
thats the point though if it all had more money spent on inproving and expanding the system would you use it more?

If it went past my front door and dropped me off outside my office - whilst waiting for me to drop off at school!

To be honest, no I wouldn't! I hate the bus!

I like my car - I can listen to my music and not the "personal" stereo of the oik sat four seats away, I can do a detour via Morrisons if I feel like it and I know where to find my car - I don't have to wander around looking for where it stops on the High Street!

i wouldn't get rid of my car, I enjoy driving too much. Besides most of my friends live in Sheff, and I live in Derbyshire. But when I visit Sheffield, I use the buses and trams, 'cos I hate driving round towns and cities. Mine is quite a big car for a little person.
I'm a bit of a speed freak, so I like motorways and country driving.

What are you going to run your car on when the oil runs out?

Electricty of course...oh no...can't do that, power stations run off oil...

Come to think of it it's a close race as to whether the fumes would have killed us all by then anyway...

I wouldn't give my car up, but I would use buses to go to work and back more. So I'm kinda a compromise!

I would not stop using my car, the reason is that I pay triple insurance than I do fuel, and you don’t get any discounts from insurance if you only use it at certain times of the day or certain days of the week (insurance quotes ask the estimated miles you will do a year, but it don’t bring a quote down much) So it would be a case of getting the most for what you pay for. It would be all or nothing.

i might use public transport more, but i certainly wouldn't give up my car.

re: trains, i had to argue with someone on the train to glasgow last week because they were in my reserved seat. They were muttering something about punching me in the face as they passed my girlfriend further down the carriage. That's the sort of person that shouldn't be allowed on a train.

Id use public transport more often but I wouldnt give up my car.

Id love to see public transport get around getting into the styx at all hours of the day :lol: if i wanted to visit the styx at 4am for instance.

can you put an option, 'already done it' so that i can vote?

I already use the tram to get to work...Middlewood to Carbrook and back. Can't say I enjoy it - the seats are too narrow (wide enough for me but often too narrow for me to have one to myself !!) and there's not enough leg room to be comfortable on a half hour journey to work (and often 50 minutes getting home).

Unlike the buses there seems to be no legal limit to the number of standing passengers on the tram. Quite often the Meadowhall to Middlewood tram I catch in the evening rush hour is running late and people just pile on at every stop regardless of the obvious overcrowding, and the poor conductor has no chance of collecting many of the fares. I don't suppose anything will be done about this until there is a serious accident involving loss of life.

I dread going on a bus. Many drivers seem to have graduated from a job with Parcel Force...at least they have the same lack of regard for their cargo. Being oldish and arthritic I rarely manage to get into a seat before the bus does the usual Formula 1 start away from the stop (even though the lights 100 yards up the road are at red and involve an emergency stop !!). To be comfortable buses need to be a foot wider and five feet longer with the same number of seats and a suspension system that stops passengers being thrown about like rag dolls ! :mad:

God I wish it was still 1950 with the old trams...careful drivers, polite conductors, a smooth ride and reliable service.

Thanks for the opportunity to have a little rant. :bigsmile:

Originally posted by Fletch
thats the point though if it all had more money spent on inproving and expanding the system would you use it more?

Fletch

There was a report on TV recently that claimed the costs of car ownership and use had stayed almost static in real terms over the last fifty years, whilst fares on public transport had risen (in real terms) by almost twenty percent.

The only way to lure people onto public transport is to spend billions improving it and then subsidise fares like the old Soc. Rep. of South Yorks did.

Do you know any politician with the nerve to even think such thoughts ??

:D

mattgreen said:

What are you going to run your car on when the oil runs out?

Don't believe all the stories about oil running out. There is more than enough to last for quite a while and by then an alternative fuel will be available

Originally posted by mattgreen
What are you going to run your car on when the oil runs out?


Biodiesel. You notice the goverment isn't actually promoting this form of energy at the moment, as their is no money to be made from it.

i can remember when a child's flat rate fare was 2p in Sheff, then there was nearly a revolt when they had the nerve to increase it 5p. What is it now?

Sod that!! I'm keeping mi car and mi freedom.....

It's not a question of giving up your car, just using it more carefully.

We live in a society where it is very difficult to get by without using a car at least some of the time, particulary in rural areas.

Can you image the difference to traffic levels if everyone used public transport for just one day a week.

Face it folks congestion charging is coming and the 'I refuse to use the bus selfish campaign' will be moaning then.

I would'nt think twice about converting to LPG when in Australia about 6 years ago it was already becoming popular. The car I tried out was no less nippy than an ordinary petrol fueled vehicle and the cost was favourable at about 1/3 the price of petrol.

Originally posted by Hippy
Face it folks congestion charging is coming and the 'I refuse to use the bus selfish campaign' will be moaning then.

No, we'll all move somewhere else! All the greenies with their heads in the trees don't realise most people NEED to have a car for work. I work for a small company with contracts in other cities, and I spend most of my time hopping between Sheffield and Leeds city centres- if I did that on a bus it wouldn't be an easy or cheap task, but it can be done successfully in a car, meaning the business and the economy of Sheffield can grow.

People need to remember Sheffield isn't London- if you did charge for car access to the city centre, people won't go! Why go to town for a fiver when you can drive to Meadowhall, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby etc, and get in for free?

Originally posted by daver
People need to remember Sheffield isn't London- if you did charge for car access to the city centre, people won't go! Why go to town for a fiver when you can drive to Meadowhall, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby etc, and get in for free?

I agree with this point. As busy as Sheffield city centre is during morning and afternoon rush hour, it is neither congested enough, or rich enough, to afford a £5 per day charge.

As for the poll, my opinion depends on my circumstances. When travelling alone, I will take the bus, because I live and work near bus routes, and I'd sooner pay a couple of quid instead of having to fight my way through traffic.

When taking my family out though, I'll take the car. Although those easy-access buses are great for taking a single baby (or two) out for the day, I have been blessed with three little ones :)

And bus prices ARE too expensive. When I lived in Leeds a few years ago, the equivalent of a 7 day saver was just a fiver...at least the services are becoming more reliable (again, living near major bus routes, this is my opinion)

I'll vote for making it cheaper!

has there actually been any serious suggestion of congestion charging?

It is very unlikely that I would consider giving up my car to use public transport.

I hardly ever take the car anywhere. I take the time and walk. Often when walking up Ecclesall road I am overtaking all the stationary cars and I think your all mad. If I dont walk in to town, then catching the bus is vastly quicker with the bus lane (as long as no pillock has parked in them) and you dont have to worry about parking in the city centre which is a nightmare.

Cars are great but wheres the fun of sitting in a traffic jam. Sometimes you need a car but allot of the time there is more freedom leaving it at home.

Originally posted by nickyc
I hardly ever take the car anywhere. I take the time and walk. Often when walking up Ecclesall road I am overtaking all the stationary cars and I think your all mad. If I dont walk in to town, then catching the bus is vastly quicker with the bus lane (as long as no pillock has parked in them) and you dont have to worry about parking in the city centre which is a nightmare.

Cars are great but wheres the fun of sitting in a traffic jam. Sometimes you need a car but allot of the time there is more freedom leaving it at home.

I'll be sure to wave next tmie you walk past me on the way to Telford or Worksop.

I guess that's a part of the problem.

There are lots of people who use thier cars through the day, (for example yesterday I had meetings in Sheffield, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire) and there is no practical alternative

However, everyone sees the car as a personal space that has lots of convenience, regardless of the journey, and to be honest they will simply have to be taxed off the road for casual use.

The only way I can see of doing it is to eliminate road tax, massively increase petrol tax (including a blanket national 3rd party insurance on the way) and then introduce a reclaim system similar to VAT for business use.

People with verifiable need such as the disabled could also have some kind of benefit too of course.

I think this idea has been discussed on a thread some time ago Tony.

It's a great idea.

If some sort of average mileage, average engine size, average mpg is worked out, then the present medium engined road tax is incorporated into the price of the fuel used by the above engine in a year, then an average road user would pay the same as now for road tax. Above average users, (and this includes boy racers driving for the fun of it) would pay more, whilst the below average user, (and this includes the people who own cars but walk a lot instead of driving) would pay less.

There should be discounts for people such as the disabled with mobility problems and (some) commercial users which is claimed at the point of sale.

The tax disc could be replaced by a M.O.T disc which should carry the insurance details and be able to be 'swiped' by the police or traffic wardens. The 'renewal' date on the disc would signify that either the M.O.T or the insurance are due to run out and could be renewed at post offices on presentation of appropriate certificate. This will probably mean two visits per year to the P.O., but some people do this already when they tax their car for 6 months. (and drop this silly tax-free motoring for older classic cars!)

Expensive to enforce I know, but at least EVERYONE will have to pay the tax whenever they use their cars. The more they use them, the more they pay.

This might also cut down on the 'unnecessary' journeys, and therefore traffic.

The worlds oil supply is not going to last forever.
at the last fuel crisis we had, when britian came to a stand still, it was estimated that if the worlds population was to carry on consuming the oil supply at the same rate we are doing then, there would only be enough oil to last another 50 years.

so i say enjoy yourselfs, while you still can :D
i just hope they manage to invent 'teleporters' before the fuel runs dry,

Hey I never said people should give up their cars, just try to be a little more careful in how they use them.

Like Abdul I'll use the bus most of the time but if shopping with the family I'll use the car (as it can be tricky on buses with nipper and all the gear).

I can't see the council missing the opportunity to get in some easy cash on the congestion charging. I doubt you'll be able to go elsewhere for free as the other cities will have slapped in their own system by them too.

The problem folks is that it is getting busier and busier almost everyday it seems. Now as concerned about the environment as most people are the only way to really get change is by hitting people in their pockets. That's a rather sad thing but true I suspect.

Too true! Hit them in the pocket!

Spin-offs might be that people would be more inclined to live and work in the same area, reducing travel needs still further, and it would probably have the effect of taking the heat out of house prices in outlying areas like the Peak District where locals struggle to buy houses, and Castleton has traffic jams!

Conversly, it would encourage city living - speeding up the regeneration.

i believe i will soon give my car up due to being caught doing 110 in a 70 zone!

Originally posted by mattgreen
What are you going to run your car on when the oil runs out?
The oil will last *much* longer than I will, after that it's someone else's problem. :)