Telling the Government... I told you so
Discussion
Can't remember exactly when but they scrapped the tolls for the Severn bridges last year. I use the old bridge on a daily basis and have done for a about 6 years now as I live in Bristol and work on the Welsh side. When first hearing about it, the first thing I said was what a ridiculous idea it was, all it's going to achieve is pricing residents out of Chepstow area and increasing journey times as Bristolians move over the bridge to buy a house with 1 extra bedroom or for more affordable housing and commute back into Bristol.
The last few months there's been nothing but complaints from Residents about the very lengthy commute times and house prices increasing. In fact I think I read that Chepstow is now one of the most polluted towns in the UK.
It only really effects me in a positive way as it's an extra £1400/year in my pocket and I'm travelling against the congestion, but I'd have been happy to pay a smaller fee (say about £500/year) rather than scrapping it altogether to stop all the chaos now happening in Chepstow and surrounding areas.
If I can see this coming as nothing but a mere mortal Engineer, how can the geniuses in Government not figure it out....and don't get me started on Brexit!
The last few months there's been nothing but complaints from Residents about the very lengthy commute times and house prices increasing. In fact I think I read that Chepstow is now one of the most polluted towns in the UK.
It only really effects me in a positive way as it's an extra £1400/year in my pocket and I'm travelling against the congestion, but I'd have been happy to pay a smaller fee (say about £500/year) rather than scrapping it altogether to stop all the chaos now happening in Chepstow and surrounding areas.
If I can see this coming as nothing but a mere mortal Engineer, how can the geniuses in Government not figure it out....and don't get me started on Brexit!
When the govt were encouraging company car drivers into diesels by basing the BIK tax on CO2, where diesels win out, I said to anyone who would listen, it was bonkers. Diesels are great for long distance motorway driving, and with their high mpg, can be environmentally a winner in those cases, but encouraging everyone into them, including city drivers, was a disaster. They are good on CO2, but bad in loads of other stuff and not great for humans in areas of high population.
15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
When the govt were encouraging company car drivers into diesels by basing the BIK tax on CO2, where diesels win out, I said to anyone who would listen, it was bonkers. Diesels are great for long distance motorway driving, and with their high mpg, can be environmentally a winner in those cases, but encouraging everyone into them, including city drivers, was a disaster. They are good on CO2, but bad in loads of other stuff and not great for humans in areas of high population.
15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
Have to say 15 years ago I was unaware of all this, but the point is, the government should have done their homework and understood this. It just seems to be an utter lack of research, simple understanding and common sense!15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
jackofall84 said:
Can't remember exactly when but they scrapped the tolls for the Severn bridges last year. I use the old bridge on a daily basis and have done for a about 6 years now as I live in Bristol and work on the Welsh side. When first hearing about it, the first thing I said was what a ridiculous idea it was, all it's going to achieve is pricing residents out of Chepstow area and increasing journey times as Bristolians move over the bridge to buy a house with 1 extra bedroom or for more affordable housing and commute back into Bristol.
The last few months there's been nothing but complaints from Residents about the very lengthy commute times and house prices increasing. In fact I think I read that Chepstow is now one of the most polluted towns in the UK.
It only really effects me in a positive way as it's an extra £1400/year in my pocket and I'm travelling against the congestion, but I'd have been happy to pay a smaller fee (say about £500/year) rather than scrapping it altogether to stop all the chaos now happening in Chepstow and surrounding areas.
If I can see this coming as nothing but a mere mortal Engineer, how can the geniuses in Government not figure it out....and don't get me started on Brexit!
I do a similar journey - Bristol/South Wales, but off peak and on the new bridge so don’t notice the build ups. The last few months there's been nothing but complaints from Residents about the very lengthy commute times and house prices increasing. In fact I think I read that Chepstow is now one of the most polluted towns in the UK.
It only really effects me in a positive way as it's an extra £1400/year in my pocket and I'm travelling against the congestion, but I'd have been happy to pay a smaller fee (say about £500/year) rather than scrapping it altogether to stop all the chaos now happening in Chepstow and surrounding areas.
If I can see this coming as nothing but a mere mortal Engineer, how can the geniuses in Government not figure it out....and don't get me started on Brexit!
The decision not to put the bypass in for brynglas does seem bonkers though, traffic there both directions is ridiculous! Opening ‘the gateway to business’ in Wales isn’t a bad idea in itself, but making sure people can get around once they’re there should’ve been part of the plan.
bristolbaron said:
I do a similar journey - Bristol/South Wales, but off peak and on the new bridge so don’t notice the build ups.
The decision not to put the bypass in for brynglas does seem bonkers though, traffic there both directions is ridiculous! Opening ‘the gateway to business’ in Wales isn’t a bad idea in itself, but making sure people can get around once they’re there should’ve been part of the plan.
say what now??? There's been a plan????The decision not to put the bypass in for brynglas does seem bonkers though, traffic there both directions is ridiculous! Opening ‘the gateway to business’ in Wales isn’t a bad idea in itself, but making sure people can get around once they’re there should’ve been part of the plan.
jackofall84 said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
When the govt were encouraging company car drivers into diesels by basing the BIK tax on CO2, where diesels win out, I said to anyone who would listen, it was bonkers. Diesels are great for long distance motorway driving, and with their high mpg, can be environmentally a winner in those cases, but encouraging everyone into them, including city drivers, was a disaster. They are good on CO2, but bad in loads of other stuff and not great for humans in areas of high population.
15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
Have to say 15 years ago I was unaware of all this, but the point is, the government should have done their homework and understood this. It just seems to be an utter lack of research, simple understanding and common sense!15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
k off heavy battery they never use, or worse still, a 3 litre pick up truck. Complete clowns.
jackofall84 said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
When the govt were encouraging company car drivers into diesels by basing the BIK tax on CO2, where diesels win out, I said to anyone who would listen, it was bonkers. Diesels are great for long distance motorway driving, and with their high mpg, can be environmentally a winner in those cases, but encouraging everyone into them, including city drivers, was a disaster. They are good on CO2, but bad in loads of other stuff and not great for humans in areas of high population.
15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
Have to say 15 years ago I was unaware of all this, but the point is, the government should have done their homework and understood this. It just seems to be an utter lack of research, simple understanding and common sense!15 years later, the govt realised I was right, but as usual, went totally overboard, so now everyone is being encouraged out of diesels, even people for whom a diesel would be the right choice for the environment.
Utter morons.
Politicians always feel they have to be doing something in case they become irrelevant. Imagine if voters realised how the world still turns without the inteference of politicians.....
Both Labour and Tories have watched house prices rise and rise and have done nothing to stop it. Also stocks of council houses being sold off, its obvious if your selling houses off and not building more you will be in trouble.
Their all to blame for the shortage of council houses & youngsters being priced off the property ladder. Its not like anyone couldnt see it comming since 1990.
PAULJ5555 said:
Both Labour and Tories have watched house prices rise and rise and have done nothing to stop it. Also stocks of council houses being sold off, its obvious if your selling houses off and not building more you will be in trouble.
Their all to blame for the shortage of council houses & youngsters being priced off the property ladder. Its not like anyone couldnt see it comming since 1990.
The granting of 'easy credit' is a big factor here though - If people don't buy the properties the price will have to drop. The Banks have a large part in this, the latest being "we'll use the house of Mum & Dad as equity against an even bigger loan" - If people didn't fall for this the prices would have to fall. But of course if everyone's told "house prices will continue rise" then it's human nature to think you'll be left behind. I was in this situation in 1989, fell for it and ended up in huge negative equity, and giving back the property to the Building Society to get out of the mess.Their all to blame for the shortage of council houses & youngsters being priced off the property ladder. Its not like anyone couldnt see it comming since 1990.
jackofall84 said:
When first hearing about it, the first thing I said was what a ridiculous idea it was, all it's going to achieve is pricing residents out of Chepstow area and increasing journey times as Bristolians move over the bridge to buy a house with 1 extra bedroom or for more affordable housing and commute back into Bristol.
So it's also achieved cheaper housing for people previously resident in Bristol? And who's selling these houses at now inflated prices to them?We'll all be using electric cars in 2035 anyway, they just need to hold their breath a little longer.
jackofall84 said:
If I can see this coming as nothing but a mere mortal Engineer, how can the geniuses in Government not figure it out.
"Oooh- we didn't intend that". They have blinkers on what they want to happen & don#t choose to see the easily predictable. They then keep their pay, perks & pension when reality dawns so they see no reason to change their tactics.PAULJ5555 said:
Both Labour and Tories have watched house prices rise and rise and have done nothing to stop it. Also stocks of council houses being sold off, its obvious if your selling houses off and not building more you will be in trouble.
Their all to blame for the shortage of council houses & youngsters being priced off the property ladder. Its not like anyone couldnt see it comming since 1990.
And making no proper plans to increase the stock of houses for the 2.5 million net immigrants since 2009 whilst reducing hospital bed numbers and not building enough road capacity. The civil service/government seem unaware of knock-on effects of their decisions. Their all to blame for the shortage of council houses & youngsters being priced off the property ladder. Its not like anyone couldnt see it comming since 1990.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
And it's still going on. If you're a rep doing 30K miles a year up and down the motorway, then the ideal car for the environment is probably some 1.6 eco diesel that does 85mpg. A Golf bluemotion, Seat Leon Ecomotive, or suchlike. But they are being taxed out of that into a petrol hybrid where the electric power rarely kicks in so had no effect, so they are using petrol to cart around a fk off heavy battery they never use, or worse still, a 3 litre pick up truck.
Complete clowns.
You could just pay the tax and stick with the golf. Does nobody think of the kittens any more?k off heavy battery they never use, or worse still, a 3 litre pick up truck. Complete clowns.
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