Isn't This Just A Stupid Idea

[renegadefm]

I was browsing the government petitions last night, and I stumbled apon one that I felt would just cause more harm than good. 

 

Its a petition to make drivers from the age of 60 retake their driving test. 

To start with what if your job is a driving job, delivery driver, or taxi, HGV. 

 

Plus theres people like me that a car is vital to get me to work. 

 

Taking a car test, or booking one isn't going to be a swift situation, and what if you don't pass either your theory or practical test straight away.

 

Imagine the disruption this would cause all over the country, it would shut the country down, forcing people to lose their jobs as they can't get to work. 

The age 60 typically means currently theres 7 more years to work, so personally whoever created this petition needs to concider all these things. 

 

I'm surprised the government didn't reject it altogether, but its become an active petition gaining a few signatures. 

 

Am I the only one who can see this is a stupid idea? 

[ToraToraTora]

Yep and under my scheme you'd get a subsidised vehicle if your circumstances warrant it. You'd be better off and I'd be worse off but I am looking at the societal big picture of the whole transport infrastructure. Private unnecessary motoring will be very expensive to pay for the other aspects.

[renegadefm]

ToraToraTora, 

Sorry but how would a subsidised vehicle work, when we currently own the family car that also my partner drives. 

Did I also add, public transport around Cornwall is not suitable for most of us relying on getting to work. 

There is no bus route in my area at 6am that could get me to work, or in fact non on that route at all. 

Everything is very spaced out here. 

Its not a case of oh hang on I think I will just jump on the next bus to town. Its just not happening here. 

[davebro3]

I would join the fray but TTT's ideas are so ludicrous they aren't worth arguing about.

[ToraToraTora]

It's all part of the overall plan for a proper subsidised public transport system integrated and paid for with and by existing motoring. Similar to the motability vehicles, people who need it will be assesed and provided with transport, that can be a state supplied car. I don't pretend to have all the finer points nailed down but there must be a better way. Empty seats are transported most of the time every day millions of wasted miles and fuel. The public transport system is a joke there is a lot more that can be done by standing back and thinking the unthinkable.

[renegadefm]

ToraToraTora, 

But that idea just wouldn't work in rural areas. 

Yes a car has empty seats most of the time apart from the drivers seat, but to make a journey cost affective in the way your thinking would require picking up random strangers, because in reality no one else is going to the same place as the driver. 

Of course there is the possibility you could organise something the day before to see if a neighbour wanted to go to town, that's assuming your going town that day, but to make the journey cost affective the neighbour would have to chip in or its a waste of an idea. 

 

Great ideas on paper, but actually its physically never going to happen. 

[ToraToraTora]

" but to make a journey cost affective in the way your thinking would require picking up random strangers" - nope think it through, that is not how I plan to reduce the number of empty seats.

[davebro3]

we could each have a Sinclair C5 🤣

[davebro3]

BTW TTT - do you drive the Jaaaag around with 3 empty seats?

Just askin'

[THECORBYLOON]

Perhaps TORATORATORA plans to dish out bikes or mopeds?

[bhg481]

If you plan to replace private car ownership with a good, cheap public transport system you'de have to have it in place before people would decide to give up their cars. This would cost a fortune and is the sort of schemme that the nice Mrs Reeves would think value for (other people's) money. Has anybody tried to get to a National Trust property using public transport?

When we first got our pensioner bus passes we thought we'd have a day in Basingstoke (from west Reading). We checked the bus times (trains can't be used) and set off. First bus around 10am, an hour to Newbury. Wait for connection, an hour to Basingstoke. Cup of coffee, back to bus station. An hour to Newbury, wait for connection, an hour to Reading. Back home in time for tea. We drove there last week - much less than an hour each way.

[naomi24]

Along with his plans for 'do as I say not as I do', TTT will be issuing regulation boiler suits with matching hats for the rest of us. 

[bhg481]

Our local National Trust is Basildon Park. Sat nav estimates about 20 minutes - NT web page "You may be able to get the Going Foward Bus to Basildon Park on selected days. For more details visit the Going Foward Buses website: www.goingforwardbuses.com".

Removing cars from private ownership will kill the leisure industry not to mention closing all the country's camp sites.

[Mozz71]

Wow, Tora took the thread title and really made it his own here didn't he?

[mushroom25]

//When we first got our pensioner bus passes we thought we'd have a day in Basingstoke //

your difficulty in travelling from Reading to Basingstoke appears to stem from your need to use you concession bus passes, rather than highlighting an issue in travelling from Berkshire to Hampshire. there's an every 30mn local train service between the two all day (plus an hourly non-stop service); whereas during the last 30 years (at least) there hasn't been a bus from Reading beyond Mortimer Common, nor from Basingstoke beyond Baughurst - forcing a bus journey via Newbury. clearly there hasn't been a demand for a through Reading-Basingstoke bus, even though the fare would be one third of the train fare. maybe because it would take more than twice as long?

[THECORBYLOON]

He is yet to explain his plan to reduce empty seats.

[bhg481]

mushie - I was pointing out that there currently isn't a cheap, quick public transport service from west Reading to Basingstoke. (I don't consider trains to be cheap). This is the sort of service that TTT would have to seriously improve BEFORE he could persuade people to give up their cars. Getting to Basingstoke from Tadley/Baughurst is fine, it's the Reading to Tadley/Baughurst that's the problem. There's a big employer at Tadley with a virtually zero bus service from Reading nowadays (one bus a day in each direction?).

[jourdain2]

I'll throw an idea into the mix.  I liuved in France Profonde --- very, very rural with big spaces between villages etc. and lno bus services to speak of. (1 a week to the local market and back.)

They have a system that includes a vehicle 'Sans Permit', which means you don't need a licence, and is available to the very young (under 18 ) and the elderly.  They are small cars with a speed limitation of about 30k.p.h..  Youngsters often have similarly limited motorcycles.

To put yourself in the power of some authority which would decide if you could have a 'subsidised wehicle' and so live your life - would be horrendously authoritatian and positively Orwellian/Brave New Worldian.

[mushroom25]

bhg, a properly integrated transport system would address gaps currently apparent, this would need to include adjusting fares so there wouldn't need to be duplication by competing travel modes.

I'm aware of Tadley's large employer - friends work there (they live at Aldermaston Soke, I've often supped HSB in the Calleva Arms) - and sadly it's the case (and has been for a good few years) that employees of that establishment (and the other one just up the Reading Road) are pretty much the only users of the 2 daily buses from Reading........

[bhg481]

There are lots of gaps in the cvurrent public transport system, all of which would be required to be filled before people could be expected to give up their cars and all this would have to be paid for first. Find me a government that would be prepared to find that sort of money with no apparent return inside the same parliament which started it.

[davebro3]

quite obviousy TTT is peeing in the wind...