If you have friends and family living outside of a UK city you will likely require a car, even if you live in London, a point often overlooked by campaigners. We use our diesel car to leave London but still pay extraordinary prices to park it outside our home, yet it hardly moves between those out-of-London journeys. We are often told we should not have a car if we live in Lambeth, but your example proves this is simply not true. I have decided that it is not viable to sell our diesel car and purchase a new petrol hybrid to save the parking tax. Selling it would move the pollution it produces to another part of the UK, so out of sight out of mind, maybe. The investment in new public transportation links that are not just city-to-city requires investment the UK cannot afford. Maybe we should look to use what we already have, including our road network and find ways to gently (rather than the extreme Lambeth and TfL approach) nudge a change of culture. I don't like air or noise pollution but we have to accept that not every journey in London, which is about 25 miles north to south and 35 east to west, is not viable on a bicycle or using public transport alone. The UK is decades and trillions of pounds away from a car-free environment. European Cities are often referenced as a good example, but if you look more closely you will see they have a dual carriageway road network linking up neighbourhoods, as well as trams or local trains. You may also notice that they are not trying to design neighbourhoods around a Victorian infrastructure and often have a blank sheet allowing wide roads, wide cycle lanes and more public trams.
Slightly different note, but disappointing to see your estate hire car was made in China (MG 5). I own a little European-made EV, that is charged from a collection of PV panels on the roof of my home, which allows more local journeys where public transport is not viable. Two cars is an unintended consequence of the ULEZ being a blunt tool, unlike a similar model in France which has a graded system. Newer diesels pay a smaller ULEZ-style tax, older diesels pay a higher ULEZ-style tax. If one is paying the same for a 20-year-old diesel (a Euro 4), why bother changing it for a Euro 5, or 6. And if you live in Lambeth where you pay a diesel premium why bother changing it at all, when the diesel ICE is still one of the most efficient MPG offerings at this time? BMW 3 series can do 1000 miles on a single tank of diesel.
What your article suggests is that one size doesn't fit all and that we need a range of solutions to suit the needs of the public.
If you have friends and family living outside of a UK city you will likely require a car, even if you live in London, a point often overlooked by campaigners. We use our diesel car to leave London but still pay extraordinary prices to park it outside our home, yet it hardly moves between those out-of-London journeys. We are often told we should not have a car if we live in Lambeth, but your example proves this is simply not true. I have decided that it is not viable to sell our diesel car and purchase a new petrol hybrid to save the parking tax. Selling it would move the pollution it produces to another part of the UK, so out of sight out of mind, maybe. The investment in new public transportation links that are not just city-to-city requires investment the UK cannot afford. Maybe we should look to use what we already have, including our road network and find ways to gently (rather than the extreme Lambeth and TfL approach) nudge a change of culture. I don't like air or noise pollution but we have to accept that not every journey in London, which is about 25 miles north to south and 35 east to west, is not viable on a bicycle or using public transport alone. The UK is decades and trillions of pounds away from a car-free environment. European Cities are often referenced as a good example, but if you look more closely you will see they have a dual carriageway road network linking up neighbourhoods, as well as trams or local trains. You may also notice that they are not trying to design neighbourhoods around a Victorian infrastructure and often have a blank sheet allowing wide roads, wide cycle lanes and more public trams.
Slightly different note, but disappointing to see your estate hire car was made in China (MG 5). I own a little European-made EV, that is charged from a collection of PV panels on the roof of my home, which allows more local journeys where public transport is not viable. Two cars is an unintended consequence of the ULEZ being a blunt tool, unlike a similar model in France which has a graded system. Newer diesels pay a smaller ULEZ-style tax, older diesels pay a higher ULEZ-style tax. If one is paying the same for a 20-year-old diesel (a Euro 4), why bother changing it for a Euro 5, or 6. And if you live in Lambeth where you pay a diesel premium why bother changing it at all, when the diesel ICE is still one of the most efficient MPG offerings at this time? BMW 3 series can do 1000 miles on a single tank of diesel.
What your article suggests is that one size doesn't fit all and that we need a range of solutions to suit the needs of the public.
did you see this: https://community.breathelondon.org/c/brunswick-tenants-and-residents-association/taking-the-shine-off-the-ev-bubble
this is what i meant to respond to