HeadDesk

[andrewducker]

From here:

Tony Blair says it is unrealistic to think the tax system can be used to reduce air travel in the UK. The prime minister said it would take a "fairly hefty whack" for people to
cut back on flights in the UK and abroad.

He told the Commons liaison committee that it would be hard to sell, and said he would not be keen on such a move.

Instead, he said, the best way to tackle climate change was to invest in more environmentally friendly aircraft and to invest in other new technology.

Because the government isn't here _precisely_ to look at the big picture in a way that we can't individually do and push us to do the things that actually we ought to be doing.

I can't see how it can possibly be that much harder a sell than the Iraq War, when he didn't exactly have a majority behind him a lot of the time.  If he's willing to do the right thing there, why not here?

Comments

[0olong.livejournal.com]

Quite apart from the clearly-insane worldwide tax exemption for air fuel, a big, big reason people are flying so much is because the rail system absolutely went to shit about a decade or so back, and the present government hasn't had the wherewithal or the guts to do half of what's necessary to de-shittify it... possibly because Blair is so ideologically committed to the idea that privatisation is A Good Thing? It's hard to be sure.

Anyway... some things have at least improved; to my surprise, I've managed to get £12.50 tickets between Edinburgh and London on the train three times in the last couple of months. In the past, I felt like crap for flying between the cities - it's not like I even like flying - but just have not been able to afford any alternative, even though I'm only travelling down to see my family a couple of times or so per year.

It's still a crazy lottery every time to get non-extortionate train tickets to go anywhere, though.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

We need low-cost no-frills train lines. EasyRail, anyone?

[andrewducker]

The current train lines have frills???

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

Good point. Maybe they could charge a premium for grizzling toddlers instead.

[jiggery-pokery.livejournal.com]

Megatrain (http://www.megatrain.com/):Megabus (http://www.megabus.com/) :: National Rail (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/):National Express (http://www.nationalexpress.com/) .

I have a suspicion that we are due for a resurgence in medium- and long- distance bus and coach travel, especially as individual road and rail travel become more expensive; Megabus represents a logical first step in the resurgence as a single operator takes on the incumbent on the most obvious and profitable routes. I've taken Megabus once and it was actually perfectly OK, oddly enough.

With this in mind, Stelios does operate easyBus (http://www.easybus.co.uk/) on a couple of London-based routes already. It might well be that easyBus:2004 :: easyJet:1996 and there are similar progressions over the years, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

Thanks!