To be concerned about this....Oxford **You tube channel from Katie Hopkins** Title edited by MNHQ

[TarasHarp55]

fb.watch/hOHYM5ObFs/

Should we be concerned about this? It all seems very "Hunger Games", or is it a good thing? Would like to hear opinions. I don't normally like KH but she does seem to have a point.

FourTeaFallOut, not really, unfortunately. Residents of the city itself will get 100 passes per year to drive between zones.

Those outside the city will have to rely on public transport. So far, so good, right? Sadly, no, because the council are cutting public transport from the villages into the city. Our village (and many of the villages between us and the city) now has no bus service into town at all. There is a country road which we could use to walk several miles to the next village to pick up a different bus - it has no pavement and we would have to walk, with the kids, on the small bit of grass between the road and the hedge. There is a park and ride at Oxford Parkway - it’s expensive and slow. Even within the city, buses are expensive - I’m genuinely not sure how they think nurses, teachers, etc, can sustain this level of extra expenditure.

Oh. But it’s ok, because people can cycle. Sadly, no. Not safely, they can’t. There’s a huge difference between painting some lines on the ground and actually having cycle lanes with enough space to enable bikes and cars to be on the road safely at the same time. Buses and car drivers are driving all over the cycle lanes in some parts of town - not because they are bad people but because the roads are so narrow that there is physically nowhere else on the road for them to drive. The road outside the NOC literally has the cycle lane down the middle of the car lane because there is no other space for it. The corner by the Pitt Rivers is absolutely terrifying on a bike on a rainy morning - I rode my 4 year old around it to nursery every day last year and it felt like I was taking my (and her) life in my hands.

I completely support the idea that we should be reducing car use but it can only be done if there is a public transport alternative, and safe cycle lanes. They can’t have it both ways. Forcing people on to dangerous, unrealistic and badly thought out cycle lanes because the council cares more about nice headlines than actual workable policies is just farcical. There are unfortunately going to be more deaths unless the council pulls its finger out and stops pretending that the emperor is wearing clothes.

@FourTeaFallOut I agree. Many elderly people rely on cars. My mum no longer felt safe to get buses as she was unsteady on her feet but was fine with my dad driving her places. She was not eligible for a blue badge. It is those on the cusp it affects most.
I would be fine paying for each mile driven in the City.

Fine if you are time rich, able bodied, literate to be able to understand bus timetables, don't have children at 3 different schools due to oversubscription, SEN placement, don't have to carry equipment for work in a car (I have full site PPE in my boot, I'm not able to carry this as well as laptop daily work needs).

I think it is very radical, but it will affect those who cannot afford it the most.

You just made me see Katie Hopkins face 😭

@BradfordGirl are there any proper stats to show which people don't have cars, which people rely on cars for work.
Anyone who does a shift job needs a car because public transport just doesn't work. Anyone who needs a vehicle to carry items to and from work will be affected I assume.

It's a shit idea. Gt Manchester CAZ has bought a lot of signage and annoyed people beyond words. 20 mph zones all over Manchester.

Around Manchester, we have the tram which works brilliantly if you want to go to one of places on its route. If you want to go to the next town round the M60 then it's a journey into Manchester and then out. Which is crazy and not realistic.
But the tram operates at a loss.
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/serious-questions-over-metrolinks-future-24714266
If it was completely free you might persuade some additional people to use it, but nothing is free as there's no such thing as public money.

People should commute less. It's generally a benefit in terms of mental health and less time wasted for the working population, but Utopia doesn't exist.

Just because you think you can cram them all onto a bus doesn't mean you should.

Think about how many journeys were reduced during Covid and the impact this has on places where lots of people travel into to work.

Perhaps the real problem is the sheer numbers of people in the town?

KH is bonkers. There are traffic control measures in towns an cities all over the place already - one way systems that mean you can't necessarily go by the shortest route, parking restrictions - Oxford has always tried to keep traffic out of the centre with a park and ride system - low traffic neighbourhoods with lots of bollards and traffic calming - this is just a variation on that. Anything that makes it easier to to get about by any means other than by car and encourages people to do so is to be welcomed. Ensuring that people don't need to be reliant on cars to live in a neighbourhood is a good thing. There are more and more cars on the road (think back to the days when you maybe had one car per household, now some people have two, three or even four) it's an increase that's just not sustainable - it makes life more difficult for everyone (those with cars and those without them). If making life a bit more inconvenient for those in cars makes it easier for those who use other forms of transport then so much the better - you'll still be able to get around by car, it will just take you a bit longer.

How do you know that public transport is poor if you don't live there?

Is a fifteen minute walk really too much to reach local amenities? Less pollution, more trade to local businesses employing local people, healthier lifestyles, natural exercise. What's not to like?

www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/2250/proposals_to_trial_six_new_traffic_filters_in_oxford_announced

@LillianGish But the government could be intervening there. Maybe very expensive road tax for any household with more than one car? First car normal level of car tax, next one £5,000, next car £7,500 and so on.
Doing this would mean most households would find ways to manage with one car.

Surely the Covid Chip that Bills Gates had injected into my arm should mean that I am exempt from this?

I do accept that I cannot wander too near the edge of the earth in case I fall off but that's always been the case.
🤔

Not clicking on a Katie Hopkins link. Woman just looks to make money from stirring shit as offensively as possible.

It's not a climate lockdown. As you clearly know, OP.

I feel it's a positive attempt by elected politicians to take action on the congestion in Oxford, which has multiple negative effects, one being that it's very difficult to time journeys through the city, others being pollution and fuel expense from static traffic.

I think it'll take a while to shake down and work out. But good on them for actually trying to do something.

Will there be exceptions for people who work as carers , where they need to go door to door as quickly as possible?

But Oxford is not set up like that at the moment. Schools were for years oversubscribed with bulge classes all over the city, the buses are very centric, it's ok getting in and out of the centre, but very little available to go between the areas. Thank goodness that is one thing they are addressing, and two new routes are proposed.

However, the real issues of those who fall between able bodied and blue badge have been rather glossed over by the plans, those who are living on a knife edge already will find life harder.

@Daftasabroom 15 minutes is too long. That is a 30 minute walk round trip. Absolutely fine on some occasions, but a lot of journeys I find myself doing are nipping somewhere to drop off a teenager, nipping to the supermarket, and then nipping to a specialist shop to pick up something. A journey that could involve over an hours walking carrying things, instead takes 10-15 minutes in the car.

I work for the County Council visiting city centre schools, carry a lot of expensive and bulky equipment with me.
I already have to drive further now due to the LTN's, and it will become worse when the new bus gates come in.

I will not have any exemption for my job as it stands at the moment.
Ironically, one of my council targets is to reduce my emissions! But these schemes just make me drive further, spend less time earning, and increasing my travel claim. Bonkers.

Yes there are exemptions for carers.

Council Q&A link

The carers exemption is I thought for paid carers visiting a number of people every day.

There is already a long post on this. Not sure how to link but it's called. Oxford Climate lock downs and 15 minute city. By unsureatthispoint. It gives some very interesting points

@BradfordGirl you'll have to do less nipping and plan more next time you to Oxford. My teenagers take public transport, walk or cycle up to two hours before even thinking of asking for a lift.

Seriously do you have any thoughts on the pollution you cause? Short start/stop journeys are really bad.

Think they did something similar in Spain ... under Franco. 🤨

@BradfordGirl feedback has resulted in quite a few changes including a type of exemption for informal carers.

changes to scheme link here

If your children attend different schools you probably need to cross a boundary if you work in a third place like one of the Science Parks you are faced with another boundary crossing.
The Bus services are currently awful. Stagecoach, cannot get staff I believe. They used to be quite good.
Bus to Science and other business areas are quite good but only suitable for a direct journey. Not collecting prescription or child from nursery.

Right @Butchyrestingface would you like to give some details on Franco's scheme that was similar? Are you concerned that the gwzd if Oxfordshire County Council has plans for a national military coup?

It's a terrible idea. I can't believe some people are for it. It is restricting your freedom of movement and very Chinaesque.

The council target is to reduce emissions across the whole population living and working in the area, and eliminating unnecessary short journeys will make a big difference to that. Their target isn’t to reduce your personal emissions, but to work on a societal level.