Dublin congestion charge. (1 Viewer)

[flashback]

Also in the UK, you get income tax back of up to £1000 (or £1500?) if you spend it on a bicycle and cycling equipment, which we don't have here....integrated public transport....blah blah blah....

Every year???
Jesus Christ.
1000 Stg a year... to spend on bikes. I could deal with that.
That's genius.

Pass me that Colnago C50 frame there boss.

 

[classic seanc]

Every year???
Jesus Christ.
1000 Stg a year... to spend on bikes. I could deal with that.
That's genius.

Pass me that Colnago C50 frame there boss.

I read a simpler explanation of it before, but I can't find it now.

But here:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/cycling/cycletoworkschemeimplementat5732?page=1

 

[Lolo]

Now that I think of it, don't congestion charges just stop poor people from driving to the city centre? Like, If your car is worth €200000 you won't give a shit about a congestion charge.

No research or links but you're totally right, the high-up management where I work all drive into work and the plebs get public transport. Apart from my head of department, who cycles in when he could well afford to drive in, fair dues to him.

 

[Lolo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7240309.stm

Hurrah.

 

[magicbastarder]

was talking to a guy whose company is based near blackrock recently. he lives in dun laoighaire, which i can never spell right, and most of his 20 or so colleagues live near their office. they recently got a new MD, who lives in the north, and comes down twice a week.

so the MD has decided to move the office to blanchardstown to spare him the commute around the m50.

 

[magicbastarder]

No research or links but you're totally right, the high-up management where I work all drive into work and the plebs get public transport. Apart from my head of department, who cycles in when he could well afford to drive in, fair dues to him.

my dad was telling me that there was a case a few years back where some manager in bank of ireland was given a company car. this guy cycled to work. so he basically gave the car to his wife and continued cycling in. he was hauled up in front of his superiors, who told him he had been given a valuable asset and that he was not to waste it by not using it (despite the fact that he hadn't asked for it).

anyway, it was only resolved when the DTO got involved; someone (most likely him) had alerted them to the situation.

 

[classic seanc]

was talking to a guy whose company is based near blackrock recently. he lives in dun laoighaire, which i can never spell right, and most of his 20 or so colleagues live near their office. they recently got a new MD, who lives in the north, and comes down twice a week.

so the MD has decided to move the office to blanchardstown to spare him the commute around the m50.

 

[Lolo]

my dad was telling me that there was a case a few years back where some manager in bank of ireland was given a company car. this guy cycled to work. so he basically gave the car to his wife and continued cycling in. he was hauled up in front of his superiors, who told him he had been given a valuable asset and that he was not to waste it by not using it (despite the fact that he hadn't asked for it).

I don't know what it's like now cause I haven't cycled in Dublin in years, but when I first moved to London 6 years ago I really noticed the difference in the amount of businessy types cycling to work/ to train stations. This was before the congestion charge came in, too.

I still felt that in Dublin there was a slight stigma attached to cycling, like it was associated with being poor/ a student, and once people had a proper job and could afford a car, why would they be bothered with a bicycle? Does anyone still find that attitude prevails? Present company excepted, of course!

 

[classic seanc]

I don't know what it's like now cause I haven't cycled in Dublin in years, but when I first moved to London 6 years ago I really noticed the difference in the amount of businessy types cycling to work/ to train stations. This was before the congestion charge came in, too.

I still felt that in Dublin there was a slight stigma attached to cycling, like it was associated with being poor/ a student, and once people had a proper job and could afford a car, why would they be bothered with a bicycle? Does anyone still find that attitude prevails? Present company excepted, of course!

Very much so.

There’s a few problems though. Most people don’t rate bicycles. Like, bicycles just don’t count.

Everyone I’ve spoken to considers it to be some big effort to cycle. It’s not.

There’s the showy, materialistic thing that quite a lot of people have. But I doubt that’s exclusive to Dublin.

If you own a car, particularly if you’re a young male, it’s so expensive to run that effectively, you’re penalised for cycling because you’re spending money on a car but not using it.

House building patterns are aaaalllll wrong. Estates are built on the assumption that everyone living in it owns a car. There's no reason for that.

But also, cycle facilities aren’t designed to encourage cycling*, they’re put in to keep-those-fucking-cyclists-out-of-the-way-of-the-cars. If that’s the view of the people who make the decisions, then why should the motorists think any different? I could go on to blabber about how then, because of that, people perceive their space on the road, and how that in turn causes aggro, road rage, resentment, and stuff, when cyclists and motorists and pedestrians get in each others space. But I won’t.

*they sometimes encourage recreational cycling, like the coast road track, but there’s no thought given to commuting cyclists.

 

[flashback]

There is also often nowhere safe to leave bikes when you ride to work.
And, you normally have to sort try to quietly change in the jacks.

Basically no one takes cycling as transport seriously in Ireland, or the US for that matter.
They dont even take motorbikes as transport seriously in the US.

Its very fucking simple.
Charge the hole off people driving cars in areas that have trams/DART/bus service and make parking a bastard. Its minimum $25 to park a car for a day in NY. Plus 6.50 in tolls to get on the island.

If you want to drive a car in and out of Dublin, you pay.

 

[magicbastarder]

that's one thing i can't accuse this company of failing on; there's a big locked bike shed, with changing rooms and showers (three shower cubicles, in the mens changing rooms anyway), and lockers. also, they channelled one of the outputs of the A/C so you can hang your wet gear out to dry.

 

[flashback]

that's one thing i can't accuse this company of failing on; there's a big locked bike shed, with changing rooms and showers (three shower cubicles, in the mens changing rooms anyway), and lockers. also, they channelled one of the outputs of the A/C so you can hang your wet gear out to dry.

amazing.

who do you work for?
(pm me if you dont want to post it.)

 

[quasiquasi]

But also, cycle facilities aren’t designed to encourage cycling*, they’re put in to keep-those-fucking-cyclists-out-of-the-way-of-the-cars.

Yep, like "dual-use" paths for cyclists and pedestrians. The cyclists get mad because they keep running into pedestrians, and the pedestrians get mad because cyclists keep running into them, and nobody gets anywhere.

Last year they were trying to change the Highway Code in the UK to force cyclists to use any cycle facilities provided, even when they were completely unsuitable. I think the change didn't happen, though, because enough people pointed out what a stupid idea it was.

 

[nlgbbbblth]

I don't know what it's like now cause I haven't cycled in Dublin in years, but when I first moved to London 6 years ago I really noticed the difference in the amount of businessy types cycling to work/ to train stations. This was before the congestion charge came in, too.

I still felt that in Dublin there was a slight stigma attached to cycling, like it was associated with being poor/ a student, and once people had a proper job and could afford a car, why would they be bothered with a bicycle? Does anyone still find that attitude prevails? Present company excepted, of course!

For some people there is a stigma attached to train / bus / cycling / walking to work.

i.e. if you don't drive to work then there must be something wrong with you.

When I worked in Blackrock, several people living on / nearby a DART line drove in.
Oddly, the senior manager got the DART but his immediate underlings were the main car offenders.

In Naas, almost everybody drives. A couple of people who live 15 or 20 minutes walk away choose to get in the car and drive. Lazy fuckers. I get the bus [15 / 20 minute journey for 7 miles] and frequently get comments like - 'why don't you bring the car?' etc.

While public transport here leaves a lot to desired, the point remains that some people will drive regardless.

In my cul de sac the nearest shop is a six minute walk away. Yet, most people drive to it. Fair enough if you're buying a lot of groceries but the majority of them are just picking up milk and a newspaper. It's very difficult to change that mentality.

As for parents driving children to school - grrrrrrrr.