Christmas travel chaos - time for robots to take over public transport

413x · 22 Dec 2023 at 13:24

Uther said:
I think there's some important people here who press buttons on a keyboard for a living getting inconvenienced though!

Anyway, enjoy...

Millions set to pay 'brutal' rail fare rise next year

The government said the new 4.9% increase cap is less than this year's- but Labour called it another "brutal bumper rise".

news.sky.com

Not really sure how things can't all go up by at least 5pc.

If you accept inflation is what it is. 5pc is fair.

Obviously with everything up it's yet another knock to people. But what can you do?

Uther · 22 Dec 2023 at 13:28

413x said:
Not really sure how things can't all go up by at least 5pc.

If you accept inflation is what it is. 5pc is fair.

Obviously with everything up it's yet another knock to people. But what can you do?

I couldn't even imagine spending thousands of pounds a year just to go to work really.

Participant · 22 Dec 2023 at 13:39

Uther said:
I couldn't even imagine spending thousands of pounds a year just to go to work really.

What if you got paid hundreds of £ks when you got there?

Uther · 22 Dec 2023 at 13:44

Participant said:
What if you got paid hundreds of £ks when you got there?

Nope.

413x · 22 Dec 2023 at 13:45

Uther said:
I couldn't even imagine spending thousands of pounds a year just to go to work really.

Personally me either.
I'd have to be paid double the cost of the ticket at least on top of base salary.

But with WFH the time is a consideration too

Uther · 22 Dec 2023 at 13:46

413x said:
Personally me either.
I'd have to be paid double the cost of the ticket at least on top of base salary.

But with WFH the time is a consideration too

Time is everything for me,and it got more important as I got older.

loftie · 22 Dec 2023 at 14:07

Semple said:
Unfortunately that proposal only looked to be a stepping stone to full automation - removing drivers but still having someone onboard to control the doors.

The article also blasts it as poor value for money because of the supposed £7bn it would cost to only partially convert it. Tfl's current driver bill works out about 1.4bn, so it'll take probably 6-7 years before any actual benefit is realised.

Either way it's a shame, I've visited quite a few capitals and there are a number of driverless/automated trains that seem to work absolutely fine.

From the article

Fully automatic driving and door operations "represents poor value for money", the study found.

It then says

Delivering "automatic" trains - with doors controlled either by a driver or a train attendant - offers "reasonable value for money" when delivered "as part of an integrated line and train system upgrade".

They did look at fully automated trains. They also looked at partially automatic trains (AKA the DLR AFAIK). Here's a video as to why it's easier said than done, at least WRT TFL which is who the report in the article I linked is for

Feek said:

So from a TFL perspective, it's not a great idea. WRT lines elsewhere, I imagine there are still a fair few issues, but the issues may not overlap 100% with the issues facing TFL.

jpaul · 22 Dec 2023 at 16:34

yes it's the travelling time that the expensive ticket price indicates on public & regular private transport that is unpalatable
(how many years of your life do you spend commuting)
who is genuinely productive during their commute - just boosts netflix profits.

Has Kier promised a less London centric Uk/commuting society (even if cons are already spending hs2 monies on S. road repairs) -
equally WFH aspiration has, not yet been exposed, as one of the contributors to todays negligible UK GDP gain.

Participant · 22 Dec 2023 at 18:40

You've got to feel for those poor transport workers, ruining everyone's Christmas getaway for unrealistic demands.

jigger · 22 Dec 2023 at 19:02

413x said:
Not really sure how things can't all go up by at least 5pc.

If you accept inflation is what it is. 5pc is fair.

Obviously with everything up it's yet another knock to people. But what can you do?

Don’t allow Conservative MP’s to pick an unelected leader, really poor judges of character it seems. Also, don’t allow a government to rule without mandate for this long. Apart from this forced/self inflicted austerity we find ourselves in, I’m not sure at all what direction the conservatives are looking to take our nation. I’m getting more than a little tired of hearing we can’t afford to solve issues while also paying through the nose for everything.