By way of endorsing Eric’s comment above, there’s a post at Make Wealth History which looks at support for oil and gas related infrastructure projects, compared to renewables: http://makewealthhistory.org/2010/08/10/why-are-we-still-subsidising-fossil-fuels/.

Andrew

The fact is that Europe and UK governments have continued to spend billions on roadway expansion every year, and will probably do so again next year and the year after. It is not expensive to stop building freeways, in fact it would save billions every year that could then be spent on reducing emissions.

Sometimes when people find themselves in a hole, they talk about path dependence rather than stop digging. Enough with excuses for deliberate climate crimes.

Think of the strongest words you know, and many Londoners (and I) will have used them to describe TfL. TfL is tainted, impersonal and those at the top, talented and as nice as they may be, have no idea (I hope) as to how many of their CUSTOMERS feel towards them and TfL. I’m convinced that the former Mayor, Ken Livingston, lost thousands of votes due to TfL.

What TfL does sounds (and could be) great – but to appreciate them, you must not live in London!

I wish I could fine TfL workers for their mistakes in the same way they fine their customers for their misunderstandings of TfL rules and mistakes – they’d pay to work!

I know some of the business people who “howled” at having to pay the congestion charge to drive to their business each day. However, they had failed to realise that by registering their vehicle at their business address, they were entitled to a 90% discount……

Is business within the congestion charge zone “suffering” due to the congestion charge or the declining population density? Much of inner London’s residential property has been bought up by speculators and the worlds “elite” as second homes. If you are living in central London, you do not need a car and why would you ever drive to the shops and restaurants when you can walk?

I wonder how many of John Lewis’ customers arrive at their West End store by car – 40% of Londoners do not own a car and many West End shoppers are tourists from other countries! Would John Lewis have published research by Imperial College if it did not show the result they wanted? I believe not.

TfL has another money making scheme. They provide free parking in London along main routes outside of “peak” hours. Like many, I stopped in a parking bay for a few seconds shortly before the 10am and received an £80 fine – stopping (even to do a U-turn, is only allowed after 10am. A TfL camera showed me “stopped” for 8 seconds!
What is clear is that those with a vested interest will turn out to vote against congestion charges. Those who are not car owners are less “organised” and less inclined to lobby or vote on this issue, perhaps because they do not see immediate benefit to themselves.

Despite sharing a dislike of TfL’s customer service with many Londoners, I see the benefits of the Congestion Charge Zone and realise that public transport fares will have to go up as a result of any lost income from it – with a fare rise of 7% being speculated at the moment – because TfL is running out of money and is poised to lose income from the Congestion Charge…

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23846524-commuters-face-inflation-busting-7-percent-fare-rise-on-tubes-and-buses.do

You have done a nice tight piece on this difficult and important topic, which is why we have featured it as well on World Streets today. We are getting the good voices on these issues, now all we need to do is find the ears.