You can watch videos, check out our car free guide and exclusive interviews, join the debate - Should we ban cars for good?, and join the UK Car-Free Map where you can work out how much C02 you can save by walking, cycling or hopping on public transport and enter our competition to win a bike worth up to £1000.
It's almost impossible to persuade people out of their cars. Even when you can show them that you can live in the country, have a working croft and do with just one car, they trot out all the same, tired excuses as to why they can't do it.
We've managed to Musings from a Stonehead cut car travel by 18,000 miles a year, which equates to a saving of £3000 or so at current prices.
I ride a pedal trike (used to transport children, groceries and stuff for the croft), the Other Half has set up lift shares and car pooling to get herself to work, we shop fortnight to cut our travel down, and we plan our trips to avoid unnecessary duplication.
But try convincing other people that they can do the same, and all you get is excuse after excuse after excuse. Yes, they need to drive the half mile to the school, the shops, the playgroup, the job because it's safer, drier, quicker, easier.
They can't share cars for their 30-minute commute because it isn't safe, convenient, easy, flexible, etc.
There are days when I imagine an alien hydrocarbon eating bug devouring all the world's oil overnight, so that when I go out the next day I can see, well, now what are you going to do?
I think after last nights episode a lot of people can relate to the frustrations of morning rush-hour traffic just like that of Marlow. I can understand certain reasons why people take the car i.e. if the shool is on the way to work or if it's raining hard etc.. but it really shouldn't be an issue if people live within 1.5 miles of the school or work place, generations before just coped & were probably a lot fitter for it (well at least until they get to work!). Walking or cycling is an excellent way to start the day not only good for the children but for adults too & should be encouraged more by local councils. As for the lady in the big 4x4 getting upset because someone was just trying to make her think about possibly giving it a go for one day - shame on you, by the way your 4x4 was extremely clean & looked very nice . Obesity in children is big news & a serious problem which is likely to spiral out-of-control in years to come unless something more adequate is done & of course unhealthy eating just amplifies the problem. One thing that was mentioned last night was people won't do something about it unless everyone else is doing it & this is typical of this country & therefore requires more of a push by local councils to kick-start it into action or the minority to start walking/cycling & causing a trend... .
I'm a first year university student who has just re-discovered the bicycle seeing as I haven't got the choice to jump a car. It's so much fun! I can't believe I ever gave up using my bike - it stopped being "cool" to ride to school at about 11 years old. Maybe kids should be reminded that bikes are a good method of transport - cheap, reliable (unlike public transport), and gives them independence. But don't worry their little minds with CO2 emissions and all this.
My biggest complaint about this program is what was the long term message - emissions/CO2 or congestion? While these two are linked now (with carbon burning cars stuck in traffic just pumping out C02) what about in 20-30 years when we can buy solar/fuel cell vehicles from recycled materials pumping out nothing but we are still stuck in traffic - just not warming the globe?
Shows that people will choose to get out of their cars if they have the right information and half-decent alternatives (cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings etc).
quote:
what about in 20-30 years when we can buy solar/fuel cell vehicles from recycled materials pumping out nothing
I agree that the problem of traffic is about more than emissions... but I'm not sure we HAVE 20-30 years to get our act together if we're to avoid climate chaos.
Campaign for Better Transport: improving public transport, cutting traffic and tackling climate change
The people of Marlow would not admit to being part of the problem and were so markedly in opposition to one woman - who bravely went on to demonstrate what the future can be like if we act together instead of, as now - still fiercely divided and seemingly hell bent to grab dwindling resources and remaining breathing space! Not all towns are so congested but becoming so. Of course Kris Murrin was ably supported by an enthusiastic team - and to all, many thanks.
I don’t want to sound too pessimistic but even if everyone agrees to traffic free days there will be some, who on the first wet, cold day, will be back in their cars! It will then be necessary to show what has already been achieved on the continent by building cycle tracks and for that you would best be advised to see ‘a to b’ magazine issue 64 (latest copy) I refer of course to ‘Europe Special - the Low Countries’ but ‘Rental Bikes in Paris’ may be the way to go for us - yet this has received very little publicity by the media? If it is not already scheduled in either of the next two programmes perhaps something on these lines should be a ‘follow up’? In fact it would cost less to make a programme of this sort than many another (even with ‘celebs’) and would interest a growing number of viewers who may even be encouraged to have a go themselves. It will be ‘eco-friendly’ even if it succeeds in getting only a few more people out of their cars. Visit ‘Get Cycling Show 2008’ on 25th &26th May
I don't see that cycling is such a brilliant option to persuade car users with. With so many maniac drivers on the road cycling is incredibly dangerous especially if you're looking out for children who aren't familiar with traffic laws. I can remember as a child approaching a mini-roundabout when cycling along a B road and almost getting run down because I was confused by the priority system. Roads without segregated cycle lanes are usually only wide enough for two passing four wheeled vehicles as well.
For me taking public transport is the only viable way to avoid car journeys. Alternatively, for any distance up to 2 miles people with two legs should be happiest to walk and experience some of the surroundings they normally bypass. It's not hard. And I'm amazed that Kris made such an impact in Marlow.
Well done Kris. I must say I was extremely pessimistic about your chances of effecting any change in Marlow, but your doggedness is humbling. Instead of just carping about traffic, you got off your arse and did something. Good on you.
I find this programme so frustrating, as a 2nd year geography student who through my studies has seen the clear impacts that humans have had and are having on the globe, I know that we need to take drastic measures to slow and ultimately stop the effects of global warming. And its not only the state of the world around us we need to tackle, the health of the people of Britain also needs to be addressed. The complete bone-idleness of the people of Boston in tonight’s episode really opened my eyes to what complete narrow minded uneducated people we share our country with. How can people justify driving such a short distance from their council estate to school to pick up their children or go to the town centre? If people didn’t make unnecessary journeys and instead of driving cycled or walked the school car park and the area around it would be a much safer place both for their children and others who have decided to take the positive step of leaving their car at home. If everyone left the car at home not only would urban areas be safer but the issues of obesity would be combated. The parents of Boston are just passing the message that its okay to use the car for everything, how are we going to change, if this is the message that is passed on to children by their parents. People like Zoe in tonight’s episode should be ashamed of themselves, though they do represent today’s thinking, that we will live for today and not care about the effects on future generations!!
I'm currently riding my bike(actually, a tricycle) to work and back 5 days per week, it is 12.8 miles each way, every day and takes around 40 mins per journey. I've been doing it for about 18 months so far but have not yet been able to persuade anyone else to even make one journey, despite offering to lend them a high performance (£4k) tricycle.
Last week I posted a message on the general discussion pages about me setting up a walking bus. Please have a look to see what I wrote. Since then, I have been in touch with the council regarding any help that they can give me. I am very dissappointed with the response that I have had. All I want to do is get a group of people to meet in the mornings and wlk the short distance to school. The council said that I would need to have meetings with the school, council and parents,get volunteers and make sure that the ratio is six kids to one adult, have a CRB check, plan the route officially and make sure that the insurance is valid. I don't want to do all of that. I don't even need to join the walking bus as I live so close to school. The only reason I want to do it is to get some of the traffick off the streets when we're goinhg to school. I don't want to be responsible for other peoples children and have parents treat me as free childcare for half an hour. Their are so many benefits to walking to school that I want other people to realize them, but at the moment I feel like throwing the towel in before I've started. I won't, by the way, I just feel like it. One of the other things I discussed with the council is the High visibilty vests. Now, I'm not quite sure about this, but I don't think we will get the vests unless we sign up and do it there way. What I want to know is why can't EVERY child get one of these vests. We want all of our children to be safe, surely. Not just the one who sign up to a scheme?
I'd appreciate any tips from anybody who has been through this.
Briefly another point, Medway in Kent has terrible facilties for cyclists on the roads, but to make matters worse, some schools in our are have banned bikes??????
The Woman Who Stops Traffic was absolutely disgusting!
The producers went out of their way to source interviewees, film and edit their material to suit an existing editorial agenda - the producers should be ashamed of themselves for passing that off as objective documentary-making; it was anything but.
The programme shamelessly exploited Fensiders, tired hospital workers and shoppers in the Market Place who don't want to lug heavy bags of shopping around on our feeble public transport system.
The 'Boston on the Move' day was held late in November; it was cold, wet and dark - THAT'S why it failed, not because Boston as a town is obese and lazy.
Like you I feel very strongly about this programme. The presenter stated that all people who live in the PE21 post code should walk to the hospital, but she failed to say that the hospital is situated at one end of PE21. Also no mention was made of the poor transport links to nearby villages. Many people who watched the programme live in cities and towns that have good public transport that passes their doors every 20mins. What a culture shock it would be to some of the viewers if they came to live in Boston. Train lines that linked the villages were taken up in the Beeching era and bus services to these outlying villages are very poor. So if you don't have a car you are definitely stranded. I found this programme very biased. Trying to persuade people to walk their children to school from the council estate was only made possible because they were bribed with a free breakfast! There are a lot more people in Boston than fensiders and hospital workers - but very little was said of the majority of us. I WALKED into Boston this morning and the roads were filled with huge lorries carrying things that should be transported by the railways!! But no mention of the poor transport policies made over the years by successive politicians of all political persuasion that have left Boston in this mess. People do cycle in Boston but you do take your life in your own hands as there is a lack of cycle lanes within the town centre area. By the way I was not born and bred in Boston, I am quite a newcomer only moving to Boston from Manchester in 1989. Boston has a lot going for it and I would ask people not to judge Boston only on this one very biased programme.
I agree with you on some levels. Our country is just not set up on the whole for pedestrians, cyclists and bus journeys which has got to be government/council failure to address such an important issue. We have to be encouraged to make alternative journey plans. I find myself banging my head against a brick wall as I try to set up a walking bus to my local school. As mentioned in previous posts, bikes are banned in my school as are in many others. Medway council has not taken up the initiative that the rest of Kent has for cheaper bus journeys. In fact in this council area primary school children aren't allowed on buses without an adult. Not even if they are in year 6 and has an older sibling in high scool travelling with them. Miraculously children are expected to learn all of this information about buses and road safety in the six week holiday before high school. This puts an enormous pressure on parents who need to get back to work. I'm 34 and I remember children in primary school getting there under their own steam. I could go on and on about this subject, but I hope you get my point. As far as lazy people are concerned. I totally agree with that. More than half of the children who attend the same school that my children do, who live within a mile are driven to school. This, for the majority has got to be down to laziness. I undersyand that some parents have to go on to work, but they don't HAVE to park on the school road. Why not a short walk away? Becauses thet are lazy and they blame it on a multitude of other reasons, rain, bad back like the woman on last nights show, whatever, too many excuses. One more point while I'm on a role. Two high scools are just up the road from me, last week a pupil from one of the schools was run over. Since then one of the schools has stated that if any parents park in the bus stop, the children of those parents will get detention. Great idea, but it could go further. Parents from these schools park illegally every day. Double yellow lines, zig zags, even on pedetrian crossings. Everey day my chioldrens lives are put in danger because these SELFISH people can't stand to see their precious children walk a couple of hundred yards. traffic wardens come out ONCE A TERM if you can believe it. Like I say I feel that I'm fighting a loosing battle. I don't want to accept that this is just how it is like so many other people, so I will continue to hound the council about these matters. Just to clarify, I'm not a saint, I do drive, but I hope that I do it resposibly and not needlessly.
I completely agree that something should be done about the amount of cars on the roads, but as a long-distance commuter, travelling for over 3 hours per day by car, and I think there are limits to the amount of traffic that can be limited. However, I believe that no matter what happens, people will always find a way of using a car simply because of the freedom it gives and with bus and train services being very unreliable (particularly in my area), I don't think we're going to be seeing a change in the very near future.
However, saying this, I did find Kris' programme a wake up call to how selfish some people can be, particularly shown in last night's programme, even though she did manage to turn some of them around to doing the sensible thing of walking 10 minutes to school. I for one would walk if it was possible but it would take almost all day just to get one way!
On an off-topic subject, please could you tell me the name of the music used at the end of the programme with the stringed instruments?
I wish you the best of luck with turning around the rest of the country Kris, but I think the Government needs to be approached as well.
I live 23 miles from Boston, so have no choice but to commute every day. I think Kris was backing a looser right from the start to be honest for these reasons. 1) the public transport network in rural areas is nothing short of abysmal. 2) most people seem to work in the town but live outside Boston. 3) Boston is a commercial sea port. 4) the town is a crossroads for 2 main arterial roads, the A16 and the A52 and with only 2 bridges over the Witham, you ARE going to get congestion whichever way you look at it. As I see it, the ONLY way to reduce traffic in the town is a northern/eastern bypass, no if's, no but's. But 2013? Sounds like the Bypass Party got in under false pretences to me!
Also, on my way into Boston in the morning, I would guess that around 50% of pupils do actually walk to school, Fydell St, Fenside Rd, Norfolk St and Grand Sluice are full of kiddies around 8.30 and 3. If I need to go into town say at lunchtime, I walk, it's only a 5 minute walk from Norfolk St into town. Regarding the Pilgrim, Most folk who need to attend the hospital do so because they are ill, walking there is not an option for them. I do sympathise with the nurse who said that after a 12 or 14 hour shift, all she wanted was to get home, and at 2am, a car ride home is MUCH safer! Every week I read in the Boston Standard about the large number of immigrant workers who are driving around town with no licence, MOT or insurance, and most of them are over the drink/drive limit too. The good news is that they are getting caught, hopefully before they kill someone!
I completely agree that something should be done about the amount of cars on the roads, but as a long-distance commuter, travelling for over 3 hours per day by car, and I think there are limits to the amount of traffic that can be limited. However, I believe that no matter what happens, people will always find a way of using a car simply because of the freedom it gives and with bus and train services being very unreliable (particularly in my area), I don't think we're going to be seeing a change in the very near future.
However, saying this, I did find Kris' programme a wake up call to how selfish some people can be, particularly shown in last night's programme, even though she did manage to turn some of them around to doing the sensible thing of walking 10 minutes to school. I for one would walk if it was possible but it would take almost all day just to get one way!
On an off-topic subject, please could you tell me the name of the music used at the end of the programme with the stringed instruments?
I wish you the best of luck with turning around the rest of the country Kris, but I think the Government needs to be approached as well.
Andrew.
The music was a tune called 'F E A R' by Ian Brown (ex of The Stone Roses).
As someone who grew up in Lincolnshire (and went to school with Zoe!)I was pretty disappointed with the editorial values of this programme. Either they didn't research very well or actually (and this is my suspiscion) they actually went out to fail for entertainment reasons. Marlow Great! Boston Rubbish ! then round the series off with a victory.
The problem in Boston has very little to do with people who live in Boston. The fact is that Boston is a main shopping and business centre for a huge catchment area, an area with virtually no public transport. So many people who travelled into Boston that day from Wainfleet, Spilsby, New York (yes New York)etc etc probably didn't even know of the campaign.
I also think Kris made too much of the link between the car and obesety in Boston. The councillor who piped up was completely right, the biggest factor is that the average wage in Boston is one of the lowest in the country. Wages that are kept low by the supermarkets forcing down prices for vegitables and the influx of Eastern European labour willing to work for very low wages.
Kris also made no attempt to actually provide statistics as to how much traffic was through traffic and how much was from over 10 miles away, I think she'd probably have found that this accounted for a very large number of the cars in the town.
With regards to the hospital I would guess that at least 50% of the staff travel over 5 miles to the hospital (again with little option of public transport). And I certainly wouldn't advise them to cycle on a dark November day on roads clogged with vegitable haulage lorries.
Anyway, I now live and work nearer to Marlow and can confirm that it's back to being just as bad as ever!
.
.
It will then be necessary to show what has already been achieved on the continent by building cycle tracks and for that you would best be advised to see ‘a to b’ magazine issue 64 (latest copy) I refer of course to ‘Europe Special - the Low Countries’ but ‘Rental Bikes in Paris’ may be the way to go for us - yet this has received very little publicity by the media? If it is not already scheduled in either of the next two programmes perhaps something on these lines should be a ‘follow up’? In fact it would cost less to make a programme of this sort than many another (even with ‘celebs’) and would interest a growing number of viewers who may even be encouraged to have a go themselves. It will be ‘eco-friendly’ even if it succeeds in getting only a few more people out of their cars.
