> You might not like the consequences of βthe presence and impact of busesβ
> but the tolerability is easy to check. Β Try standing next to a bus stop, or
> the controlled crossing at Catte Street, as the buses move away. Β And re
> Pippaβs comment β no β I have not ever suggested that bus services should
> stop, but they can have a markedly lesser impact if only the drivers and the
> companies would let themselves change behaviour.Β The power, speed and turbo
> noise of the buses has increased enormously in recent years, passengers have
> had some improvement in comfort, but perhaps are more likely to be shaken
> around as the power is turned on.
Before you mentioned it, it had never occurred to me that *anyone*
found the noise literally "intolerable"!
I can imagine if you lived right next to a bus stop, had no double
glazing, and a particularly sensitive nature, you might have a point -
but until today I've never heard anyone complain about the noise, and
I regularly stand next to bus stops. And I'd imagine that the
bendy-busses that were mooted for the high-street would have been less
freqent, but louder.
Therefore, as I say, I'd go out on a limb, and counterclaim that
"hardly anyone agrees that the presence and impact of buses in the
High (and elsewhere too) is intolerable".
> ...
> Private companies adjust service to be
> as economical as possible to deliver, the passenger comes second.
> Β Annoyingly, council-run services were also not perfect but the βsocial
> purposeβ behind public transport could be better provided for.
>
Well, I don't care who provides them, but I'd observe that currently,
on the busses, to get me and my partner into town and back on the
occasions if we decide to go out for the evening costs Β£5.60 (!).
Thise means that, basically, always drive. Epic Fail.
> The Transform Oxford claim to reduce numbers of buses could be reasonable.
> Changing bus, if you are not used to it, is a pain but many do have to
> change anyway.
That seems to me to be a bit like saying that some people don't have
electricity, so you shouldn't mind if we cut yours off...
> The service that once connected Headington and Summertown is
> (I think) no more so those passengers have a change to make.
Partially the reason I never go to summertown! I wonder if the
calculation is different, now there is a Waitrose here...
>
> Public transport can be a βgoodβ but not inevitably so! Β And the costs and
> benefits of living in the city are not entirely linear. Β If you go to
> (nearly) any place of the same size as Oxford in Denmark, The Netherlands,
> Germany, Switzerland to name a few, the noise in the centre will be less
> (not counting motor-traffic-free streets).Β Buses are rarely driven so
> aggressively and noisily, and two or three times as many journeys are made
> by bike.Β People can also walk more, even children, measurably different to
> the situation in the UK.
>
Often these comparisons are to cities with a purpose-built
infrastructure, built with public transport in mind from the outset
and (crucially) don't perform urban planning as if it were sim city.
I'd love a Headington->City tramway (or, if we're going to fantasize,
why not an underground railway). Not going to happen. Comparing the
end results in other places is pointless as you just can't get to
there from here. Equally well, I could point many other places in the
UK of the same size as Oxford and see that we may be underappreciating
just how good things are here! Why must always there be this
"something must be done" mentality.
>
>
> All these points you make are not black and white. Β I donβt think the
> colleges on the High or the businesses believe that their concerns are
> responded to by the Transport Planners etc.Β The colleges report appalling
> conditions for staff and students cycling in the High and the hotel reports
> complaints from people staying in the rooms or even on the footpath outside.
Of course not. Equally well, I can report some appaling cycling by
college staff and students.. But excuse me if I feel the residents of
Oxford and surrounds ought to have more of a say on the transport in
their city than visitors staying in Hotels, particularly ones who have
a problem with city noises, and yet book hotel rooms right in the
centre of a city!