NeedforSwede2 wrote in ed.general about: Re: Forth Road Bridge - Voucher Replacement
Hmm, let me see..
40 pbuttenger (typical) bus load, length = 12 m 40 single-occupant cars, length = 40 x 5m = 200 m (not including spacing)
For each 'bus-worth' of commuters, you can add one of the above distances to the length of the "blockage" that is between you and your destination.
Well, it's not hard to work out which of these I'd rather be behind. One makes barely any difference to any queue of traffic, the other doesn't.
The "delay" caused by one bus, perhaps 10 seconds. The delay caused by 40 cars probably prevents the following (ie, 41st) vehicle from not getting through the first traffic light junction in one go, and the second, and quite possibly the third..
Multiply by the length of the urban commute, and that's quite a difference in overal "delay".
When you consider that Edinburgh also has priority bus lanes on almost all routes into the city, and Park & Ride sites almost all around the city, it's a no-brainer.
There's a time and a place where cars can be useful. Commuting into the city usually isn't it.
Regular use of the Ferrytoll bus link costs about GBP 3.40 if used only on workdays (even less if also used at weekends). Adding in a Lothian transport system, they'd throw that in for free for regular users, or have Lothian Buses running to Ferrytoll) only costs an extra pound or so a day. I dare say when the savings in petrol costs and wear-and-tear of city driving (and not having to pay the bridge toll) are factored in, it works out rather cheaper than driving.
-- È Please trim quotes & interleave reply for readability, don't be lazy Ç È Please feel free to help me by correcting my foreign language errors Ç
