BATTERY POWERED VEHICLES.... YES or NO?

[Altfish]

I don't see it like that .. here in the Midlands, the train company wanted to shut all the ticket offices
except 'Birmingham central', and put the onus onto the customer for getting tickets from
an alternative means .. ticket machine ( that often doesn't accept cash, and any problem dealt
with by post) or internet.

..so I guess I'm the problem, for not readily embracing the "brave new world" (of credit cards).

..so the train companies chase the poor customers i.e. the young and/or jobless .. and me .. a relatively
poor pensioner .. accusing them of "ticket avoidance", which I dare say is often true.

I'm caught up in the cross-fire, with train companies wanting to get rid of staff. They don't get rid
of their inspectors, of course .. and any guard has to do as they are told.


They just are not interested in conventional tickets any more.
I mean, why couldn't they sell a multi-journey ticket, that is clipped on each journey?
No .. they don't care about the convenience of the poor .. just those with credit cards.

The train companies were told by the DfT to cut costs in the ticketing, all of them proposed various closures of ticket offices.
I do agree about the problems for everything being digital though. A lot of people struggle.

Again it is the DfT pulling the strings.
In Manchester our Mayor is aiming for a tap-in, tap-out system across trains, trams and buses.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Public ownership of basic national utilities? The horror... where will it end... socialist lefty communist fascist anti-freedom supression of individual choice bollards bollards bollards...

Indeed. We must fight for the freedom to be bankrupted by medical bills, should we have the misfortune to get old or sick.

 

[Arnaud1221]

What about the repair cost? When I say electric car must be for the rich.

 

[Secret Chief]

Indeed. We must fight for the freedom to be bankrupted by medical bills, should we have the misfortune to get old or sick.

I claim my individual freedom of choice, unfettered by any oppressive totalitarian government and have decided not to get old or sick. Stick it to them leftys.

 

[oldbadger]

One thing to remember is that gasoline cars were not safe at all when they were first developed. Electric cars are in their infancy. And then there is the fact that we have to get off of fossil fuels sooner or later. If the choice is walking or an electric car which one will you choose? That is probably fifteen or twenty years away. But it is coming.

It's not the cars but the batteries that need to move far ahead.

If the choice is safety or a flaming explosive inferno I already know which one you would choose.

Yes, fossil fuel reduction will come for most, but I can still see a need for IC vehicles for emergency services, and who knows what military units might do?

 

[muhammad_isa]

All the Train Operating Companies were under pressure from the DfT to close ticket offices cut jobs, and push all ticket purchases online; but they lost that battle thanks to the excellent work of various Rail User Groups, blind and disabled lobbies, and the RMT. And now we have a new government committed to bringing the railways into public ownership..

Yes ..

Train companies were under pressure from the government to cut costs as passenger numbers were down following the pandemic. They had argued staff would be better used helping passengers in person, in other areas of the station adding that only 12% of tickets were now bought at station kiosks. The DfT had initially agreed, but then backtracked a year ago due to pressure from unions, as you say.

We will just all have to wait and see what happens next .. I notice Merseyrail has its own "rules", and
in a sense has always been independent.

 

[oldbadger]

EVs are almost to where I'd want one. But I can say I'm loving my Prius.

Enjoy!
There have been enough setbacks with EVs for you to stay with it.

 

[oldbadger]

Hey oldbadger I hope you and yours are well, happy and safe! Absolutely not the way of the future, new technologies will be available.

No good for us, as our next nearest town is over 400km away and we do day trips to a town 500 and 600km away, some time day trips to ones 680 and 760km away.

For work I have up to 720km round trips. Ifeel great by the way, as I hope you do. I would like 2 x electric trikes for my wife and I, to do some cruising out to the water lily holes.

Regards Tony

Hello Tony!
You've changed your name since I was last around (a year or more).

Yes, there's no point in folks who live in far and wide spaces thinking of EVs, sad to say. The only exception is where there are very clean smooth roads that could take lightweight solar powered machines, but if a traveller should need to leave those roads....failure!

 

[muhammad_isa]

I'm rejecting a lot of the brave new world. Found out from my wife the other day that if a train is cancelled you can't necessarily get on the next one any more. The cancelled one was Virgin but the next is Avanti?

Yes, I've had that as well .. increased 'small print' .. "only valid on certain services" bla bla.

Parked on a car park? Got the app for paying?

I haven't got a smart phone .. perhaps I'm not that smart.

 

[Secret Chief]

I haven't got a smart phone .. perhaps I'm not that smart.

I think we're nearly at the point where if you don't have a mobile you might as well just not go out

 

[Revoltingest]

If batteries can be more safe then they would be an amazing method of storing mobile power.

One 'thing' about lithium batteries that needs reviewing is the number of houses with solar voltaic panels that store collected energy in huge Lithium batteries. These really need to be located in stores outside and away from the main property but then there is a massive security risk because of their huge value.

My neighbours lithiums are in a cupboard next to her bedroom, lovely and safe until a regulator goes wrong or something like that. Having said that I haven't heard of such domestic tragedies.

A friend had a shed burn down
because batteries caught fire.

 

[oldbadger]

A friend had a shed burn down
because batteries caught fire.

A real shocker for sure.
Lithiums with 'sachet' or 'bagged' cells are usually the nasty ones, I'm told.
And voltage regulators sending power to lithiums from solar panels need to be checked regularly by capable engineers.