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Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

My parents in Putney in a much larger home pay a lot less council
Tax than I do in Cambridge. So I reckon I pay more to support TfL
through my general taxes than they do.

That's because they're in the London Borough of Wandsworth, famous
for setting a zero poll tax, and which still has a very low
council tax rate. I assume that by some quirk of government
funding, LBW have managed to get an extremely favourable deal. If
your parents were across the river in Fulham, their council tax
would be 83% higher (or 90% higher if they're not subject to the
Commons rate).

Yet total local government spending in Wandsworth is some 50% higher
than in Cambridge. It's corrupt.

I thought the Commons rate was banded by distance from the commons,
BTW? My parents have always paid but I thought not in the highest
band.

I wasn't aware of it until I looked up the rates on the Wandsworth site
tonight. There seems to be one Commons rate (per council tax band) that
applies IIRC within 0.75 miles of the Putney/Wimbledon common and within
the old parish of Putney.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

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"Clive" wrote in message ...
In message , TKD writes
Its economy does :)
Go North/East/South/West young man. Grow up a bit, then you, might be worth listening to.
--
Clive

Can't take a joke? I've lived and worked in the north east as well as London and
seen how derelict factory has given way to service industry. This doesn't change
the fact that London is the powerhouse that drives our economy and everywhere
else is secondary. Trying to suggest otherwise is immature.

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In message , at 00:05:22 on
Sat, 8 Oct 2005, Phil Richards
remarked:
If the employee leaves (or is dismissed) before the
end of the repayment period despite having no doubt signed a contract to
say they must repay the loan in full, I'm sure some slip through the net.

There are two obvious ways round this.

Make it a condition that when leaving employment you return the card
(the employer can then get a refund of at least the majority of the
outstanding fare). If the employee fails to do this, report them to the
police just as you would if they absconded with a company car.

And/or: Don't hand over their final month's money, or any severance pay,
until the matter is resolved.
--
Roland Perry

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On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 20:02:39 +0200, "tim \(moved to sweden\)"
wrote:


"James Farrar" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 18:43:40 +0200, "tim \(moved to sweden\)"
wrote:



So you're already choosing to pay more.

No you are not. Anyone with any sense does not buy a monthly
pass to cover their 2 week xmas and summer break

Assuming you take your holiday as such. In my experience most people
take their holiday entitlement in more than two blocks.

You know a weird set of 'most' people.

IME most people have 2 weeks off at Xmas because their
employer gives them no choice.

Absolutely no people I know - and that cover a wide variety of jobs -
gets that. Just about the closest would be employers who shutdown
from XmD to NYD, which is only 8-10 days depending on when the
weekends fall, although of course 5-7 of those days are weekends or
bank holidays.

And most people take 2 (or more) weeks holiday in the
summer/easter when the kids are off school.

It may have escaped your notice, but there are more households in the
country _without_ children than those with. Also, not everyone takes
two-week holidays, kids or not.

I guess if you work in retail (or hospitality) it's different, but
I would be suprised if almost every one else didn't fit the above.

I would suggest that if you work in just about every sector it's
different., and that you're just wrong.

--
Nick Cooper

[Carefully remove the detonators from my e-mail address to reply!]

The London Underground at War, and in Films & TV:
http://www.nickcooper.org.uk/

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On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 08:31:59 +0100, U n d e r a c h i e v e r
wrote:

On 4/10/05 8:39 pm, in article
. com, "Mizter T"
wrote:

in cash single fares on the Tubes and buses, but the BBC News story
story contains the critical information on how to avoid these fares
increases. And that is to ***get an Oyster card and start using the Pre
Pay system to pay for single fares on the Tubes and buses***.

It is that simple.

Not if you get on the bus and find you are out of credit.

How is this different from getting on a bus and finding you are out of
money?

Or if you mislay your oyster.

How is this different from mislaying your wallet/purse?

Or if you rarely use public transport in London at all. Cash
fares are your only option; they should not be a rip off.

My mother lives in Newcastle. She visits London a few times a year.
She has an Oyster card (and it's registered!). It's not rocket
science.
--
Nick Cooper

[Carefully remove the detonators from my e-mail address to reply!]

The London Underground at War, and in Films & TV:
http://www.nickcooper.org.uk/

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On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 07:25:20 GMT,
(Nick Cooper) wrote:

But that would only be a short-term "problem." Once the vast majority
have Oysters, ticket-office custom will be a lot lower.

I doubt most people familiar with the Tube enough to have, and keep,
an Oystercard will use the ticket office. The queues are usually of
those new to London. I doubt the queues will reduce at all.

For those stupid enough not to use Oyster.

As I keep saying, and several posters keep ignoring, those not
*familiar enough with London* to use Oyster.

I am amazed that people keep defending the current situation, and
won't even accept proposed improvements to the Oyster system that
could mean it being quite sufficient to replace the paper system
completely.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

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On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 13:45:19 +0100, Paul Terry
wrote:

They claim no such thing. They claim that Oyster is of no used for
occasional travel to London, since pre-pay is not accepted on most of
the national rail network.

Correct. I also "claim" that it would be possible to modify the
Oyster system by way of "vending" machines, return machines (if a
disposable card is not feasible) and better instruction and
explanation posters in multiple languages in order to remove the need
for paper tickets at all.

Some people appear to be ignoring this, and branding anyone who
doesn't think the *current* Oyster system is ready for this[1]
anti-Oyster. This is clearly not the case.

[1] And because it isn't, feel that a punitive single fare (which is
what it is) is inappropriate.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

New Fares
 

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 09:25:11 +0100, "TKD" wrote:

People not from London can stop complaining too. Londoners deserve
cheaper fares, in fact we pay in part for the costs of the Underground
through our council tax so I'm perfectly happy to no longer subsidise
tourists and visitors who, for whatever reason, do not adopt Oyster.

OK. Would you like to pay higher fares on other cities' public
transport systems, such as the heavily-subsidised systems in German
cities, or indeed Merseyrail in Liverpool, which is the second
highest-subsidised per passenger mile national rail franchise in the
country, and I wouldn't be surprised if higher than LUL?

No, I didn't think so. Public transport is for the public, not just
for local people, though the actions of some provincial bus companies
(or more the inactions) may make you think otherwise.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

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On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 00:09:05 +0100, Arthur Figgis
] wrote:

The Dutch Strippenkaart is in the process of being replaced by a
national all-modes smart card, but I believe it is delayed because of
various problems with it. Denmark has just awarded the same people a
contract for a national smart card.

I wonder if the new scheme will include NS trains, as the
Strippenkaart doesn't, for some reason I completely fail to understand
in the land of "integrated" passenger transport ticketing.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

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On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 10:18:50 +0100, Paul
wrote:

The Dutch Strippenkaart system makes Oyster seem easy!

Does it? I'd say they're about the same - Oyster wins in some cases,
while the Strippenkaart does in others.

Never could work them out. 1 strip or 2?

1 "base strip" plus one per zone crossed. Leaflets showing the zones
are easily available, or just tell the bus driver where you're going
and he'll do it for you. (Trams are more complicated but you can
often talk to the driver of those, or there's a conductor).

To complicate matters slightly, you can mark one as a day ticket by
marking a certain number of strips (I can't recall how many) on a
large one.

How long does it last for,

2 fare changes, I think, which is basically a year. (This is the bit
I do find complicated - an expiry date would be preferable).

where's the cheapest place to buy them etc.

Same price everywhere, AFAIAA, though they do come in different sizes.
In general, the more strips, the cheaper.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.