A daily congestion charge? How is this collected? At the gas pumps? Yowza! What is a normal drive to work?
Many people here drive quite a ways to their place of employment, say from the west end of the city to downtown, about 30 minutes drive time or from one city to the other, 45 min to an hour. Others, and this is probably the norm, drive 15-20 minutes to work. But our traffic hours are still moving traffic. You may sit at one intersection light for three or four turns, but you move through.
I remember a visit to London and our taxi driver said something about cameras that take pictures of the license plates and then they mail you a bill for the Congestion charge. Do they really do that Michelle? He said he just plain doesn't drive his personal car inside London at anytime because of the expense.
Dennis just got back from India last night and said I wouldn't survive the traffic. No rules-it's every man for himself. Very expensive gas there too. He said he would be smiling to himself and his driver would ask what was so funny. He told them he was imagining his wife's reaction to driving around Bangalore and Delhi. I would have my eyes closed the entire time. :-)
Yup Britain has the most expensive petrol in the world.
ReplyDeleteIt is basically $2 for a litre of petrol, not a gallon, a litre. Most of this tax.
On top of this, if you happen to live in London (which I don't) you have a daily conjestion charge. And public transport is overcrowded.
Be grateful for small things.
A daily congestion charge? How is this collected? At the gas pumps? Yowza! What is a normal drive to work?
ReplyDeleteMany people here drive quite a ways to their place of employment, say from the west end of the city to downtown, about 30 minutes drive time or from one city to the other, 45 min to an hour. Others, and this is probably the norm, drive 15-20 minutes to work. But our traffic hours are still moving traffic. You may sit at one intersection light for three or four turns, but you move through.
They have smart cards and have to show them at certain points. The charge is then deducted. There is a system of fines if people don't comply.
ReplyDeleteLuckily I don't live in London, but the whole thing is a nightmare. London in general is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
I remember a visit to London and our taxi driver said something about cameras that take pictures of the license plates and then they mail you a bill for the Congestion charge. Do they really do that Michelle? He said he just plain doesn't drive his personal car inside London at anytime because of the expense.
ReplyDeleteDennis just got back from India last night and said I wouldn't survive the traffic. No rules-it's every man for himself. Very expensive gas there too. He said he would be smiling to himself and his driver would ask what was so funny. He told them he was imagining his wife's reaction to driving around Bangalore and Delhi. I would have my eyes closed the entire time. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness! I wouldn't survive either. I get really frustrated with people who don't follow the rules, so having NO RULES!? ARGH!
ReplyDeleteWell, that settles it. I will NOT be moving to London :)
ReplyDelete