[N1 plan off to shaky start] N1 Right hand lane stuff

[Paul_S]

Give the government some credit for trying stuff out. They do nothing we complain. They do something to make a change, we complain. This might not be the correct solution but at least they are trying.

They should at least try to do something that has the remote chance of working.

Anyone with half a pea brain could see this wasn't going to work before they even tried. People will stop complaining when they do something that actually works for a change.

 

[Leitmotif]

Paul... read my post. It *is* working.

 

[Angelo]

Give the government some credit for trying stuff out. They do nothing we complain. They do something to make a change, we complain. This might not be the correct solution but at least they are trying.

True, it just shows you that most people's problem is not really what the Government is doing but WHO the Government is, fortunately the leaders are aware of this phenomenom and know which "complaints" to take with a pinch of salt.

 

[Syndyre]

No it shows that due to the government's past actions they don't have very much credibility and so people will wait for results before they agree that something is a success.

 

[surface]

True, it just shows you that most people's problem is not really what the Government is doing but WHO the Government is, fortunately the leaders are aware of this phenomenom and know which "complaints" to take with a pinch of salt.

You said it, for some people sadly, WHO is the problem.

Anyways, it is too early to decide whether this idea is successful or not. But as Paul_S & Angelo says they are trying. At least in company where I work, it has started some debate (quite acrimonious sometimes blaming the WHO's) and there is talk of arranging liftclubs, which I believe was one of the objective behind the scheme. Like glass full/empty, you can look at this as incentive to people forming lift clubs or you can look at it as a punishment for other people to drive alone, your choice.

 

[surface]

You said it, for some people sadly, WHO is the problem.

Anyways, it is too early to decide whether this idea is successful or not. But as Paul_S & Angelo says they are trying. At least in company where I work, it has started some debate (quite acrimonious sometimes blaming the WHO's) and there is talk of arranging liftclubs, which I believe was one of the objective behind the scheme. Like glass full/empty, you can look at this as incentive to people forming lift clubs or you can look at it as a punishment for other people to drive alone, your choice.

grrr.. I meant glass half-full/half-empty.

 

[diabolus]

Paul... read my post. It *is* working.

Well you might have missed the part where the R55 and R21 and every other alternaive road is now overloaded with traffic. So N1 might look "ok" , not because people are suddenly joining lift clubs but because they are driving alternate routes.

I also assume if you are in a 3-passenger car and driving in the HOV lane it will be "working" for YOU [open road] , but not for the rest in the middle lane.

Either way, worth trying i guess. But a few things are missing to make it work...but it might result in this "opportunities" popping up.
--> i.e. Shuttles [same as taxis] driving in the more middle class areas . Taxis are still focused on the Townships, if you get some taxi-companis focussed on the bulk of car-owning-people [i.e. not living in townships and do not want to go near a taxi rank or stand next to a highway to get picked up] , you might have something going.

 

[icyrus]

Doesn't matter why, but it *is* working. The ride in to work was great, and traffic is moving all the way, except for a short patch near New road. I come in from Centurion to Midrand, and there's a lot of Metro out there enforcing the rules. A *lot*.

Maybe it's that the transport department is serious about their plan, maybe people are just adjusting their schedules for the expected traffic and it's now becoming more evenly spread. I just know that I rarely see the N1 this good in the morning, especially when there's Metro on it.

Thumbs up Transport dept.!

I just use that highway for a few offramps in Jhb and I can tell you that the traffic has been an absolute mess this week. Much much worse than before.

 

[icyrus]

True, it just shows you that most people's problem is not really what the Government is doing but WHO the Government is, fortunately the leaders are aware of this phenomenom and know which "complaints" to take with a pinch of salt.

You need to remember that the government officials are not your rulers but your servants. You also need to remember that your vote counts just as much as mine or anyone elses. The government has no problem taking the people you mention's taxes so they must consider their views as much as they would anyone elses.

Your arrogance is astounding.

 

[Leitmotif]

Strange, Monday was a cock-up, but yesterday and today have been fine. If people are using alternate routes, at least it means that the load is more spread. People are starting to think about traffic rather than accepting it as a fact of life. This is a step forward.

Incidentally, I ride a bike. Means I pass a lot of traffic, and get a pretty broad view of what's going on right down the freeway.

 

[Pitbull]

Paul... read my post. It *is* working.

Any one want to bet that this will change once the Metrocops don't patrol that area any more.... ?

 

[orin76]

Any one want to bet that this will change once the Metrocops don't patrol that area any more.... ?

I don't travel that stretch of road on weekdays, but I was wondering where the high number of metro cops other posters have mentioned came from. It seems logical that an increase in metro concentrations in one area means a decrease in other areas. Has anyone noticed if there are now less speed traps in other areas of Jo'burg (i.e. the M2 or N3)? If so, the N1 might be slowing down, but the rest of JHB will be speeding up

Just a thought.

 

[killadoob]

i was driving back from midrand this morning at around 7:35 i was in the fast lane doing 135, thinking to myself wtf is everyone in the other 3 lanes, i was the only one in the car


then i spoke to my work buddie and told me they had changed it and that you can only drive in the fast lane with 3 or more ppl rofl

man was a bit surprized i thought the shoulder lane was for 3 ppl

 

[Paul_S]

Like glass full/empty, you can look at this as incentive to people forming lift clubs or you can look at it as a punishment for other people to drive alone, your choice.

Or you can look at it as a failure of government to face up to the facts and do something useful with our tax money.
You know ... like actually be responsible for a change instead of looking after their own interests.

Our roads are going down the tube yet the government are racking in huge amounts of tax money.
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2007507,00.html
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20061007085401872C472545

Total tax revenue for the 1990/1991 financial year was R 71,798 million.
Total tax revenue for the 2004/2005 financial year was R 354,980 million.

Call me a pessimist if you will but is it too much to expect good governance and wise allocation of our tax money?

 

[kingrob]

i was driving back from midrand this morning at around 7:35 i was in the fast lane doing 135, thinking to myself wtf is everyone in the other 3 lanes, i was the only one in the car


then i spoke to my work buddie and told me they had changed it and that you can only drive in the fast lane with 3 or more ppl rofl

man was a bit surprized i thought the shoulder lane was for 3 ppl

Oh, it was you?

*Were you driving the souped-up Palio?

 

[killadoob]

what did a loaf of bread cost in 1990

what does it cost now? a kuk load more

Total tax revenue for the 1990/1991 financial year was R 71,798 million.
Total tax revenue for the 2004/2005 financial year was R 354,980 million.

not sure if the same applies but i would imagine the tax collected in 1990 wouldnt be close to the tax now

firslty because how many black ppl had decent jobs and paid tax?
did black ppl pay tax? (if they did it was tiny amount who did)

Now there are millions of black ppl earning taxable money (well alot more than in boer government)

so it makes sense that figure would be so much higher


just a thought

 

[Paul_S]

Does it really cost a lot more now than back then if one factors in the interest rate?
Don't forget that the apartheid economy was a lot weaker with the sanctions and yet we still managed to build a decent highway.

At R4 million per km (last figure I heard) we could lay a new 6 lane (each direction) tar highway between PTA and JHB for about 1.2 billion. That's excluding the interchanges and bridge building of course.
What's the Gautrain costing now? 20 billion last time I looked.

Now tell me what will be more beneficial :
Twice the capacity on the highway or a train ride with no way for people to get around once they're at work?

 

[surface]

QUOTE - It's bleeding obvious. Provide a cheap, reliable public transport service, and people WILL leave their cars at home ! It's not rocket science.

--------------
NO, I am not talking about SA. This is a message on a bbc messageboard

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/england/F2770282?thread=1335078&phrase="Beds%20Herts%26Bucks"

Having visited England few times, I have experienced that their public transport is reasonably good.

Conclusion - People will *moan* about government everywhere no matter what circumstances??

 

[supersunbird]

QUOTE - It's bleeding obvious. Provide a cheap, reliable public transport service, and people WILL leave their cars at home ! It's not rocket science.

Thats so right.

They still havent banned trucks on the highway . They should ban trucks for the hours HOV lane in active...