Why I Don’t Use Taxis
Coming back from Ipswich yesterday, the 141 and 21 buses had gone walkabout and the stop was missing. So I took a black cab.
But the driver was well past his best and got rather lost, so the fare cost me £4 more than it should. And I still had to walk about a kilometre at the end.
Is there a retirement age for taxi drivers? If there isn’t there should be!
Greek Travel Costs
I found this article, entitled Is it cheaper to put Greek train passengers in taxis? on the BBC’s web site.
They come up with figures that show if there are more than two passengers, the taxi is cheaper.
And these figures ignore the fact that Greek Railways have borrowed €9 billion, which is all guaranteed by the Greek government.
The Unwelcoming Face of Addison Lee
I’ve never used a mini-cab in London, as usually when I need a taxi, I’m in a place where I can flag an empty black cab down. I also live close to the route back to the City, that is usually taken by black cabs. So when it is raining and say I need a black cab for the theatre, it’s only a few seconds before one appears.
So I doubt I would ever need one of the forthright John Griffin’s mini-cabs from Addison Lee.
A few days ago, he was urging his drivers to use bus lanes. As a very regular bus user, I am against this and am pleased to see that Transport for London is taking action according to this report.
Now he has had a go against cyclists. Again it is reported on the BBC. The comments here are mild compared to some sites I’ve looked at.
As some of their mini-cabs sometimes hang around my area, I had thought about possibly using them. But not now! How could I be sure, that I would get what I paid for?
I also find mini-cabs and some may be from Addison Lee a nuisance in the West End, when I’m trying to get my bus home from the theatre. Some tend to block the pavements and junctions, when they are waiting for their passengers.
I would not be bothered if wardens decided to clamp down on this illegal practice.
So I’ll stick to the reliable 38 bus and the occasional black cab.
The Rising Cost of Fuel
I can’t say I’m bothered, as I don’t drive anymore after my stroke. I think though, if I still lived on my stud in Suffolk in the middle of nowhere, by now I’d be thinking of getting an electric car or at least a small hybrid.
The trouble is that people are unwilling to change their lifestyles to suit the circumstances we all live in.
I don’t regret not having a car anymore. I don’t get ripped off by fuel costs, insurance scams, unfair parking rules and congestion charges and I get to most places just as quick as if I drove. My monthly expenses have dropped drammatically!
And of course, if I need too, I can always use a taxi. I haven’t used one in London for someting like six months.
92 Clubs – Week 4 – 11 Clubs – 18 Trains
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25 Day 26 Day 27 Day 28
This was a rather poor performance on my part, but it had got off to rather a bad start on Day 22 and I did take three days off.
Here are the awards.
Heroes of the Week
These have to be Peter, who at 84, guided me across Manchester to Oldham and the unknown driver of the 14:06 out of Paddington to Penzance, that I took to Plymouth.
Most Surprising Stadium of the Week
It has to be Port Vale, as it shows how a small club can create a stadium of whom any supporter can be proud.
Best Stadium of the Week
I’d give this to Port Vale as well, if it wasn’t so difficult to get to. I might give it to Norwich, but then I can’t, can I? Both the Nottingham clubs have good stadia, which are easy to get to, but the others with the exception of Peterborough, are public transport nightmares. So I think I’ll leave the award! in a few years time or on a match day, it will probably go to Port Vale.
Best Signposted Stadium of the Week
Portsmouth virtually has its own station at Fratton and even has separate signs to the ground for Home and Away Supporters, so it wins by a country mile.
Worst Signposted Stadium of the Week
Peterborough virtually lacks signposting and as it is fairly close to the station, some signs would help. But as I said on Day 27, the stadium is very much a work-in-progress, so perhaps it will be very much better in a few years time. I think I’ll give it to Northampton, as with a bit of thought, they could probably make a nice walking route to the ground.
Dump of the Week
After a couple of near misses Manchester finally gets the rewa4rd it deserves. It is a city with bad maps, no information and a completely indecipherable bus system. Perhaps some of the billions, they are spending on the new trams could be used to make sure the buses work or that the maps are correct.
Sign of the Week
It just has to be the one at Port Vale.
Best Train of the Week
The High Speed Train to Plymouth, where I sat on on the floor.
Worst Train of the Week
The two trains to Oxford, where there was no tables in the back of the seats in front. How can I do my Sudoku?
Worst Bus of the Week
The one I took from Boundary Park to Oldham Bus Station. If you were in a wheelchair or had a baby in a buggy, you ewouldn’t have been able to use it.
This was rather a dissappointing week, in that I could have done much more. I could make the excuse of my hay fever! So I will!
92 Clubs – Day 27 – Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth
If I’d chosen different trains to go to Oxford, this day could have been subtitled a day of six HSTs or Inter City 125s, but time was tight, if I was to get back to London at a reasonable hour.
Oxford, must surely be one of the most difficult stadia to get to from the town centre, even if you have a car. And if you do, you have to actually drive along the by-pass where there are queues of traffic. Of all the taxis I have taken to get to and from grounds, Oxford was by far the most expesive.
Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium
Oxford‘s stadium is just a rather anonymous pile stuck by the Science Park. I will not be sad, if I never ever go there again. It should be said, that Oxford is not noted for its wonderful traffic systems, as every time I go, it always seems to be totally gridlocked. A couple of years ago, I went there to play real tennis and walked to the court from the station. It would appear that or a bicycle is the only sane way to get about. If ever a city needed a second or parkway station it is Oxford.
Peterborough was a very different kettle of fish and it was just a short run in a High Speed Train to the city and then about 15 minutes walk.
Peterborough’s London Road Stadium
I should say that the walk could be made easier, but I suspect that as the ground is still not finished, that this will come later.
I was soon back on another HST to Kings Cross and then it was on the Circle Line to Paddington for Plymouth.
Sitting in Style on a First Great Western HST
I had been unable to get a seat online, so I just bought an Off Peak Return and made the best of what was available, as the picture shows.
I should say that it wasn’t that uncomfortable and I got a seat from Taunton, when the train started to clear. I wouldn’t like to sit like that in a Pendolino, as they certainly don’t ride like forty-year old HSTs.
It did look like it was all going to go pear-shaped, as the train had been delayed at Paddington for about fifteen minutes by a fault and this meant it had got stuck behind a stopping train along the Devon Coast. We were nearly thirty minutes late at Totnes and it was starting to look like I’d miss the 18:00 back to London. But then driver got a clear line and let the HST go, so much so that it was only twenty minutes late at Plymouth, giving me just ten minutes to get to the stadium and back.
Outside Home Park
As you can see I made it.
I did get a seat all the way back, but the train was late due to someone falling under a train at Reading West station.
But if the day did prove one thing, it was that the stopgap Intercity 125 is a superb train. But then I know that, having been through the Highlands at 90 mph.
There are plans to make sure these trains continue for a few years yet. Who’s to say that in the 2060s, they won’t be a tourist attraction in their own right, as they speed passengers to the West Country. Probably to the consternation of politicians, who can find all sorts of reasons to not use a what would be then be a nearly ninety year old train. After all, I doubt that electrifying this line to Plymouth will ever be done.
Getting Between Kings Cross/St. Pancras and Euston
London’s three major stations that serve the North and of course the Continent; Kings Cross, St. Pancras and Euston, are all close together on the Euston Road.
The first has been superbly rebuilt, the second is approaching the end of a major redevelopment and they now share probably the best Underground station in London. But Euston is rather isolated from the other two, with several ways to get between them.
- You can take a rather unpleasant walk along the busy Euston Road.
- You can use the Metropolitan or Circle lines, but this means a walk to or from Euston Square at the Euston end.
- You can dive into the Underground and take the Victoria or Northern lines, but it is not step free at the Euston end, and not recommended with a heavy case. Both deep stations are also easy places to get lost or confused.
- Going from Euston to Kings Cross or St. Pancras is quite easy by bus 30, 73, 205 or 476, which you catch in front of Euston station, but the reverse journey means you have to cross Euston Road twice.
- There are of course taxis. But not everyone can afford them.
As I had time to spare at Kings Cross, before I caught my train to Hartlepool, I decided to investigate and found a map which showed there was a fairly simple direct walking route that avoided the pollution and traffic of the Euston Road.
I started by walking through St. Pancras station and exited by the cab rank onto Midland Road, with the intention of going down Brill Place.
Crossing Midland Road
There is a light controlled crossing, but it is rather blocked by badly placed railings and the cab rank. Brill Place, which is the start of the road to Euston is on the left.
Brill Place is flanked on one side by the new Francis Crick Institute and on the right, there is a small pleasant park, which could provide an oasis from the crowds in the stations.
Brill Place
Brill Place itself, is not a grotty dusty road lined by parked cars, but a wide tree-lined avenue that leads on to Phoenix Road.
Towards Pheonix Road
At the end of Phoenix Road, you just cross Eversholt Street on one of the two pedestrian crossings and you walk down the road to Euston station.
The advantages of the route are as follows.
- The route is virtually flat.
- It would be easy trailing quite a large case.
- There are only two major roads to cross and both have light-controlled pedestrian crossings.
- There is the park, which would as I said before, be a better place to eat a packed meal than the station.
- You do pass a few shops and a reasonable-looking pub.
But there are disadvantages.
- The route is not signposted.
- The barriers at the St. Pancras end are wrongly placed.
- The side entrance to Euston station could be better.
So how would I make it better, so that in effect we had one super station for the north.
- I’d start with sign-posting. The posts are there at the St. Pancras end already.
- Perhaps, it should be marked on the ground, as a Kings Cross/St. Pancras to Euston walking route.
- You might even provide some eco-friendly transport along the route, like an electric shuttle bus or bicycle rickshaws.
- A couple of suitably placed Boris bike stations would help too.
- Shops and cafes should be developed along the road. There are some already.
To me though, this is one of those things that will happen. But probably first in a very unofficial way, as how many of those that work in the Francis Crick Institute will commute into Euston and walk there? It won’t be a small number.
It took me about fifteen minutes to do the walk and I just got a 205 bus back to Kings Cross for my train from the front of Euston station.
92 Clubs – A Change of Rules
The last few days have been very tiring. Especially when it rains.
So there are two rule changes.
- I will now use taxis, especially as the driver often makes an excellent cameraman for the picture.
- I’m not sure about this, but achieving all the grounds in a month may just be impossible. So I’ll attempt to set a record, by carrying on into November if required.
Is this a retrograde step?
The alternative would be to use hotels more often, but then that woud be expensive.
Lord Winston says nurses need good English
He’s absolutely right here, but it also applies to lots of other professions as well.
I also think, that a couple of hundred years ago, others were complaining about Lord Winston’s ancestors in the same way, when they first came to the UK!
The solution is simple. People should not be allowed to practice in many professions, without a proper knowledge of English. I rarely use taxis and never use mini-cabs. With the latter, you never know what or who you are going to get. In the case of taxis and minicabs, all drivers should be subject to various tests and checks.
Perhaps black cab drivers could also have proficiency tests in other languages they know. So let’s say a Spanish fsmily staying in Londonwanted a Spanish-speaking taxi, this could be booked over the phone. I suspect that in London, there are quite a good few taxi drivers with pretty good Spanish, French, Polish and Russian for a start. I did have a Chinese driver once somewhere in the UK.
Getting Home From IKEA
The trip back from IKEA with the things I’d bought, was the second easiest ever. The easiest was when my son brought me in his car, but as he only has a proper mini, that isn’t easy, if I have bought a lot.
IKEA provided me with a large minicab with a cheery and helpful driver from Edmonton to Dalston for just a score. As to get what I’d bought delivered after an Internet shop would have been more, I’ll count that as value.
The Anonymous Widower 