While there's been a lot of commentary on the British Airways strikes, the analysis (whether pro-company or pro-union) tends to miss two major points. The business model is unsustainable - but that's the management's fault, not the unions' BA’s model before the global financial crisis was to charge a fortune for excellent service in Club … Continue reading Those British Airways strikes
Category: Transport
Lord Adonis's retort to Boris on the Tube Lines PPP arbitration is quite superb: Under devolution, it is for the Mayor and TfL to deliver the Tube upgrades within their generous budget - not for me to bail them out if they fail to do so. If Boris wants me to take charge of TfL … Continue reading We love Admiral Scrumptious
In general, the New South Wales drivers theory test is a Bumper Book of Common Sense. However, I'm disappointed by question FD035: FD035 - Fatigue and Defensive Driving RUH You are driving an older relative for an appointment and are running late. They ask you to go faster to get there on time. You should … Continue reading Disappointing bureaucrats
From Ars Technica, enlightening the 'net neutrality' debate, a piece on the corrupt institutions and robber barons who hijacked the Victorian equivalent of the Internet. This digression was interesting: The result was the infamous Credit Mobilier scandal of the 1870s... Rather than license the construction of the Union Pacific railroad to an independent contractor, its … Continue reading Mmm, tempura morays
From CiF: We managed to add a 5th terminal to Heathrow without too many problems - apart from some lost baggage in the immediate aftermath; which, while tiresome, was hardly a showstopper. Trouble is, with our infinite capacity to see the negative, this was seen as some kind of apocalyptic proof of how useless we … Continue reading British negativism versus reality
In the last couple of weeks, Boris Johnson has done three good things that I can remember: * Allegedly had a row with David Cameron about Crossrail, taking London's side * Endorsed cycling home after a couple of beers * Supported restarting tours of London's disused Tube stations Meanwhile, I can't think of anything bad … Continue reading Must… not… like… pretend… buffoon
Following this research into GE-made Airbus engines cutting out in ice, he say: So far as the GE-powered AF 447 is concerned, the potential woes go on mounting: * Dodgy AF training for weather * Failure to change course for weather * Sensors buggered by extreme temperature and/or turbulence * Avionics gave up - handed … Continue reading Our aviation correspondent writes in
I think pretty much everything in my RMT piece from last summer still applies today. Note in particular: 1) Low turnout and non-spectacular majority indicating this is a Crow effort not grassroots; 2) Tories using the RMT's intransigence to lobby for (even) more draconian public sector anti-strike rules; 3) DLR, Thameslink, Overground are all working … Continue reading Old Crow from the archives
Inspired specifically by this piece, but more generally by the dozens of such pieces, left and right, which perpetuate ludicrous myths about the cost of travelling on the trains. The fact is, in Great Britain, train fares rise at a couple of percentage points above inflation every year. This isn't surprising - most of the … Continue reading Generic response to generic ‘oh no, the trains are so expensive’ wittering
Quoth our illustrious mayor (via): I am informed that, thankfully, there have been no fatal accidents arising from collisions between cyclists and articulated buses in London since the introduction of articulated vehicles. Serious incidents are defined by TfL as those where a cyclist may have required treatment, including in hospital. There was one serious incident … Continue reading Evidence-based policymaking