As my last post was about speed cameras, and how I've always had that gnawing sensation that some of the arguments against them have more to do with the fact that they stop people driving as fast as they like, and less to do with questions about their effectiveness or money making abilities. As it sort of relates to the topic, I have decided to reprint in full, a bizarre blog entry by Peter Roberts, the founder of the preposterous right wing think tank, the TaxPayers Alliance. The TPA combines hard line free market economics, with semi-Burkean conservatism - which can often be contradictory in terms. This means they are perfect to get a suitably outraged soundbite in all the right wing press, when PC "goes mad", or when some innocuous tax raise is mentioned. There has been speculations to how much this surprisingly internally secretive think tank influences the Tories, but they are usually pretty coy on that topic. No, this post on how much Roberts hates buses, lays bare how obsessed some of these ultra laisses faire libertarians can be. I believe there are some people who are so inclined to this sort of philosophy, that they see all manifestations of statism, as universally bad, in all circumstances and contexts. This almost pathological belief permeates the entire article. So here it is in full.
"I hate buses
I hate buses, I really do hate them.
I hate them because they are so uncomfortable, I hate them because they rattle, stink and are sweat dripping hot torture chambers in the hot weather. I hate them because the driver cannot turn the heating off even when the outside temperature is 28deg and inside is 38deg plus. I hate them because they are so slow and trundle all over the place before letting you off. I really hate them because they are loved by the environmental zealots who think it is OK to cook passengers in tin with the heating on in the middle of summer and I hate them because they are an environmental catastrophe.
Buses are the biggest gas guzzlers on the roads. They burn diesel at the rate of a gallon every 3 to 4 miles and chuck out 1.8kg of C02 for every km travelled. A decent family car emits about 155g which is more than 10 times less.
Oh, but the public transport advocates will tell you a bus carries more passengers so they are good for both you and the environment, but the average number of people on a bus is just 9 and the car carries an average of 1.6. This means a bus passenger emits 200g of CO2 per km whilst a car occupant 97g.
I hate buses because the industry behind them is spinning the argument in favour of public transport over the car and using lies, damn lies and statistics to stake their claims. I hate public transport because the companies fund anti-car pressure groups to try and make cars the environmental pariah whilst claiming the bus/train is the solution to all our problems. I hate the bus because their backers conspire to remove parking spaces, increase parking charges, introduce speed cameras and reduce speed limits.
I hate buses because they hold up lines of traffic whilst stopping every few hundred yards at a stop and I hate them because I have to suffer their stink when behind them or when they pass by.
And finally I hate buses because they are the symbol of a socialist society where people rely on
the state to provide transport.
I believe we should encourage aspiration and ambition and to make our own way in life. Owning a car offers freedoms and opportunities bus passengers can only dream of and the car is the most efficient form of transport there is."
Strong stuff indeed.
This kind of bizarre right wing libertarian, conspiracy talk isn't even all that unique on the more "vocal" end of the pro motoring lobby. I once remember; on a pro roads talk board - a poster (his signature was "Speed Limits Limit Life.") who claimed that 20mph limits would be bad for suburban streets as the car would take longer to pass peoples houses! I'm not making that up. There seems a large stream of self centered libertarian sentiment focused around the car, as exemplified by Roberts closing words. I wonder if those who are tasked with road safety realise what kind of mindset they can be up against?
The car is indeed a liberating tool, but are there those who think that this liberation should not be measured against the risk of injury to others, and in this case; providing alternatives to a car orientated transport network? There seems to be quite a bit of smokescreening of opinions going on with this sort of thing.
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