I found a message posted on a UK riders forum, regarding an event called, "Ride for Rights", taking place on October 20, 2007...

http://rider-connect.co.uk/index.php?q=node/1204

It's basically an organized protest against the UK government's attempt to establish a national system of toll roads. More specifically, these riders are trying to lobby the government into making motorcycles exempt from the tolls.

So I did some brief research into "road pricing", which is the term that the UK is using. It doesn't appear they have much specifics into how many toll booths they'll have, which roads will have them, and where. Here's the UK government's webpage on Road Pricing...

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/roadpricing/debate/

The government only knows that the roads are now heavily congested, and that congestion is going to get worse. Somehow, they believe that making people pay to use the roads will reduce congestion. I'm not in agreement with that.

The worst congestion happens because of jobs and careers. People are going to, and coming from, work. They're also driving on the job. How is a national system of toll booths going to reduce that?

I suppose it might collect money to pay for new roads, or more subway systems, bus systems, etc. But since we're talking about congestion in the metropolitan areas, not out in the country, I have doubts that more buses and subways is going to relieve congestion. The problem is too many people, period.

In Southern California, we have toll roads, and while they are used very heavily, they still haven't reduced congestion overall. One of the most congested freeways here, is SR-91, connecting Orange County to Riverside County. It's not a toll road, but it does have a set of toll lanes.

There was an interesting article I read several years ago, that as the toll lanes become congested, they raise the toll prices. This causes more people to take the free lanes (which move along at 5mph). As commuters become more frustrated with the free lanes, they switch back to the toll lanes. The cycle continues, raising the tolls even higher. So far, commuters are still bearing the high tolls.

Currently, it costs $9.50 to drive in one direction on this toll lane, on a Friday, at the peak hour, and as low as $6.85 on a Monday at the same hour. (link to toll schedule) The toll lanes run only for 10 miles.

The fact is that these high prices hasn't done anything to relieve congestion. The monies raised from the tolls hasn't built any new freeways, nor provided SR-91 commuters with alternative transport.

What I'm saying is that this national system of "road pricing" in the UK is not going to relieve congestion. As long as there are more people than ever before in a metropolitan area, there will always be more congestion.

Labels: Toll Roads, Traffic Congestion, UK Motorcycle News

Here's an article published by Politics.co.uk, regarding the UK's consideration of letting motorcycles ride on bus lanes.

http://www.politics.co.uk/....469573.htm

This isn't legislation they're pursuing, rather it's the mother country asking local governments to consider the idea.

Any additional lanes that motorcycles get to ride in sounds like a good idea to me, considering I ride motorcycles. But if you think about this, it starts to sound as if the government wants to discourage the creation of bus lanes.

The article also went on to say that the British government officially recognized motorcycles as offering unique advantages to commuters...

Providing independence and mobility
Widening employment opportunities, especially where public transport is limited
Providing a shorter journey time in congested traffic conditions
Reducing overall congestion and more efficiently using roads and parking spaces

Labels: Traffic Congestion, UK Motorcycle Laws

Last evening I attended the ABATE Local 27 meeting in Riverside, CA.

ABATE is an acronym for American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education. A political action group for bikers.

Anyways, a big topic of discussion was the illegal aliens on protest last Monday. Apparently, the freeways around Los Angeles, Ventura, and Riverside Counties were unusually light. You could actually move at a fast speed and get your tax dollars weight in timely travel.

The funny thing is that this boycott was supposed to cripple our economy enough to demonstrate how much we Americans need Mexican labor. Instead, it showed us how much better our freeways would be without them, and how much fewer tax dollars would be needed towards infrastructure.

Labels: ABATE, Illegal Aliens, Traffic Congestion

I was reading a letter published in the Orange County Register about freeway congestion. The writer wanted to know why light rail and monorail would not relieve congestion. I posted an answer on one of my other blogs.

But I wanted to propose the use of motorcycles as a way to relieve congestion. Perhaps States across our country can make legislative changes to encourage the use of motorcycles as commuter vehicles.

Some ideas that States can implement:

1. Eliminate registration fees for motorcycles, or incorporate a registration fee based on engine displacement size. Perhaps engines ranging from 0-650cc, have free registration. 651-1000cc have a certain fee. While 1001-1999 have a higher fee, and 2000 and up have the highest registration fee. The important part is to offer free registration for commuter-size motorcycles.



2. Eliminate motorcycle licensing endorsements - This can be limited to motorcycles with 650cc engines or smaller. If you're riding such a motorcycle, then you don't need to get a special license to operate it.



3. Allow motorcycles to ride for free on toll roads and toll bridges, and allow motorcycles to ride on car pool lanes. I think most states allow motorcycles on car pool lanes, but I don't know about allowing them to ride for free on toll roads and bridges.



4. Eliminate laws against lane splitting. Many states still allow lane-splitting, some don't.



5. Got any other ideas?

Labels: Traffic Congestion