Room for one more?

[Jaiden]

'Ello all. Suppose it's only good form to do one of these introductioarymibobs even though I'm never sure what to say in them.

Name's Jaiden (no relation to Kraiden despite the power of rhyme). I'm a somewhat curmudgeonly twenty one year-old Briton, not really hugely into AB/DLism these days but it's an interest that's always lurked somewhere in the recesses of my mind even if I rarely indulge in it. A couple of people here might recognise my name from another forum and since this place seems to be on the up and attracting a lot of interest I thought I might as well pop my head in the door here as well. Probably won't be around too much but I can always be tempted into sticking an oar or two into any interesting debates that arise and I'll try and keep fairly involved as there seems to be an amiable atmosphere to the place.

In summary then, 'sup?

[Zodiac Pup]

Originally Posted by Jaiden

... since this place seems to be on the up and attracting a lot of interest I thought I might as well pop my head in the door here as well.

Welcome. You're right to do so.

[Jeremiah]

Welcome Jaiden!

Thank you for the good introduction. Feel free to stay stay and post.

[Priest]

Aloha.

Best I do one of these replythingimajigs to your introductioarymibob

[Night]

Welcome to site and hope you have a good time here.

[genbaby]

Welcome to adisc. Hope you have a good time. Makes sure to check out the wiki ,and blogs; both have links in the top left corner.

[Peachy]

Sure, there's room for one more. Just squeeze in, but don't inhale too deeply because there's not enough space for your lungs to expand, and you don't want to smell people's body odor, or smelly diapers anyway.
Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about the London Tube. Plenty of space in here still, so grab a seat and make yourself at home.

Peachy

[Jaiden]

Thanks for the welcomes guys. It seems a friendly place so far.

Peachy, I'm a Northerner so using the Tube is a fortunately infrequent experience. From the couple of times I've been to Germany, I would say that we could learn a lot from you in terms of public transport though. I was there for the last World Cup and I can't imagine the London transport system holding up as well Berlin and Hamburg seemed to with so many visitors.

[Peachy]

Originally Posted by Jaiden

Peachy, I'm a Northerner so using the Tube is a fortunately infrequent experience. From the couple of times I've been to Germany, I would say that we could learn a lot from you in terms of public transport though. I was there for the last World Cup and I can't imagine the London transport system holding up as well Berlin and Hamburg seemed to with so many visitors.

Well, you cannot compare the Tube to German transit systems...if German law ever applied in London, the Tube would have to be shut down immediately for safety reasons. In Hamburg's new DT4.5 trains, you can easily hear a pin drop when the train is in motion. That's quite amazing for a subway system which is 96 years old!
Berlin's transit system was a disaster during the Cold War because the suburban trains (S-Bahn) in the west were operated by the communist government in the east...and people decided pretty soon after the wall was built to boycot the S-Bahn. So it went into a state of disrepair and most lines in west Berlin were closed in 1980. After reunification, the German government basically had to rebuild half of the system...to present day standards, that's why it seems more efficient. The British government just doesn't spend enough money on public transit.

And yes, you can indeed learn a lot from us in terms of public transit...and you have already. EVer been on Sheffield's Supertram? As opposed to Manchester's God-awful Metrolink, Supertram was majorly influenced by German light rail developments in the 1990s and is now Britain's best light rail system.
There's one other thing you can learn over there (something that occurred to me while riding a bus in Edinburgh): Buy buses with more than one door! Transport for London did learn that lesson...they bought Geran bendy buses with three doors now

Peachy

[Jaiden]

Heh, I really wouldn't have been able to guess that this thread would turn into a discussion about European public transportation.

I'm actually from Sheffield so I'm familiar with the Supertram. It's a good service to an extent but it's coverage of the city is much more limited than the Metro's is in Manchester, it's a shame that plans to extend it never came to fruition. It also operated at a loss for several years, though I'm not sure if that's still the case. Unfortunately, the government is really quite overcommitted in terms of public spending at the moment and, with the current financial situation, I would be surprised to see any significant investments in any similar projects in British cities, apart from the crossrail in London which is more or less a necessity, that is. The powers that be just aren't willing to take on the risk even though investment is sorely needed and public demand is sadly lacking as well. You can more or less pick a European country at random and it has better transport networks than the UK even though we're one of the richest countries in the area and it's quite embarrassing. I was in Budapest a few months ago and they have the second oldest metro system in the world (behind London) which, while in need of a lick of paint, was very efficient and accommodating of public requirements in a way the Tube isn't.

Funny you should mention the new bendy buses, incidentally; they caused quite a furore in the recent mayoral elections in London with a lot of nostalgic pining for the old style Routemaster models and they've decided not to introduce any more. Make of that what you will.