I did not say it!

I don't have much to add to this article: British cities shun London’s wasteful car tax - Times Online

"[...] overheads are now so high that they burn up the equivalent of almost £4 of a standard £8 charge. Money
raised to improve public transport has been cut by 10% in the past year."

I've always thought the congestion charge was quite a daft idea, a return to the middle ages or later turnpikes and toll-gates. I am all for better public transport, more bus lanes and cycle paths, trams, etc... But I don't see the point of reserving the centre of London to an elite nor to make it more difficult for cars to get around via light phasing, cul de sacs, narrow lanes, etc... It just creates unncessary pollution.

Tags: transportation, london, cars, congestioncharge, richmondtransits.blog

How to keep customers (happy)

In my previous post about The great holiday ripp-off... I spoke about Expedia and Hertz, on baby car seat rental charges and thought I'd let you know the rest.

I've complained to both companies about the doubful practice of allowing you to rent a device to make your children safe while refusing to let you know how much it will call you. Hertz came back to me (only after I threated to blog about it) and said they will refund me EUR33 -half of the charge.

And as good news never comes alone, Expedia also called me back because I complained my rental accomodation was far from being clean (we had to bleach-wash the fridge before storing anything). They will refund me £200 on my holiday bill, which is much welcome.

Note to self: I should have known better, since a great feature of the Expedia web-site is that it allows clients to rate their hotels/cottages. This is good use of the Web 2.0, I really like it.

So while it's best to make sure you don't make your customers unhappy in the first place, Hertz and Expedia deserve brownie points for addressing my complaints.

My advice: ALWAYS write to the customer department. It's not only that you might be compensated but it's also a service to the company (poor service will kill a service company) and other customers.

Tags: holidays, money, richmondtransits.blog, expedia, hertz

The great holiday ripp-off...

A cautionary tale today because it's bad enough that the Euro makes holidaying on the Continent much more expensive.

Car Seat Hire with Car Rentals Companies

We've rented a car through Expedia and Hertz came up at a quite competitive rate (about £85 for a week -you can only figure out this by removing or adding the car to the trip as Expedia doesn't provide a breakdown). I've asked for a car seat and was told by Expedia they could not get the price before and would need to see on the spot.

So we turn up at the aiport and they tell me a car seat it... 66 Euros! I complained on the spot and raised the matter with Hertz customer service which answered they "[were] sorry to learn that you were not satisfied with the price of the child seat you received. Unfortunately this is the locations privilege to quote a price for the additional equipments.
[We are] sorry [we] cannot be more of a help for you now." I've came back threating to make sure I would tell as many people as possible and blogged it. And to their honour, they came back and said they'll refund half.

Which is nice, but a shame putting things right needed a an argument.

My advice: either check-in a your own car seat (make sure you have a good travel insurance, I got one damaged between Pisa and Gatwick on Monarch once) or if you arrive not too late, buy a cheap one from a local supermarket. Oh, and by the way, do check the car thoroughly before you go: the first one Hertz wanted to give me had a flat tyre and the other one was dented all over. Do make sure you take pictures before you leave the rental company parking, it may prove useful if you misplace the rental contract.... And make sure they charge what they're supposed to: Avis two years ago tried to apply me a different tariff than I had booked!

Bank charges
I have a Coventry Building Society current account because it pays 5.60 AER without cap, however their charges for cash withdrawals abroad are steep: up to £3.50 for EUR200 (2%). I was with Citibank before and they don't charge for getting money out of the wall overseas. But then their interest rate on current accounts is misery. So,do check the charges carefully and try to pay using a credit card without fixed charge such as the Nationwide Cash Reward.

Air travel

Did you book a cheap air ticket with a low cost carrier? Just check how much luggage you bring, make sure you bring your own sandwiches and turn up way in advance: Ryanair once closed it checkin desk although it was over 40mn before the flight and we were in the right queue. The guy just left the counter! At first they were not even rebooking us and it took a 10 mn heated conversation to fly us to Limoges or Bergerac instead of Bordeaux. Quite inconvenient as you can imagine...

On the luggage front, most low cost charge you for checking in stuff: remember you always bring too many shoes, that you can wash clothes and buy shower gel anywhere in the world!

Read also in The Guardian: BA and Virgin face compensation deluge
Apparently "British Airways and Virgin Atlantic face a compensation deluge after agreeing that any passenger who flew long-haul on those airlines between August 2004 and March 2006 can claim a £20 refund per journey following a $200m (£102m) legal settlement."

PS: read also on the Fool.co.uk how to Avoid These Airport Rip-Offs!

Tags: holidays, money, richmondtransits.blog

Politics and GreenWash

I've always been interested by ecology, tryign to do my bit -like leaving a camping/picinic site cleaner than when I arrived. But my green attitude is based on common sense, not on any form of green religion inspired by city-luddites, the kind of people who were trotskyst before, green priests now and impose on others their attitude of green moral superiority.

For instance, at a time where we had agricultural surpluses subsidised by the EU, it only made sense to me that we should do biofuels. The current debate now about sustanability of biofuels comes from a herd movement towards biofuels when the infrastructure is not there.

Then the polititians came in and suddenly started to talk green. The only issue is that for politicians, it seems that Green = More Taxes. And we only see tax, tax, tax -but still no rail infrastructures
or maybe the're taxing the wrong stuff: Focussing on CO2: good for bears, bad for humans? Methane for instance stays in the atmosphere longuer than CO2: should we fit a meter at the back of each cow, or become vegeterians? (seems vegan is not a good idea...)

In my mind, it's not only taxes but there are many other ways of being greenner: microgeneration is one. The Guardian had a great full page article on how power from the people could cut CO2 emissions - with government help (shame the online version doesn't have the graphs).

But it seems the government is busy making broken promises and trying to substanciate the fact that Heathrow, thanks to its "Low Emission Zone" will be clean. In passing, we have to thank the EU for imposing stricter anti-pollution norms... (and NB: no, curbing LHR's growth won't harm the capital because it's only one of the FIVE London airports).

This is why I've become highly suspicious of Green Politicians: to me they will provoke a backlash and what they decide isn't even good for the environment.

PS: but kudos to Westminster to allow cyclists use one way streets riding counterflow. This is commen sense, doesn't cost anything and works (just go to The Hague if you don't belive me).

Tax, tax, tax -but still no rail infrastructures

The government keeps on taxing automobilists but fails to invest in public transportation:

Read in
BBC NEWS | England | London | New station's opening postponed: "The station will be the first new suburban station built in south London since the Second World War, according to Merton Council."

What a disgrace! Rail fares up, taxes on petrol up, local council tax up and interest rates up. The Richmond commuters feel the pinch on the wallet more than ever recently.

In the meantime, kerosene is still not taxed and now Boris bailed off the massive demonstration against Heathrow -this doesn't detract the Beeb to pedal the BAA spin comparing Heathrow to other cites, conveniently forgetting that London has no less than FIVE international airports.

All that could have been avoided if instead of perpetuating a 1950ies planning error the government had planned to build a new airport in the estuary as it has often been suggested -and close other airports such as Gatwick, City or Heathrow like it has been done in Berlin and other European cities.

It seems that the government is very short sighted indeed when it comes to transportation.... It maybe why we still don't have a footbridge in North Sheen?

Is the DfT deaf?

Read this morning in the Richmond and Twickenham Times: Court challenge to early morning Heathrow jumbos.

I find difficult to agree that a 747 could wrongly be put in a category of "quiet planes", unless maybe the transportation ministry staff never flew, quite alike the urban planners who designed cycling path clearly never rode a bicycle.

For me, it is yet another proof of the collusion between the Department for Transport and BAA.



Tags: transportation, air, airlines, heathrow, london, uk, politics, ba, baa, richmondtransits.blog

0870 numbers ripp-off

Here's a very good web site with alternatives to the 7 or 10 pence per minutes numbers that many companies insist on you to call:

SAYNOTO0870.COM - Non-Geographical Alternative Telephone Numbers

And yet another broken promise by DfT and BAA...

This morning the RTT ran another story on the continued lies and broken promises by the infamous Department of Transport, BAA and BA ménage a trois:
Secret Heathrow plan to reduce air quality (Richmond and Twickenham Times)

"The Government wants to sacrifice air quality across London to allow an
extra 60,000 flights a year into Heathrow, according to reports."

Just in case the 2 millions living around the area did not already felt conned...

I've already blogged many times on Heathrow, a "dump" according to American Airlines' Head of Customer Services (Europe) Don Langford:
Is Heathrow really out of capacity?
More on Heathrow
Is sustainability sacrificed on the Heathrow altar?
Transported logic



Tags: heathrow, airport, BAA, DfT, UK, politics, transportation, environment, richmondtransits.blog

It's not only taxes...

I've long been annoyed by those people talking about CO2 emissions regardless of the context, etc...
Some say the publicity helps the green cause, I am rather more cynical and think that greenwash, just like idiotic taxes, is going to make people feel sick and tired and that the backlash is going to be a rejection of the need to be green.

It seems I am not alone:
Advertising watchdog receives record complaints over corporate 'greenwash' | Environment | guardian.co.uk

PS: read also Focussing on CO2: good for bears, bad for humans?

Tags: green, greenwash, richmondtransits.blog, ecology, environment

Green = More Taxes (for Politicians)

I thought I'd blog an extension to this post as I've been mullling over this all day:
Richmond Transits: Blatant hypocrisy over parking spaces

A few simple ideas:
- Why don't we get reduced VAT (from 17.5 to 5%) on all loft conversions incorporating a planted roof?
- Or a tax credit when installing solar / geothermic central heating?
- Or get grants for all renovations achieving a set target for insulation?

Both would save significant carbon emissions and make buildings more sustainable.

To me, politicians are hypocritical about green issues: it's not that they don't care. They do. A lot: it allows to raise taxes, such as congestion charge, road pricing, etc etc...

The endless greenwhash (non-sensical talks incorporating green keywords) only harms everyone's acceptance of the need to act now whithout producing significant results. Greenwash kills Green Goodwill because the consumers intimately feel they're not getting a good deal.

Blatant hypocrisy over parking spaces

Richmond council announced they will be taxing parents for dropping off their kids at local schools (through ending the 15 mn free parking allowance in a CPZ).

They are blaming the lack of parking places in the borough, paving the way for more CPZ (Controlled Parking Zones): More CPZ to come? (Richmond and Twickenham Times, 25/4/08)

This is simply and utterly hypocrisy: just consider the fact the council limits parking places in new developments such as the scheme in Garden road or the the office block extended in Chalkers corner.

But then, to me it looks like Green has become a synonym for "more taxes": every time taxpayers are being hit, especially in Richmond, it's in the name of the Carbon Reduction God, just like the failed congestion charge is now disguised into a low emission zone, etc...

When I read Jeremy Clarkson saying the greenies are the new trotskysts I thought it was amusing and second degree. Actually, I don't anymore. While I am all for doing everything we can to not leave the planet in a better state that the baby boomers are now handing it over to Generation X, the issue with the "green issue" is polititians who have managed to remove all substance and tax more.

It's always the stick: you drive a large car? Market forces and fuel prices are not enough, here's an additional parking tax. But that applies mostly to motorists, not to Heathrow. Nor do we get carrots: on the continent you get tax breaks for installing solar powered heating, geothermal exchanger, etc... Here, we just get free rockwool. Just like the congestion charge: a plaster on a broken leg.


Tags: richmondtransits.blog, green, CPZ, gardenroad, congestioncharge, london, cars, transportation, UK, politics

Greengauge 21

Found this great web site today, much of it reflects my own positions on high-speed rails in the UK (or the lack thereof) and suggestions for a second high-speed train line (HS2):
Greengauge21 – driving the debate on high speed rail

This should also be of interest to Richmond residents:
The Impact of High Speed Rail on Heathrow Airport, March 2006 500Kb


Tags: richmondtransits.blog, rail, transportation, UK, environment, heathrow

T5 opens, shows BAA-Government hypocrisy and collusion

Annie Mole is penning this great Going Underground's Blog, and she's also local to Richmond. Her Friday post was about London Heathrow Terminal 5:
Heathrow Terminal 5 opened today - great.
For those thinking of an improved travel experience, bad luck: according to this Times article "the £4.3 billion project has its fair share of critics. A report in The
Observer claimed that passengers at nearly half of the terminal’s
departure gates will be bussed to planes, rather than being able to reach
them on foot by air bridges."


Going Underground points to this HACAN page everyone should read:BAA's broken promises to local residents.

Which brings me to my hero of the day: the BBC reports that Conservative MP for Putney Justine Greening criticised BAA for being 'too close' to Heathrow and mounted challenge. I've long said BAA, BA and the DoT were in bed, so I am quite happy to read this....

Extinguishers failing are common sense test

Read this yesterday:
Extinguishers banned as ‘fire risk’ - Times Online

In theit great wisdom, Bornemouth Fire brigade backed the removal of those safety devices in fear that residents would try tackle a blaze rather than flee.

I don't know whether to categorise this a case of health and safety gone bonkers or as a common sense failure. Surely the Firemen would better employ their free time training people tackling small incidents before they turn into major fires???


Tags: humour, UK, richmondtransits.blog, health&safety

Is Heathrow really out of capacity?

I keep reading articles comparing Heathrow with other European cities. Of course I believe that press is independent and not infuenced by



BA bosses urges bigger Heathrow...

But hang on, when I read this I get itchy skin:
BBC NEWS | UK | Heathrow creaks under heavy traffic

Of course they miss the point: no other European city has more 5 international airports! We have Heathrow (2 runways), Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City (each with a single runway). So that's 6 runways in total, creating noise all around London! Ridiculous.

All the money spent in Heathrow would have been better used creating a new aiport in the middle of the Thames estuary with good train and road links rather than blighting all the airspace around London. But the government seem to think small. No high speed trains network for instance, small project only.

The problem of thinking small is that you end up with a bigger problem...


Tags: heathrow, airlines, transportation, rail, uk, politics, richmondtransits.blog

Restaurant Review: The Brown Dog, Barnes

We went back to the Brown Dog the other day, hoping to confirm it's the next Victoria (in Temple Sheen) as the latter had gone madly overpriced. We were disappointed by this gastropub, feeling the quality had slipped. Good, still good value but no longuer special in our opinion. Annie's not far away knows how to cook good meat blue (why is it a challenge to explain this to Eastern-European waitresses?)

The wine list is OK, just. Food is of European and French influences, perfectly recommendable. For instance I had cod with tapenade, very well done.

The Brown Dog

28 Cross Street
SW13 0AP Barnes
020 8392 2200


Tags: restaurant, review, barnes, european, richmondtransits.blog,

Restaurant Review: Annie's

There's strangely an un-explored niche in the Richmond dining area: good places for brunch.

What's in a brunch? To me, a good brunch is informal (need to be able to bring the kids), good value and offering a range of options, not just a cooked breakfast.

We went to Annie's this Mothering Sunday and liked it. We've been there before and liked it: the decoration is warm, the uncovered oak tables inviting but the chairs are cosy rather than too pub-like. They do offer a brunch menu: full English Breakfast, but also a few eggy versions (Benedict, Florentine, with smoked salmon, etc...), all between £8 and £9, kiddies go full English for a fiver (one is enough for two sub-7 fairies).

I really like it at night too: it's a classic brasseie menu, not too extensive and fresh. Dishes are between £10 and £15 -now I wonder why we don't come back more often? I guess the wine list could be more researched, but it would be adequate for most.


36 - 38 White Hart Lane, London, SW13 0PZ

020 8878 2020
www.anniesrestaurant.co.uk/barnes/

Tags: Barnes,, Mortlake,, restaurant,, review, richmondtransits.blog

Restaurant Review: Malmaison

Although I usually try to avoid restaurant situated in hotels, there are exceptions!

I went to Malmaison last week for a lunch and it's Smithfields best guarded secret: tucked away in a courtyard there's an address with delicate food, ideal for business lunches. Extensive wine card too. I had monkfish sliced very thinly, nice and firm over an tasty risotto. The oxcheek was apparently delicious too and the Savigny les Beaunes 2005 was a good choice.

Club Gascon is still my first choice in the neighboorhood, but as it's overbooked I am sure I'll come back to Malmaison!

Malmaison, Charterhouse Square, EC1M 6AH
020 7012 3700


http://www.malmaison.com


Toptable review: toptable.co.uk/venues/restaurants/?id=1957

Tags: London, restaurant, Barbican, Farringdon, French, richmondtransits.blog, review,

RTT on White Hart Lane level crossing

The Richmond and Twickenham Times has just published an article on the White Hart Lane level crossing.

Network Rail is "thinking about" a bridge (£25k, peanuts compared to the useless repaving of downtown Richmond) and Con. Trigg said "it's a difficult problem to solve". I think it;s quite simple in fact: here are the comments I've posted on their web site:

I've blogged numerous times on the North Sheen crossing which is equally dangerous: only last week a vehicule came stuck in the barrier which caused traffic mayhem all around.

The options offered are just lame: yes, a footbridge would be good, closing the crossing would just cripple the area.

I've travelled a lot in Europe and never saw level crossing in urban areas: are they more clever?

But the real solution would be to either bury the train line underground (expensive but the resulting free land overground could be part sold for profil and converted into commuters parking to incitate people to leave their car and travel green) or digging a road mini-tunnel.

Seriously.

Tags: level, crossing, railways, sheen, richmondtransits.blog, transportation, trains

Non-reparable household goodies aren't green

Following the comment of Mike on my previous post (Richmond Transits: Free marketing advice for Dualit), here's some more advice for them:

when doing brand extension (like the low-end SoftTouch), make sure the new products abide by the same brand values. After all, I always say that marketing is a promise, and if you market stuff that robs the customer perception your overall brand is devalued. Just go and ask Mercedes-Benz what they think about it after they had quality issues in the 80ies...

Also, if you're not green the consumers will lash back. It is my personal prediction that non reparable goods will be seen as non-green and won't be able to attract a premium. As the market will fork, consumers will buy Miele or chinese washing machines, little in between. So, sort out your after-sales and make your stuff fixable.

Manufacturers supply chain will also need some attention, and that's potentially a financial gain: as James puts it here, Green is a form of Lean