The Big Picture

Transport

The cost of public transport

Do you think it costs too much to travel around Nottingham? The price of a bus ticket almost doubles when you become an adult. Fair enough when you consider that most adults have paying jobs.

However, at the moment being an ‘adult' in the bus world starts at the age of 16, an age at which many young people are still in education and do not have jobs. This price increase hits those who need a bus to get to college the hardest. So is a full fare fair when we're still technically not adults?

Should young people be able to pay 80p until the age of 18?  Or should we take university students into account, who have the cost of their education, accommodation and food to consider and are burdened by the price of travel on top of this, and raise the age of those required to pay £1.50 to 21?

Or is £1.50 a reasonable price for the services provided and would it benefit our buses to charge more?

Maybe, in this time of recession, you've been looking to even cheaper transport, like cycling.

Cycle lanes and bike parks

In the Netherlands, cycle lanes blanket the streets and there are bike parks where we would have car parks.  A place to park bikes is provided next to every shop and every railway station has substantial parking provision.  There, people use bikes as their regular form of transport - whether it is for going to school or work, or popping to the shops.

The lack of carbon emissions means the environment can breathe easy, and the exercise means our bodies benefit too - not to mention our bank balances as cycling is free (once you've got the bike). So why is cycling not encouraged by more cycle lanes - and why have we not cottoned on to the idea of bicycle parks as a safe and convenient way of storing our bikes while we work or shop?  If such facilities were in place, would you use your bike more, or would it just be a waste of money to build them?

And if cycling isn't your thing, why not break out the scooter, roller blades or skateboard for an environmentally sound, fitness-boosting and fun way of getting around?  In fact, I reckon we could even bring back space hoppers, or resurrect the old forgotten pogo stick from underneath its blanket of dust at the back of the shed.

More seriously, what is your preferred transport method and how can the council make it easier for you to get from A to B (other than introducing space hopper lanes on the roads)?

In an age where global warming and fitness are constantly shoved down our throats, is cycling not the way forward?

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