CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Glasgow urban mobility - experiences

(6 posts)
  • Started 6 years ago by LaidBack
  • Latest reply from LaidBack

  1. LaidBack
    Member

    Further to Edinburgh Bike Share thread.

    Made me wonder why people take cars into a city. Irene and I would always go by train into Glasgow. Orginally we were all going to concert by public transport but cost and logistics favoured car use. The people we were with would never cycle as transport - they walk a lot and have folders to deploy on appropriate paths away from cars (!). Car they own is not large and they know Europe where they would probably use a travel pass in a city.

    Report follows...
    Run time from our shop to Kelvinhaugh St was more or less one hour straight in at 3.30 to 4.30. M8 surface very smooth with motorway whole way now and no hold ups at all. Cost much less than train with four in a car. Plenty of free legal parking opposite famed 78 Bar / close to out hotel. Short walk in evening to and from venue at Hydro. (One of our customers was there with partner on their Bromptons.)

    Big enclosed walkway over has cycle lane but due to vast amount of people walking you could never cycle on it when Hydro event is going in or coming out.
    Next day we re-parked car with our overnight bags at more free on street parking spaces near Duke St. Noted that 90% of this street was yellow lined to discourage wanton car use but on Sunday no problem.
    Rest of day was walking and once on main pedestrian streets of Buchanan St and Sauchiehall St the well drained and paved surface makes it not too bad even in the gusty rain. Regular Glasgow folk not bothered at all by the weather and just go from shop to shop. Saw a couple of bikes in use - mainly Uber and Deliveroo but no rental bikes in use - even in trendy Finnieston.
    By end we had to get back across centre and being born in Glasgow I favoured the low level rail from Charing Cross to High Street after looking round new School of Art. Our friends rarely use train - first time for a while so auto barriers were new to them (!) The station is manned so rather than use machine I used the kiosk. With our two rail cards the 1.4 mile journey worked out at av of £1.40 per person return. Returns were of course cheaper to buy than actual singles - a tradition that should be junked asap.
    Due to Glasgow's somewhat confusing bus routes we just walked the rest of the day to venue and back to car.
    Driver of course could not risk drinking anything but Loch Katrine water in Glasgow is good - even when not in beer.
    With contactless bus payment I think everyone would have chanced hopping on to a bus or two in the heavier rain. Three of us are over 60 but will walk the relatively short distances in city if it is away from heavy traffic.

    Noted some two way segregated cycleways.
    Google Maps did flag up bus options.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  2. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Did you notice that the Hydro SSE has no pavement connecting it to Finnieston? Crowds heading for town have just ploughed a massive muddy 'desire path' visible from space into the grass.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  3. LaidBack
    Member

    @iwrats - interesting. It's so well used that it looks like it was levelled by machine!

    We didn't go over that side as used the covered station bridge over expressway link to get up to Minerva St. Assume that is good route to get back to east on foot or maybe to return to car parked elsewhere?

    Up at Argyle Street in that western end of town pavements are very rough with some big puddles in places. Very few signalled crossing points although heavy traffic meant cars were static and you could cross road carefully.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  4. morepathsplease
    Member

    Just back from a few days in Glasgow. Saw one guy have to wait an additional half hour for his bus home on a wet/cold Saturday night as one went past the stop. The driver of our bus was not too friendly and pulled away from one stop even though someone had run to catch the bus - technically within his rights I guess but it was a miserable night to be waiting on a bus. No different to bus drivers elsewhere perhaps but I don't travel by bus often.

    Lots of speeding, imo, and blaring of horns. Pedestrian lights take a long time to change after pressing the button.

    Great the Kelvingrove Park is mainly motorised-traffic-free.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  5. LaidBack
    Member

    @morepathsplease - Pedestrian lights take a long time to change after pressing the button.

    Yes - amazingly long. Pedestrian flow seems to not be such a priority.
    Glasgow buses - think from memory I avoided as staff attitude is not 'customer focussed'.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  6. LaidBack
    Member

    Ross Greer introducing a Members' Business debate in Holyrood right now. Green debate supported by SNP/Labour.

    Members' Business: Bus Services

    January 31, 2018 17:15

    That the Parliament is concerned by reported rises in bus fares by First Bus, particularly in Glasgow and the West Scotland region; understands that fares for under-16s have risen by 40% and that single adult fares have increased by a further 15%; further understands that unaccompanied child fares have been withdrawn entirely following a move in 2017 to no longer offer return fares; considers that changes to fare structures that favour smartphone app-based ticketing will impact on those less likely to own a smartphone; expresses concern that fare rises will, it believes, also have a considerable negative impact on families, young people and low-earners; notes that several bus routes in Glasgow and the West Scotland region have been withdrawn or reduced, including the 4A service, with, it considers, little to no consultation with local residents, and further notes the view that that bus services should be affordable, environmentally sustainable and accessible to all members of society.

    Posted 6 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin