Michael Noonan and the Lord mayor of Dublin to attend MIJAG meetings

by Working Class cyclist Fri Apr 12, 2002 02:00

Finghin,
you still haven't addressed the issue that people that can afford cars are an elite minority of the working class. You are priveleging them over the rest of us that CAN"T AFFORD A CAR!

Add to that the fact that cars are responsible for death (both immediate as a result of vehicular impact and gradual as a result of long exposure to exhaust) and disease (respiratory illness is much higher in people that live near major roads - coincidentally (!) they just happen to be poorer).

Supporting measures like this accelerates the decline in public transport.

You should be lobbying the minister for more buses, more trains and more cycle lanes.

by Finghin Fri Apr 12, 2002 12:12

The fact is that alot of young workers are forced to buy a car due to the lack of a proper transport system, they are by no means an elite. And these drivers are being discriminated against because they are young, surely you oppose all forms of discrimination?

Cars are a reality, there will always be a certain degree of car ownership, even as a transitional measure, until we get a proper transport system.

The MIJAG campaign does campaign for a proper publicly funded transport system. MIJAG also calls for proper safety training for drivers, so safe responsible driving can become a reality. Please go to the site and read more about the campaign.

by Working Class cyclist Fri Apr 12, 2002 17:36

You are NOT campaigning for better public transport, you are clearly campaigning for cheaper PRIVATE transport for people that can afford cars. Here from your own site is the evidence for that:

-----------snipped from MIJAG site-------------
The main Demands of a Campaign are :-
1. Implement in full "the road to safety" strategy as outlined by the Government.
2. Discrimination on the basis of age in the provision of motor insurance to be banned.
3. Insurance premium penalties to apply only after a proven safety related driving offence has been committed.
4. Implement drivers education and a penalty points system, which would trigger disqualification following repeated driving offences.
5. Insurance for young drivers to be provided by a non-profit-making State company at average motor insurance costs.
-------------------------------------------------

Where in that is the call for improving public transport?

You admit that there is poor public transport. and yet your "solution" is to support people getting into cars.

You consistently refuse to address the problem that this puts MORE drivers on the road which disproportionately affects working class people.

You affect our health negatively. You remove our jobs in the PUBLIC transport sector. You create a cadre of elite that can afford cars and thus have a NEGATIVE interest in public transport: they will not be using buses and trains and they won't want their tax to go to them.

You have no strategy.