Posts by BenWilson
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Andrea, I was more meaning that you stop people thinking "Oh, the roads are so empty, I'll stop taking the bus" by making it expensive to revert to their car-loving ways.
I really don't like this idea. If the roads are empty then they could be used, what's the problem with that? That encourages people to use their cars at different times to spread the load, which is a good idea. We might as well get the most we can out of our roads as well, rather than adding artificial costs to using them.
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I love driving in Auckland, it's so fast and easy. But Aucklanders tend to get really pissed off when I tell them that.
I don't. I lived in Melbourne for 5 years, and it has great public transport, but getting around Auckland is still a shitload faster, cheaper, and more convenient.
But more public transport now will keep it that way, and will allow Auckland to grow. Melbourne does have nearly as many people as all of NZ in it.
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So Matthew what do you can a road that only has one lane, for both directions? Which is what was the case for the Western Line until recently, and was what I would have called "Single tracked", since it is now referred to as "Double tracked".
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Question for those who do actually catch the train to the Britomart. Several people have mentioned that the line to the Britomart is single tracked, and I'm confused because I can clearly see two tracks on Google maps, going all the way to Newmarket. Is one of these not being used? If not, why not?
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Angus, you keep saying that extra destinations in the city are nowhere. That's rubbish, they're the most dense concentration of destinations in all of NZ. That's why every city that has a real train network has closely packed stations in the city center. Yes, we can make do by getting off the train and then catching a bus, straight back into the overcrowded jam-packed city streets for a half hour dawdle up Queen Street (with its new improved extra long pedestrian crossing phases), after waiting who knows how long for the bus in the first place. Or your even worse suggestion of getting out of the train at Mt Eden and waiting to pay to get onto another bus, which will then hit the absolute slowest part of the commute. If you were going to do that, there would be no point in catching the train at all in the first place.
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I don't agree Angus. "Going somewhere" is not just where the outer ends of the network go to, it's also where the inner ones are, and 2 kilometers is a pretty big walk, particularly if your starting point is the bottom of Queen Street and your destination is anywhere uphill from there, which describes most of the central city. A city rail loop would make a big difference to the viability of the network, far out of proportion to having more stations and lines out in the suburbs. People can get themselves to a suburban station reasonably easily already via lots of alternatives, including driving their cars there, riding a bike, catching a bus. But the big put-off is the fact that at the other end they can only walk, and it's all uphill.
Yes, it would be nice if the trains went further out too. The further it reaches, the better, but the basic problem isn't getting people out in the 'burbs, it's where are you dropping them off at the other end?
We've also got the issue of the entire North Shore. Until we've got a rail capable bridge, they're stuck on buses and ferries for public transport, hell they can't even cycle. But that doesn't mean over half a million people who don't live on the North Shore should get no rail improvements. Quite the opposite, the more people on the south side who are on rail, the easier the commute is going to be for those on the Shore.
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Gawd I didn't realize that having a vegetable patch and compost was working class. Even having a backyard is surely not working class. They're meant to have a shared concrete lane with garbage cans, aren't they?
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I'm not sure if the quality of my stove top one is a bit shit or something, but I also think that the pressure generated in the machines makes a much richer espresso. What I get from the stove top one is a more watery. It could be because the pressure comes on gradually.
Also, I usually drink latte and you need the steam wand for that. On that score I think the more expensive machines definitely have an edge - the quality does seem to come down a lot to how hard it can crank the steam out.
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If you're into percolating, coffee bags are pretty hard to beat for convenience. Good for picnics etc, if you take a thermos.
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Considering that one of these, which is in fact made in Italy, will set you back approximately $40, you belong to class "silly" along with most other owners of espresso machines.
I've owned both. I definitely used the machine way more. It's just a whole lot quicker. But the simpler device has a certain charm, particularly the fact that it will work over a flame so it's good during power cuts and camping.
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