The car is king

My family often accuse me of being a grumpy old man, and maybe justifiably so. Certainly I seem to find a lot in the news to mutter about. How about congestion charging, which it seems is definitely on its way sooner or later? I have seen successive governments over my lifetime quite deliberately create an environment in which, for most people, a car has become an essential piece of kit - and now suddenly car use is being portrayed as antisocial and to be discouraged. Talk about being two-faced! Public transport is put forward as the acceptable alternative - I can only think by people who have never used it. And I know whereof I speak - I passed my test when I was 17, but didn't own my first car until I was nearly thirty, and prior to that used public transport on a daily basis. And this was in the days when it was infinitely better, cleaner and more reliable than it is today. Once having my own car, I realised what I'd been missing. And it's not just a matter of convenience and privacy. The other week I travelled into Birmingham by bus (well buses actually - two of them). This is a journey which would take me between 25 and 35 minutes by car depending on traffic. And by bus? 1 hour 10 minutes there, and 1 hour 17 minutes back. So a trip that would have taken me about two hours in total by car, took getting on for twice that long. Time I could have better spent doing something else. And it was raining, so I got quite wet into the bargain. Public transport - bah humbug!