Disqus - Latest Comments for peeebeee

Re: It Shouldn't Happen to a Radio Presenter 58: All Change at LBC!

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 09:30:32 -0000

Plus ca change - good luck with the evening slot. I used to listen to you until 5 then off to Radio 4 for Eddie, so it will be very interesting to hear how his 3-hour drive slot pans out.

Re: Nearly a million people recycle in Reading and Bracknell

Peter Bowyer — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 08:10:44 -0000

Another masterpiece in mis-interpretation of statistics. The figure of 900,000 is the number of visits, not the number of visitors. Nowhere in the report does it attempt to identify individual unique visitors. It's reasonable to assume that there are a lot of people who visited more than once in the year, so the number of visitors will be much lower. Doesn't make such a good headline, though.

Re: First Great Western handed nearly £20m in compensation for delays to services

Peter Bowyer — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 13:28:00 -0000

No. The whole reason the delay compensation scheme exists is to protect the profits of the commercial and quasi-commercial entities involved. FGW's contract requires them to deliver a level of service and protects them from being unable to deliver it due to someone else's fault. Network Rail is always the net payer, because most delays are due to infrastructure failures but TOCs have to foot the bill if their train breaks down or their driver is late, etc. None of that is needed if you remove the commercial relationships.

Re: First Great Western handed nearly £20m in compensation for delays to services

Peter Bowyer — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:32:09 -0000

Such a wonderful thing, the Rail Industry. There's a 117-page document that lays out in excruciating detail how every single delay to every single train can be blamed on somebody, so they can be made to pay compensation to the parties affected. There are dozens of people in every part of the rail industry employed just to administer the scheme and hundreds more administering many-times-duplicated and all-slightly-different schemes to pay compensation to passengers. None of which would be needed in a re-nationalised railway system.

Re: First Great Western: Reading trains are some of the most overcrowded services

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 08:17:19 -0000

http://www.bringbackbritish...

Re: First Great Western: Reading trains are some of the most overcrowded services

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 08:16:13 -0000

Yep. Another piece of data journalism that misses the point. It's the HSTs that Reading commuters are interested in.

Re: Reading's most dangerous roundabouts revealed

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 03:20:01 -0000

Could it not be, just maybe, that the 'most dangerous' places on the roads are those with most traffic on? An analysis of the number of accidents against the daily volume of traffic would go some way towards a meaningful measure of 'danger' - you might find some interesting figures come out of that. The way the graph is presented says 'These 8 things are pretty much the same'.

Re: Reading Buses new lion service roars into action

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 11:14:31 -0000

Reading Buses is one of the most innovatively-marketed bus services in the country. People do ride the buses because of their image. Drab uniform municipally-coloured bus services are an indication of a dying service, which Reading Buses manifestly isn't. They invest in branding and new technology because that's what keeps people riding the buses - and why Reading had the 4th highest number of bus journeys per head of population of all local authorities outside London last year - when Wokingham had the 4th lowest and Bracknell the 2nd lowest (DfT figures)

Re: Reading's new Routemaster bus hits the streets

Peter Bowyer — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 13:51:24 -0000

I didn't argue with you based on statistics - I asked you if you had statistics to back up your argument. I have none, so I was interested in what yours were. But you seem to be making a load of different points altogether now, so I think I'll back out and leave you to your platform.

Re: Reading tenants feel the squeeze as rent price increases outstrip London

Peter Bowyer — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 04:50:32 -0000

But (presumably) you weren't born in Mantattan. People born in Reading can't afford to live in Reading.

Re: Reading's new Routemaster bus hits the streets

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 17:19:57 -0000

I didn't make a statistics-based point, so no, I don't. Your argument is that people use the buses and therefore slow them down - the new Routemaster is designed to alleviate exactly that problem, with 3 sets of doors to enable passengers on and off more quickly. Sounds pretty sensible to me.

Re: Reading CAP: playing football and talking about under-age drinking

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 16:34:12 -0000

Really, Get Reading - was there not another line to take on this excellent charity initiative other than 'Local MP has day out at the football'? 3 pictures, all of which are Rob Wilson photo-ops. He really doesn't have to do much to qualify for a nice friendly write-up, does he?

Re: Reading's new Routemaster bus hits the streets

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 12:24:22 -0000

I presume you've got statistics for how many 100 yard journeys are made along Oxford Road? And that you're qualified in transport planning so that you know better than the bus company when there's an economic and environmental case for replacing old buses with new ones?

Re: Reading's new Routemaster bus hits the streets

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 11:20:31 -0000

That comment would make sense except that the Council doesn't buy the buses, and no Councillor chooses them. The bus company is owned by the Council but is self-funding, except for the few services which are provided under direct contract to the Council.

Re: Butts Convenience Store could lose licence after being caught selling smuggled booze

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 03:50:29 -0000

The licencing review doesn't impose fines and is nothing to do with any criminal prosecution that may be going on. It is there to decide whether it's appropriate for the premises license to be varied or revoked based on the evidence in the report.

Re: Reading broadband speeds revealed PLUS see how fast is it where you live

Peter Bowyer — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 02:50:04 -0000

They're possible speeds, and assume you buy the fastest available service. Don't waste your time with it.

Re: Castle Hill's oldest house: planners considering enforcement

Peter Bowyer — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 04:17:36 -0000

The council has a legal obligation to enforce listed building regulations. They also have no discretion in the listing process.

Re: Rob Wilson MP admits 9p expenses claims should not have been made

Peter Bowyer — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 10:22:59 -0000

Genius!

Re: Taxi driver spokesman alleged 'black market' and 'organised slavery'

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 15:39:52 -0000

It would, I agree, but I personally see no prima facae case for it. The complainant's comments at the Council meeting were not particularly coherent or credible.

Re: Reading sees 26% rise in people going bust in 2014

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 08:40:30 -0000

It's not particularly surprising that the Chamber of Commerce figures don't match up - the news you're reporting on concerns personal insolvency, and the C of C deals with businesses. Not the same thing at all.

Re: Right-to-buy housing association homes - what it could mean for Reading

Peter Bowyer — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 02:03:43 -0000

The time to implement policies that pander to those people whose aspiration to own their own home is so important to them is when every single one of the people who don't have any home, are vulnerably housed, are overcrowded, can't afford spiralling commercial rents because of a low-paid job or no job, or need homes that are adapted to their disability, are all housed. Only then should the desires of those who are already housed be addressed.

Re: Taxi driver spokesman alleged 'black market' and 'organised slavery'

Peter Bowyer — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 10:21:23 -0000

What he's saying is that there are not enough HC licenses to go round so he has to rent one in order to carry on his chosen trade. How much public time and money needs to be spent, in addition to the enquiry already held by the licensing committee, to agree that's the case, and to re-state the fact that it's not illegal? Nobody is forcing him to do the deal - he could decide that driving a taxi in Reading is uneconomical and go and do it somewhere else, or do something else here. A HC drivers' license doesn't come with a profit guarantee.

Re: South Street Arts Centre: culture lead member described touch choices

Peter Bowyer — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 06:53:11 -0000

Get the full facts, find out what Wokingham's council tax income is compared with Readings before making comparisons like this.

Re: Reading to hold black cab survey to see if the town needs more

Peter Bowyer — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:07:45 -0000

I use the Station West drop-off a couple of times a day. The taxis queue up there, filling the allocated taxi area, the space behind it, the bus stops across the road, and sometimes blocking the turning circle as well. No, we don't need more of them!

Re: Cuts to voluntary sector cash in Reading on the way

Peter Bowyer — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 05:17:46 -0000

The bridge was funded from the LSTF. It has no impact on the operating expenditure cuts that are being discussed here.