Right to ride to school

"All children should have the right to cycle to school.

There are many excellent programmes designed to promote cycling to children – such as Bikeability and CTC’s Bike Club.

But there remains a persistent problem - many children are unable to cycle to school because:

* they don’t know how
* their parents would rather drive them
* they don’t have anywhere to keep their bike
* their school actively discourages this mode of transportation

It is especially frustrating when children who have received Bikeability cycle training and whose parents are supportive of cycling are unable to cycle because their schools forbid them from bringing their bikes onto school grounds … or just forbid them outright.

In response to these concerns, CTC will be releasing a campaigning kit for families who want their children to be able to cycle to school despite opposition from head teachers and/or governors. "

Cycle to work guarantee

"A healthier workforce means higher productivity. Cycling to work is a great way for people to get, and stay, fit and healthy.

The Cycle to Work Guarantee is a voluntary initiative from the Department for Transport, challenging businesses to become cycle friendly employers by making it easy for staff to cycle to and from work.

By signing up, your business can signal its commitment by providing the facilities and incentives to help your workforce become healthier, greener and more productive.

• Secure, safe, and accessible bike parking

• Good quality changing and locker facilities

• Offset the cost of cycling equipment and save on the tax through the ‘Cycle to Work scheme’

• Bike repair for cyclists on or near site

• Training, reward and incentive programmes to achieve targets for more cycling

Massive expansion of Oyster PAYG

[See new entry dated 28 December]

Oyster Pay as you go will be accepted on every train in London that accepts travel cards, from 2 January. This map http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/Oyster-rail-services-in-London-Jan-2010.pdf shows it diagrammatically. PAYG is also accepted on Thames Clipper.

Don't be fooled into thinking that the lower PAYG fares that exist on London Transport Services will apply though. The National Rail (NR) fares are not changing.

My friends at FWT who make the useful ATOC London Connections map didn't accept that their text about tickets should be updated for Oyster - they argued that Oyster was primarily a TfL thing and their main concern was National Rail. I think they will have to change their mind now.

The interesting thing about TfL's PAYG map is that the NR lnes are colour coded according to the London Terminus/-i they serve - completely ignoring the mind boggling name/ownership changes that pervade NR. All that said, there is too much duplication in the world of train maps in London and TfL and ATOC/FWT should collaborate and rationalise.

Cycle of consumption

As I write the Christmas lights are being put up in Barking town centre. It's a cliché to say they go up earlier every year (though I do think it was 'only' a month before Christmas last year) and I daresay the words "bah humbug" will be dusted off, but this 'Disneytide' is just a rather pathetic attempt to stimulate the cycle of consumption.

Commercial enterprises are trying to "make money", but they can't. Only banks make money - the rest of us just pass it around. All the shops trying to get money off you this 'Disneytide' are going to give a fair proportion of it to their staff as wages, so that they can go off and give it to another enterprise who will give it to their staff and so on.

I'm not being a Puritan - people should enjoy Christmas, but just step back and think what it is you really want for yourself, your fellow human beings and - crucially - the planet. There will be people who wake up hungry and die before the next time they should be going to sleep again. What is it we're trying to achieve?

Trinity Buoy Wharf

A few photos taken on our visit there on 15 November

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cardinal1962/TrinityBuoyWharf15Nov09#

Thames Clipper. Oysterising the Thames - The River Concordat

http://www.thamesclippers.com/routes-times-prices-booking/routes-times-prices-booking.html

This regular river service can be a bit low key in its presence at the piers in tourist areas, presumably so the tourist oriented boat operators can catch the tourists. Thames Clipper's all day ticket is £12 or £8 if you have a travel card.

http://www.thamesclippers.com/main/news-15.html

This press release from 6 April ('Oysterising the Thames - The River Concordat') says "From November this year Thames Clipper services will be able to accept Oyster Pay as you Go"

Electric car charging point

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23764768-electric-car-charge-points-installed-at-sainsburys.do

The Evening Standard reported that some Sainsbury's stores have these. Those at Beckton are at the western end of the car park on the A13 side. The brand is Elektrobay, but they don't yet feature on the supplier's network map:

http://www.elektromotive.com/html/network.php

100% renewable electricity/gas

I buy my gas/electricity from Good Energy because it uses 100% renewable sources. They’re doing a promotion whereby if customers get other people to sign up they get £25 off their bill and so does the new signer.

Until the end of 2009 I will donate any £25s I get this way to charity.

Please quote my account number when you sign up – G502256. Good Energy’s phone number is 08456 011410 (according to http://www.saynoto0870.com this number translates to 01249 766090)