The City that killed bike sharing.

[Cycleops]

It appears that the mayor of Dallas has blamed cycle sharing company Ofo for the recycling of thousands of their bikes after demanding a registration fee of $800 and $21 per bike.
What hope has bike sharing and green affordable transportation got with idiocy like that.
https://reason.com/blog/2018/08/07/dallas-mayor-blames-bike-sharing-company

 

[Rooster1]

shameful

 

[trewlis]

Ugh! He needs to be replaced lol

 

[Drago]

It won't be long before the United states is half desert, half under water, and those that survive are radiation crazed zombies.

You know how the Americanos love their big trucks, driven in part by a favourable taxation structure which allows most motorists to dodge the levies applied to normal cars? Well, in order to dodge some very grudging taxation based on the emissions of the manufacturers range, the big players have launched some 4 cylinder pickups. Of course they're all turbocharged to make the power almost as much as the V8, they're only available in poverty spec because they no no one will buy one, and when driven in a live environment they're as dirty as the V8s, but because in the lab they're a bit cleaner they lower the average emissions s of the model range and thus help with the firms tax bills.

That's the culture over there. It doesn't matter how green Obama imagined himself to be, or how coal mad Trump is, because the average citizenm the companies they buy from, and the city states in which they live simply do not give a Tommy T about the environment. We. Are. Doomed.

 

[Globalti]

I thought Manchester's residents killed the Mobikes by stealing and vandalizing them all?

 

[Drago]

I thought Manchester's residents killed the Mobikes by stealing and vandalizing them all?

On the orders of the mayor of Dallas, no doubt.

 

[jefmcg]

It won't be long before the United states is half desert, half under water, and those that survive are radiation crazed zombies.

You know how the Americanos love their big trucks, driven in part by a favourable taxation structure which allows most motorists to dodge the levies applied to normal cars? Well, in order to dodge some very grudging taxation based on the emissions of the manufacturers range, the big players have launched some 4 cylinder pickups. Of course they're all turbocharged to make the power almost as much as the V8, they're only available in poverty spec because they no no one will buy one, and when driven in a live environment they're as dirty as the V8s, but because in the lab they're a bit cleaner they lower the average emissions s of the model range and thus help with the firms tax bills.

That's the culture over there. It doesn't matter how green Obama imagined himself to be, or how coal mad Trump is, because the average citizenm the companies they buy from, and the city states in which they live simply do not give a Tommy T about the environment. We. Are. Doomed.

Yes, it's all the Americans. You'd never hear of a German manufacturer cheating on emission tests.

 

[Drago]

And fools still queue up to but VW Group products like they're some kind of badge of honour. Never mind the death and deceit through their history.

"Oh yes, I believe in global warming. Oh yes, it's awful what's happening to the planet. By the way, do you like my new Golf?"

 

[Threevok]

My wife's initials are VW

She lies about her emissions too

 

[Drago]

My wife's initials are VW

She lies about her emissions too

And the coveted Post of the Day award goes to Threevok for that gem.

 

[Cycleops]

People have short memories and are only interested in buying if the deal suits them.
Look at the amount of brickbats that Ryanair get but passenger numbers and profits still climb.

 

[rogerzilla]

If people cared about pollution or CO2, they wouldn't buy massive SUVs (an estate car has more space) or run the engine for ten minutes to defrost the windows...a jug of warm water does it in 30 seconds.

 

[Globalti]

Of course one single individual or even a thousand running their engines cold won't have any effect but when that runs into millions around the world every day it begins to count. But people don't think like that, do they?

 

[confusedcyclist]

And fools still queue up to but VW Group products like they're some kind of badge of honour. Never mind the death and deceit through their history.

"Oh yes, I believe in global warming. Oh yes, it's awful what's happening to the planet. By the way, do you like my new Golf?"

I sympathise with the principle, but I don't suffer the illusion that swapping my Skoda (Volskwagen AG) with a Prius or a Tesla would bring us any closer to absolute green utopia. I personally don't mind people showing off their new Golf. I quite happen to like Golfs. They are modest and practical by most standards. GTI/Ds being the exception. That said, I avoid driving cars as much as humanly possible considering our motor-centric-society on account of the externalisation of negative impacts imposed on society that most others conveniently forget about, or brush over. VWgate exposed the fact that most of makers of diesel engines were in on the game.

 

[Drago]

The hypothetical example wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. Its was simply trotted out to illustrate the hypocrisy of most adults when it comes to matters environmental.

If people are genuinely that concerned they would walk, cycle or use public transport. Instead, they buy cars, boast about it to their chums, and then drive around with 4 empty seats for most of the cars life. Americans do that but with an extra tonne of metal.

You are wise, and use yours as little as possible. I went down the same route and went for the smallest, least damaging to manufacture and use vehicle I could find, and then try to avoid using it at all.

VW gate is, of course, just the latest piece of iffy behaviour from VW. They have a history of it, dating from wartime atrocities, lying about their involvement in such atrocities for decades, and only finally admitting it in the 90s when most of the survivors were dead as a tactic to minimise the compensation bill... diesel gate, ghastly as it was, is quite tame for them. Probably no mass manufacturer can claim to be saint like, but VW are particularly nasty, and their behaviour over almost 8 decades is such I'm surprised that anyone buys their products. In reality, like the environment, shiny cars and prestige among the neighbours takes a higher priority than such trifles. Trump, Mike Ashley, people,e moan about them but then happily buy VW products without demur, which seems odd to say the least.

And that brings us full circle back to Dallas. People talk, the talk (although Americans less so) when it comes to the environment, but if walking the walk causes some inconvenience then the bunnies and trees can go swivel. In this case an irrational demand for additional levies means the company has withdrawn, so the local government now don't get any taxes at all, and the users go back to their pick up trucks, and the planet rolls its eyes and puffs on another Benson.

No one wins economically, morally, or environmentally, so why so it at all? Because he's the Mayor of Dallas an he can, that's why.