Ban cars in cities?

[SVT666]

WAR ON CARS: EU AIMS TO BAN CARS IN CITIES, FORCE TRAIN RIDERSHIP
By Nick Aziz

Europe has always been one of the most aggressive regions when it comes to taxing fuel purchases and implementing strict emissions regulations, but the European Commission has announced a new proposal that takes the global war on cars to the next level.

In an effort to reduce oil dependence, transport head Siim Kallas unveiled a plan on Monday calling for the complete ban of gas- and diesel-powered cars in Europe by 2050. The plan also contains a provision that would require most trips of 186 miles or more to be done so by train, forcing drivers to abandon their cars.

In the 1980s, Mr. Kallas was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Politicians in the United Kingdom were quick to reject the idea. Transport Minister Norman Baker pointed to the absurdity of the plan.

?We will not be banning cars from city centers anymore than we will be having rectangular bananas,? he said.

Meanwhile, a prominent motoring association in Britain also chimed in on Mr. Kallas? radical scheme. Hugh Bladon, a spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said the idea was ?crazy? and could be economically disastrous.

?I suggest that he goes and finds himself a space in the local mental asylum,? Bladon told the Telegraph. ?If he wants to bring everywhere to a grinding halt and to plunge us into a new dark age, he is on the right track. The man is off his rocker.?

UK Independence Party transport spokesman Christopher Monckton said the plans are ?in the realms of fantasy?.

He added: ?They want to ban cars from cities, they want to force everybody on to rail and canals ? it is as if they have been taken over by the shade of the Victorian engineers.

But as the UK?s sovereignty slowly erodes to the EU, it remains unclear which government will have final say in the years to come.

[Mustangfan2003]

Looks like the Brits need to break away. 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Ban cars. Subsidize rickshaws. _________.  PROFIT$$!$!$

[Madman]

Nutty politician suggests stupid idea.  Nobody takes him seriously.  End of story.

THIS IS NOT NEWS!!!!!   The EU is NOT going to ban cars in cities.     

[Galaxy]

Here is his 2050 plan.

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/doc/2011_white_paper/white_paper_com(2011)_144_en.pdf


No?where does it say that that people are required to abandon their car for short trips. He does want to phase out gasoline and diesel cars, but I think the industry is going that way anyways.

As for being a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union you probably had to be a member in Estonia to get any good job. I doubt he had a choice.

[cawimmer430]

The plan also contains a provision that would require most trips of 186 miles or more to be done so by train, forcing drivers to abandon their cars.

So if I want to drive from Munich to the N?rburgring and have to transport all my photographic equipment (lights, batteries, softboxes etc.) I need to take a fucking train? What kind of crack is this motherfucker smoking? 

People here already make use of our excellent and far-reaching public transportation services, but in some cases or professions people are dependent on cars. And some areas are only reachable by car - like the N?rburgring, which is in the middle of nowhere. If you want to get to the N?rburgring from N?rburg, you can't take a train or a bus. You need to take a taxi which are expensive as hell (and I didn't see many taxis in N?rburg the last time I was there [small town]). In an area like the N?rburgring, you need a car. Period.

This Kallas crackhead can go fuck himself.

?I suggest that he goes and finds himself a space in the local mental asylum,? Bladon told the Telegraph. ?If he wants to bring everywhere to a grinding halt and to plunge us into a new dark age, he is on the right track. The man is off his rocker.?

I disagree. I think Kallas should buy a gun, stick it in his mouth and pull the trigger. 

What a fucking nut. He knows he'll be long dead before 2050 so he probably wants to piss a few people off with this bullshit.

[sportyaccordy]

Impossible w/o compensating w/an upgraded transit system

Some liberal nuts on another board I'm on is rallying against the use of public space for free private parking, and keeps hinting at bike lanes as being a superior use of said public space. I said to him, we'll see how your bike lanes work in a light snow storm.

We have to think about + protect the environment, but people have to keep their plans based in reality

[cawimmer430]

but people have to keep their plans based in reality

Try telling that to politicians in general. 

[AltinD]

'Kallas' in Arabic mean 'Enough'

... it would be funny if 'Siim' would also mean something that goes with it. Imagine if 'Siim Kallas' would translate to 'Enough Bullshit'.