Is this really unreasonable?

PasturesNew

dopester wrote: »

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1184708/My-second-home-30-tent-330-mile-commuter-urges-MP-join-canvas.html

From that "During the winter months, he stays in a nearby conference centre for £15 a night." - that's what I'd do if it's true.

His overall costs of getting to work are high though

'I spend at least £200 a week just going to work. For the month that is £800 or £900 and that's not even counting wear and tear on the car. Half my wages go to getting to work"

Also, he is only there Tue-Fri.

The thing is, he still needed the money/background to be able to get the job, to be able to afford to get to the interview - and be able to afford £1000 up front before his first wage packet.

I'll admit camping's a solution for some, but not all... and for me I can only put up a 1-man pop up tent because I'm useless... but I'd sleep in my car alongside the tent. He does seem to drive (rather than taking the train), so sleeping in the car (for better security) would seem best... in fact, get a transit van.

kabayiri

I think something along the lines of what Hamish describes will happen, but in perhaps a different way to the last government's approach.

'Low value' functions will move to cheaper areas. As an example, I can get IS support people in the Manchester area now for between 12K and 16K. London rates seem to be early 20K upwards.

You could do the same assessment for HR, personnel, payroll, people answering the phones. The comms and systems technology available now is vastly superior to that available even a decade ago. It will enable change.

PasturesNew

Update to the tent story: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23864934-council-bosses-forced-me-out-after-i-revealed-i-lived-in-a-tent.do

Council Bosses Forced Me Out After I Revealed I Lived in a Tent

A former London council worker told today how he had been threatened with disciplinary action because his employers objected to him revealing that he lived in Epping Forest....

But the council was unhappy with the publicity. Mr Hanman took voluntary redundancy in April.

A LOT of employers would, imho, take a very dim view to this type of living arrangement.

split_second

i commuted an hour each way to work for 3 and a half years

then i passed my driving test and did another 3 years there

the way public transport runs, an hour each way would get you 12 miles tops

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

split_second wrote: »

i commuted an hour each way to work for 3 and a half years

then i passed my driving test and did another 3 years there

the way public transport runs, an hour each way would get you 12 miles tops

A good point.

If we are serious about getting people to travel bigger distances to work, it's important to realise that in many parts of the country, cheap and efficient public transport does not exist.

Perhaps looking to reduce the cost of motoring in rural areas could be a viable solution. Lower fuel duty and road tax for remote communities, for example.

Generali

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

A good point.

If we are serious about getting people to travel bigger distances to work, it's important to realise that in many parts of the country, cheap and efficient public transport does not exist.

Perhaps looking to reduce the cost of motoring in rural areas could be a viable solution. Lower fuel duty and road tax for remote communities, for example.

If you're less than 10 miles from work and under the age of 45 then cycling should be a viable alternative to public transport (obvious caveats apply).

The cost of driving in the UK is ridiculous. I pay an average of about $1.15 a litre for fuel (about 70p) and I pay for it out of untaxed income, albeit that I later pay 11% in fringe benefit tax on it. It works out that I pay the equivalent of about 58p/litre if I was to buy it with taxed income. VED + MOT equivalent is $286 I think, but again I pay from untaxed income so the equivalent from taxed income would be £145. I also pay about $20 (this time from taxed income) in road tolls for using the Harbour Bridge and a couple of tunnels that have been put in to allow payers to get across the city faster.

Speed cameras are 2 a penny over here too so I expect to get 1 fine each year or 2 at a cost of about $100 and 1 point (out of 12). Again this is paid from taxed income.

sss555s

It's a good thread this.

I think the answer in a lot of cases is technology. Conference calls, webinare, email and a hole host of on-line solutions make the locations less important for many jobs these days.

I can think of one example where up to 5 people go separately from one hospital to another for a report meeting each week (30 mins drive each way) for a 1 hour long meeting.

There must be thousands of similar examples where technology if grasped, would help greatly.

I can't see transport becoming any more viable within the next few years.

nearlynew

Isn't it ironic that the majority of those unemployed in the south wales valleys are descendents of irish, cornish and italian migrants who themselves relocated to wales from their homeland to seek work in the booming idustries.

The difference is, there was no welfare state back then.

And there are no jobs now.

Malcolm.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

A good point.

If we are serious about getting people to travel bigger distances to work, it's important to realise that in many parts of the country, cheap and efficient public transport does not exist.

Perhaps looking to reduce the cost of motoring in rural areas could be a viable solution. Lower fuel duty and road tax for remote communities, for example.

The number of people claiming to live in remote communities would rocket.

Distorting the market so = an increase in the number of people telling fibs.

mvengemvenge

This whole discussion is irrelevant.

The rules for JSA are this; When you claim JSA you sign a Jobseeker's Agreement. On that it states that between 0-13 weeks, you are willing to travel up to 60 minutes by public transport to get to work. After 13 weeks, that goes up to 90 minutes by public transport. The 'requirement' IDS suggested has already been in place for years. Why Labour spokesmen are complaining about this travel requirement, when they brought it in, I do not understand.

This is a total non-issue.