please empty your brain below
|
|
I for one salute the visionary who brought us this wonderful addition to the capital's public transport network. Thank you Boris Johnson!
Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 28.06.17 - 7:07 a.m. | #
|
|
Happy birthday Dangleway!
Hikki | 28.06.17 - 7:30 a.m. | #
|
Never sure whether the Dangleway or the New Routemaster should win first prize for the most grotesque and costly Mayoral vanity project ever.
Yup, OK, Dangleway wins it. Happy Birthday.
Roger French | 28.06.17 - 7:51 a.m. | #
|
|
To me its a tourist attraction nothing more nothing less, and as for insisting on calling it an "Airline" ha ha.
fishislandskin | 28.06.17 - 8:03 a.m. | #
|
Another unparalleled triumph of style over substance for the blond one.
At least sanity seems to be prevailing in relation to the "garden bridge". Not before piles of public money have been poured down the drain (well, into the pockets of those designing and promoting it). But at least the even larger piles to actually build and maintain it have not been spent.
Andrew | 28.06.17 - 8:25 a.m. | #
|
You forgot the Garden Bridge, £37.5m.
Clearly the magic money tree exists.
Still anon | 28.06.17 - 8:30 a.m. | #
|
|
Another rare feature for transport infrastructure (which this undoubtedly is, as you can tell by the public subsidy) is that it was built to budget and opened earlier than promised!
Malcolm | 28.06.17 - 8:32 a.m. | #
|
|
The number of commuters per day is actually approaching one million. OK, it hasn't quite hit that target yet, but it is approaching it. Or possibly receding from it. Or staying stable.
Malcolm | 28.06.17 - 8:37 a.m. | #
|
|
Should the growling hulk ever be called upon to replace 'strong and stable' as our leader, (next week perhaps) I'm sure his many 'special projects' will have been enough to assure the nation that he is indeed the one to lead us once again to the sunny uplands of prosperity.
Brian | 28.06.17 - 8:44 a.m. | #
|
|
One of your best! Very cutting.
Alex McKenna | 28.06.17 - 8:49 a.m. | #
|
THE THAMES AIRLINE
by W.T. McGonagall
Beautiful Airline known as Dangleway
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That for five years people have had to pay
much money for a vanity project
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.
W.T. McGonagall | 28.06.17 - 8:51 a.m. | #
|
Is it a coincidence that the Airline was opened in the same year we won a RECORD number of Olympic gold medals?
We didn't open one in 2016 and we won fewer golds, and we got Brexit. When will we learn?
Madison | 28.06.17 - 9:10 a.m. | #
|
|
52 weeks on 52 weeks, rolling total is only down about 2%. Unless they've revised the historical data.
Wolf | 28.06.17 - 9:12 a.m. | #
|
|
I think it is only right that you, DG, should visit a place/transport destination/vehicle that is a minority interest. It always saves us the bother yet allows us to see how things are.
B | 28.06.17 - 9:40 a.m. | #
|
|
Careful, Dg. If you're any more tongue-in-cheek, you're going to haemorrhage said cheek and end up with another hole in the side of your head. :)
Chz | 28.06.17 - 9:44 a.m. | #
|
Happy Birthday Dangleway,
As a tourist to London I love the view.
Michael | 28.06.17 - 9:53 a.m. | #
|
I still enjoy the fact that their Twitter account- @EmiratesAirLDN - has to repeatedly redirect people with queries about catching planes to another account:
https://twitter.com/EmiratesAirLDN/with_replies
(At least, when it's not announcing closures for winds or lightning...)
Adam Bowie | Homepage | 28.06.17 - 10:06 a.m. | #
|
It isn't officially called the Elizabeth Air Line. It's officially called the Emirates Air Line, since they sponsor it.
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/emirates-air-line/
Dave | 28.06.17 - 10:08 a.m. | #
|
@Dave - no, its official name, as regular readers to this blog know well, is Arabfly Dangleway.
Though I'm still disappointed Boris didn't stick to his promise to name it after the then Business Secretary, Vince Cable.
martin | 28.06.17 - 10:42 a.m. | #
|
|
It’s an easy target, I know. But as a parent of two small children in East London I’m actually quite fond of it as a relatively straightforward and inexpensive day / half day out. They never tire of going on it, and it’s free (for them, at least). It used to be even better when you could mooch round that funny Siemens low energy museum thing for nothing, too.
Chris | 28.06.17 - 11:50 a.m. | #
|
As a proud (and regular) London visitor I resent the term "tourist attraction".
The things we do as tourists don't always make much sense or are very useful, but there's a limit to even our gullibility.
Steffen | 28.06.17 - 12:06 p.m. | #
|
|
The entire area feels like a Philomena Cunk out-take. Oh look there's a fake derrick. And another one. And there's that hotel made to look like a cruise ship. And a beach. And a cocktail barge that's never open. And a footbridge to nowhere. So an airline where you can see the wires feels completely in keeping.
Julian Bond | Homepage | 28.06.17 - 12:42 p.m. | #
|
|
Its a cheap fun tourist attraction, no more. I'm more disappointed about the Siemens Crystal which was a half decent exhibition when free and now, presumably, completely empty as it charges 8 quid.
Ian Brooker | 28.06.17 - 1:20 p.m. | #
|
I like the dangleway, so there.
I also like Borismasters, so there.
Yup you've guessed it I like Boris too, so there
Boxer | 28.06.17 - 1:51 p.m. | #
|
I whinged about it at the time and continue to do so when prompted. It cost us money when we were promised it wouldn't.
If we were going to have a Dangleway it should have gone to Canary Wharf. But then I believe it couldn't have anyway because of shipping.
Chris (the original) | 28.06.17 - 2:02 p.m. | #
|
|
Can't we relocate the Dangleway to somewhere more useful for public transport and with more spectacular views, e.g. between the Walkie Talkie and Waterloo station?
Gerry | 28.06.17 - 3:02 p.m. | #
|
|
So pleased they have changed the name to Elizabeth... One day soon everything in this country will be renamed Elizabeth so they are probably ahead of the curve.
The Legendary Zelda | 28.06.17 - 3:14 p.m. | #
|
Remember kids, the Dangleway is the most expensive cable car ever built:
gondolaproject.com/2011/09/26/exploring-the-thames-cable-car-costs/
Espadrilles | 28.06.17 - 4:31 p.m. | #
|
Wonderful style!
The undertone of it all from the writing, alludes to one very obvious fact: it's not actually a transport scheme.
It's success in time hopefully will be judged by the sparkle it's given to a previously grotty bit of East London (particularly on the Royal Docks side), and the regeneration it's been a catalyst to.
It's indeed an utter failure of a transport scheme, but that's because it's not a transport scheme!
Planner | 28.06.17 - 9:45 p.m. | #
|
|
DG One of your best
Dave B | 28.06.17 - 10:26 p.m. | #
|
|
But is it profitable, is its (presumed) surplus income enough to pay off its debts?
Ken | 28.06.17 - 11:19 p.m. | #
|
|
Brilliant!!
Cornish Cockney | 29.06.17 - 12:05 a.m. | #
|
@Ken
What surplus? I can't be bothered to look the numbers up, but I doubt it even covers its running costs. Most of the time there are more staff than customers.
timbo | 29.06.17 - 6:57 a.m. | #
|
|
But, we are told there are 1,500,000 journeys per annum. That's at least £5 Million in revenue against 40 staff at £50k fully loaded costing just £2M. That leaves a lot to buy spares and other bits of maintenance items, etc. Unless it all goes on advertising...
Ken | 29.06.17 - 7:14 a.m. | #
|
According to today's TfL Finance report, last year the Air Line collected £6m in fare income (21% below the budgeted target of £8m).
Previous data has suggested that the Air Line does cover its running costs.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 29.06.17 - 9:29 a.m. | #
|
|
Indeed, and given it covers its running costs, the capital is a sunk cost and its existence bothers very few of us, I would argue that the Roastmaster is a bigger "mistake" as millions of poor people have to use them every year, and suffer from them belching out ever more fumes because of their faulty hybrid systems.
Kirk | 29.06.17 - 3:08 p.m. | #
|
|
Perfect for looking at all the scrap yards along the Thames in the local area too!
Andrew Jarman | 29.06.17 - 10:38 p.m. | #
|
|
Nicely written. Bizarre to think it's 5 years old. I still haven't been on it so that's possibly the only "new" bit of infrastructure run by TfL that I've never used.
PC | 30.06.17 - 11:42 a.m. | #
|
I was one of the regular commuters for several months, complete with the handy money-saving 10 ride paper ticket which was hole-punched old school style on my journeys across.
Indeed I was living in close proximity to the Royal Victoria Dock, frequented that Tesco and would have been one of the early risers for my morning trip in my private pod to the world of work opposite.
rashbre | Homepage | 02.07.17 - 10:35 a.m. | #
|
|
|
TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy
|