Great Western Coffee Shop

Picked this up from Yahoo.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/first-urban-cable-car-launch-103315795.html (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/first-urban-cable-car-launch-103315795.html)

"Known as the Emirates Air Line, the facility will cost ^3.20 for a single fare for those using Oyster cards, while adults paying by cash will have to fork out ^4.30."

Another reason to get an Oyster Card?

So it is ready before the Olympics. How confusing....! ???

What a waste of money. This really shows how Ken was a better than Boris. This is pretty much the only thing that Boris will have to his name (apart from the waste of money buses).

I think I'll reserve judgement on whether this is a waste of money or not once we see how popular it is. I have a feeling that it will be well used.

Cable Car? To me, cable cars are the large things with only one on each cable (there was normally a second cable with a second car next to it) that stop moving at each end. The photograph seems to show what I think of as a gondala, a circuit of many constantly moving small things.

A gondala is therefore more like a chair-lift, whereas cable cars stop at each end for many passengers to board. As I said, with cable cars there tends to be two with one going each way, a bit like the water-balanced cliff-railway at the centre for alternative technology but not power by the weight of water like that is.

With a home in the borough of Greenwich, I am happy especially as it it is going to be available to bicycles. A sort of YPIMBY.

Don't forget the bikes!

I'm not sure if it will be a waste of money, evening standard pointed out that fares should at least cover operating costs if not some of the capital expenditure. That is better than many other transport schemes!

NO, contrary to popular belief, the bikes were initiated by Ken. It normally takes about 4 years for a vision to come to futution. Apart from a new bus and this cable car, Boris has done nothing for transport (apart from axing various schemes).

And unless you want to go from the O2 to the Exhibition Centre, it's pointless. It doesn't even go to Canary Wharf...

IIRC Emirates covered about half of the capital costs. 

It should have been totally privately funded but tax payers have put in millions. It is only planned to break even so there is no way of getting that money back.

Can you take your politics elsewhere please, I don't want to read that, or your general piffle about fleeced commuters. :)

Name something for Transport that Boris has done then (I also missed removing the Western Congestion Charge).

If you lived along the line of the proposed DLR that was axed and then saw this Cable car, I think you'd be annoyed!

EBrown has made a good request here, let's leave the politics to other forums. Thanks.

I'm looking forward to a ride on it when I go to London next, providing the queue isn't too long.

Huge queues this evening at platform 9.75 at King's Cross ... looks like we're in for a busy summer!

Many aspects of the railway contain politics. Many posts on this forum involve political tinkering in some way. Without politics there are no railways.

Besides, I wasn't making a political point nor stating a political opinion (I like Boris in many ways btw ;D ). I was merely stating a fact.

I can't wait to go on the cable car either.

I'm pretty sure my fear of heights means I won't be going on it ever... Shame though...  :)

Will it have to shut in winds? I don't think commuters would fancy bumping along from side to side, spilling their Starbucks! :o

If it takes the pressure off the Jubilee, that can only be a good thing.

Apologies for that-I have only relatively recently moved to London way where the standard calls them boris bikes. furthermore, I reckon it will be used more as a tourist attraction than a genuine commuting tool.

I'm planning on trying this out either at the weekend or early next week.  Does anyone know what the queues are like now it's been open for a few days?

As an interesting aside, the cable car appears to have an amended version of the TfL rail byelaws.  In addition, the legislation behind the cable car allows penalty fares to be charged by the operator (DLR Ltd) as if it were a train :o

I went on it yesterday around 3-4pm. There were no (minimal) queues.

Very good view of Canary Wharf, the Dome, the Olympic Park, London City Airport and the Thames Barrier.
Not a very good view of The City and even Shard is mostly blocked off by One Canada Square!

Worth a go on a sunny, calm day. :)

Still not convinced overall, as there is a substantial walk to North Greenwich Tube and it seems to go from nowhere to nowhere...
Still, there were plenty of tourists in my pod.

Assuming I can "work from home" tomorrow, I'll be visiting during the late morning or early afternoon.  Quite looking forward to trying it out.

Oh yes the tourists will love it.

Well, tried the cable car yesterday.

I'll start with the positives.  There was no queue, had a gondola to myself as most people waited a few seconds for the next one to come round so they could sit together.  Staff were very friendly, asking me what I thought after alighting.

And now the negatives.  It was slightly windy and the gondola moved slightly, which I wasn't very comfortable with at the start.  I don't really like heights when over water, so couldn't look directly down for part of the journey.  It is seriously overpriced for a less than 10 minute journey and doesn't really go to/from anywhere useful.  The DLR/tube stations are several minutes walk, so not ideal for commuters either.

The weather was pretty bad so I didn't get a great view.

I'd recommend it as a "do it once" tourist attraction that is considerably cheaper than the London Eye, but I have no plans to use it again.

Yes, I would agree with most of that (except the weather was ok for me).

I said that tourists were on it, but of course, they didn't like the long walk to the DLR and then seemed frustrated that it would take them a while to get back into the main part of London (and Bank isn't that touristy).

If TFL want to capitalise on this scheme, they need to make more of both ends. Even the North Greenwich terminal is a bit empty.

Another note - if you want to get more for your money, travel off peak for a 10 minute journey.

Mrs GTBE + friend went on the cable car last week.  They came back from Greenwich BY BOAT - the pier is apparently close to the cable car station and the clipper is a nice trip right back into town.

The brand new multimillion pound cable car has BROKEN DOWN just days from the Games.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2178742/London-2012-Olympics-Emirates-Cable-Car-breaks-leaving-tourists-sweltering-conditions.html

Children and OAPs were left in "sweltering conditions" for 40 minutes before being recused by ambulances and BTP carrying water.

<pedant alert>

How did these 'rescue' ambulances and BTP get to the stranded cable car passengers? Paramedics with jet packs? BTP with gyrocopters?

I think rather they were 'rescued' and THEN attended to by the LAS and BTP.  :P ;) ;D

True, but apparently some nearer the ground where evacuated. It was only those dangling above the Thames that had to wait in the heat.

It would be interesting to see the plans for how passengers would be evacuated.

I noticed there was a black padlocked box under one of the seats, does anyone know what is stored in there?

A zip line tied to an inflatable dingy for safe escape onto the Thames? :P ;) ;D

A hammer and parachutes?

A copy of Cheryl Cole's "auto"biography?

From the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19040455):