Great Western Coffee Shop

Tomorrow (that's Thursday 13th August 2020) at 19:30 UK time, I'm hosting an extra Zoom meeting for the Great Western "Coffee Shop" passenger forum - details below.   Meeting 'format' "fireside chat" although it's so hot this week we don't need anything other than a virtual fireplace.  A chance for a group of perhaps a dozen of us to talk things through.

In recent months, passenger numbers using public transport have been decimated - they are starting to recover somewhat now, but with social distancing rules that recovery is slow compared to the rate that private car use has sprung back.  But private cars bring congestion and are not good for the environment, even if electric.  And they are far from available to everyone.  Walking, cycling, bus and train are all needed, each for their own journey type, if we're to move towards a cleaner, more pleasant and carbon zero society, countering or at least stoppingclimate change.

We are at something of a junction.  Decisions need to be made whether we plough ahead in our old ways, or rebuild bigger and better healthy and mass transit resources into the future, and arrange our cities and our lives to help in those very positive directions.

This afternoon (12th August) I'm attending "ConnectedCities: Metroisation of the Railways - MetroWest" http://www.passenger.chat/23876 and looking at the example of West Wilts (and Frome) from a perspective of how the railway may handle such developemnt which (de facto) is somewhat framed in this area already.  Tomorrow's zoom session (below) will take any follow ups as a staring point, but we may run wider into other topics in the foruum's zone.

"The Great Western Coffee Shop forum is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned."

We already meet at 16:00 on Tuesdays and our member's area at http://www.passenger.chat/b54 includes the log in details.  Some members have asked for an evening meeting now that they are back at work, and this evening session is something of a try out.  There are some differences - on this one occasion the meeting is open to all.  As host, I will welcome everyone, but I will ask that people in the meeting only take their fair share of the time, and I will be chairing it to ensure it doesn't get taken over by a single individual / group / cause.  The waiting room will be enabled, and people coming in to the meeting will be muted on joining automatically.

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Graham Ellis is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Zoom into the Coffee Shop Passenger Forum
Time: Aug 13, 2020 07:30 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84688262421?pwd=TnpiZTB6R0hwWDZJR2RiM3BlQTJ5QT09

Meeting ID: 846 8826 2421
Passcode: 530715

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keATD8ucYF

Thank you to the those of you who came along - as ever, time flew as we chatted and the hour quickly passed.  But it was very much "as ever". The 19:30 Thursday start, set to enable those who can't make 16:00 on a Tuesday to take part, only attracted those we see on Tuesday afternoon anyway.  Fair enough - the purpose was to see if it would bring in people who couldn't make the weekly slot, and it didn't - research done.  We may, though, run occasional evening specials.