03/12/2012 Inside Out South West

Hello and welcome to Inside Out South-west, stories and

investigations from where you live. Tonight: After the floods,

remembering the victims. This is a beautiful girl, she didn't deserve

that. The good die young and she was a good girl. Also tonight:

While the rail companies fight the weather, I am struggling with their

ticket machines. Where is the London? There we go. Any time soon,

�116. I don't want that one. I want the �61 ticket.

This machine is not offering the correctly priced ticket for the

next train that leaves this station. In fact, it wants to charge nearly

double what I should be paying. And, are we falling out of love

with the car? Everybody just gave up and got that used to using

Facebook and phones and sitting around or using public transport

that I don't think anybody cares about cars any more. I am Sam Smith

The flood waters may have subsided, but for many of the victims of the

past week's deluge the misery and disruption goes on. Andrea has been

following the stories of those caught newspaper the worst storm --

caught up in the worst storm in the south-west in recent memory.

Saturday, 24th November, 2012. Storms hit the south-west. Twice as

much rain as you would expect in a month has fallen in the last six

days. Tonight, rivers are at bursting point.

Peter and Joan Richardson live next to one. We were watching television.

Peter said, they've got water up to ankle deep across the way.

I said, oh, Lord. The couple are in their 80s. Peter has bad arthritis

and trouble walking. This year, Joan had a stroke. It had been

raining non-stop all day. But their house had never flooded before.

They feel safe. Outside, and the homeless community aren't feeling

quite so protected. One young woman heldz for shelter, she knows a

place they'll be safe. They settle for the night on the edge of the

city centre. 10.00pm and still the rain falls and the warnings

continue. Many parts of England are facing the threat of more flooding

tonight with no letup in the heavy rain... I went into the kitchen to

get a drink and I looked out the window and normally the river, you

can just see the top of it and it was up to the window sill in the

sitting room, roaring through and I thought, this is dodgy. This is the

River Kenn at Kennford, normally no more than a gentle stream next to

Joan and Peter's house. It sounds stupid really! But I started trying

to sweep it up in my dustpan! And put it in the bucket. I was there

on my knees doing this and then it suddenly started coming in from the

back. The river had come over the wall, which wasn't high enough, and

it had started pouring in through the conservatory.

Bailing it out. It's come in all the rooms.

There was just mud everywhere. I mean, I can't explain it.

It was depositing all this rubbish everywhere. Midnight, and the

couple are exhausted. But bailing as fast as they can manage.

At the same time, in Exeter, the emergency services get a call. A

spruce tree has come down in the storm and a tent with three people

in it is underneath. Michelle Conroy was just 21. She

was taken to hospital but died shortly afterwards. Her friend Jazz,

who is also homeless, knows how vulnerable they all are. If you are

sitting in a tent it can be really scary, if it's really windy. You

know, it's a lashing down with rain, the main things you are thinking of

is, are you going to flood? Where Michelle was, it was high ground.

She wasn't on low ground. She was on high ground. With a wall next to

her, which with it being ideal place to camp because you have the

shielding of the wall, and the coverage of the tree, like this

tree now. In their heads they would have been thinking, OK, that will

keep us shielded, we will keep us warm and we are on high ground.

They did do the sensible thing, just in the wrong place. The wrong

time. Kevin, Finn and Jazz are shocked by what happened. She was a

beautiful girl. You know, she didn't deserve that. Didn't deserve

that, you know. As they say, the good die young. She was a good girl.

You get most of the homeless community, you think, have you got

a cigarette all the time, that's part of the community. But with

Michelle it was never that. You might probably have heard her once

saying, do you mind if I have a cigarette, but that was it. That's

how Michelle was. By Monday, Kennford is awash with TV crews and

satellite trucks. The scale of the flooding is clear. Right, we will

see what the damage is in here. Oh my Godfathers! That was the same

colour as the tiles, originally. This area was absolutely horrific.

But I couldn't stand it any longer, so I have been on my hands and

knees trying to get the mud off. Swimming with mud. In Exeter, word

spreads about Michelle's death and treub pwaoutsz are laid nearby.

-- tributes are laid nearby. think the feeling is sadness,

really. That's something has happened. It could be one of those

things, the fact a thing has got so desperate that someone still has to

sleep outside on a night like that, you know. That's probably the most

tragic thing here, isn't it? Someone felt they had nowhere to go

even on a night like that, you know. The feeling among Exeter's homeless

community is that they've been let down and anger is building. She was

vulnerable. She paid for that with her life, basically. A lot more

could be done regarding maybe providing a place or somewhere we

can go for night shelter, right. In case our tents have got flooded out

which they do, nine times out of ten, they're flooded. Exeter City

Council says it has a winter weather protocol which kicks in

when temperatures are at zero or below. But there's no protocol for

the kind of weather we saw on Saturday night. They can open

hostels but then they start splitting us up. The women can't

sleep in the same room, or whatever but we sleep outside, right,

together anyway. You know, I mean, people got dogs so you can't go in

hostels. Back in Kennford and it's not until Wednesday Joan and

Peter's sodden carpets are ripped out.

I think I've got to the stage when any thoughts, sentimental thoughts

or anything like that, have completely gone by the board.

There's no use moaning too much about it, you can't change it. You

just got to say right, we got to do this and that and clean up. Get all

new stuff, if need be. And look forward to the spring!

It will be months before life for Peter and Joan gets back to normal.

As for the homeless community, well, they'll probably have a lot longer

to wait for a weather protocol that isn't just for the cold, but for

One of the biggest impacts of the floods to the region as a whole was

the disruption it caused to our railways. The chaos has highlighted

land standing calls for more investment in this vital link and

for a better deal for passengers. I've been investigating.

The south-west's rail service is under pressure like never before.

The floods didn't just stop the training running, they seriously

damaged the track and signalling. Network Rail had only just finished

repairing flood damage from a few days before. Words can't really

describe. It's upsetting to see the work pwef done and more -- the work

we have done and passengers can't back again, horrific. Not seen

something like that before here. The disruption has tested an ageing

infrastructure that's under pressure from increasing demand.

And while it might be one of the most scenic railways, some

customers feel they pay too high a price.

Richard Highley commutes weekly from South Devon to London.

The fares, they're painful. They've gone up year on year and they seem

to be going up by more than the price of inflation. Nothing's

changed. The loos stay the same, the cafes, seats stay the same and

you think where's my money gone? Why the tper increase? -- fare

increase? Richard is right about some fares. According to one expert

prices on standard singles on the Great Western network have risen by

200 overs 17 years. Normal inflation would have seen them rise

by 60% and it's the highest rise in the country. First Great Western

says it's only had the Fran franchise for the last seven years

and some prices have gone down. also have very cheap book ahead

tickets on most of the local lines around Devon and Cornwall. We

reduced fares by around about 25- 30% in the early days of the

franchise and many are cheaper now than six years ago. If you are

travelling up to London in the peak, and you haven't booked ahead, no

cheap tickets are not available. That's a function of the peak

To travel to London from Newton Abbott on a peak train costs �116.

But travel on a slightly later train, and it costs �61. Or even

down to �47 at very quiet times. Richard gets a better deal by

booking in advance, cutting the price to just �40. But if you are

not in the know on train fares, you can get caught out. Take the ticket

price trap that lays in wait for the unwary, at Newton Abbott's self

service machine. So the 7.32 is the last peak train of the morning and

the fare for a single to London is �116. I want to get the 8.06

because the fare is cheaper. It is 7.36 so let us see what ticket the

machine is going to sell me. So, touch here to buy tickets to travel.

OK, so what do we have? London terminal, any single. �116. I know

that is the price for the train that has gone but it is not for the

next train out. Other fares. OK. Confused. Where is the London?

London Paddington, there we go. Any time single. �116. I don't want

that one I want the �61 ticket. This machine is not offering me the

correctly priced ticket, for the next train that leaves this station.

In fact, it wants to charge me nearly double what I should be

paying. Finally more than ten minutes after it could have done,

the machine coughs up the cheaper fare. There we go. It is 7.45.

can finally buy that �61 fare. This isn't a one off. Consumer

researchers found on average passengers pay more than they need

to, when they buy a ticket at these sors of machines. -- sorts. They

want more clarity. Sorting out those machines, to make the

cheapest ticket available wouldn't be that difficult. Well, the trade

off here is between how complicated you make the machine to provide a

wide range of tickets and how simple do you make it so people can

feel comfortable using it. We have a choice, there is a ticket machine

for people who are comfortable using it. There are welcoming well

trained staff for those who want help and advice about the ticket to

buy. There is one set of passengers who aren't complaining about the

price. Those who make short off- peak journeys in the south-west

have seen fares go down in real terms. But they are the only ones.

Alice can't take advantage of cheaper fares. She has to travel in

peak times. And so do many others. As a regular commuter I get the

earliest train in and a peak train back, have been trust rated. It is

cramped and overcrowded and my dad and sister have had similar

experiences where they have had to take taxi back due to it being so

overcrowded. It is so bad that Alice is trying to do something

about it. She is organising a petition to get First Great Western

to put another carriage on the line. But providing additional rolling

stock is far from easy. According to one expert who studied the

railway network and is on the board of First Great Western. The problem

is there is a shortage of rolling stock, even the aged rolling stock

we have to put up with here in the south-west. There isn't enough of

it to increase the length of the trains. There won't be for another

few years, once we have electrification projects taking

place elsewhere, that will free up rolling stock which can come down

and bolster what we have got. But it seems very easy to do. At the

moment, in our structure it isn't. So how have we got to this point?

Under investment after the First World War left us with an ageing

network. The cuts dealt a blow to local service, some important lines

were axed, and we are still feeling effects of those cuts today. And

then there is the original routing of the main line itself. From the

south-west, the main line went up to Bristol, and then on to London.

But that added 20 miles to the journey to the capital. Another

more direct line was developed, called the Berks and Hants, but it

was an afterthought and Plymouth to London is one of the slowest

InterCity services in the country. A few years ago sh you could catch

a train here at Plymouth at 6am and be in London at nine. It was a

three hour journey. But the train they were using developed technical

problems and was withdrawn. Now, a quick check of the timetable

reveals that if you want to be in London by nine, you have to get up

seven minutes earlier. It leaves at 5.53. There are three hour trains

at other times of the day but a group of Plymouth business leaders

are pressing for there to be more, in both directions but delivering

that is problematic according to one expert. Under the current

structure it is difficult, there are lots of different players, and

in addition, if you are going to run a train every hour, to take

three hours from Plymouth to London, you would be taking stops out of

existing services in order to speed up the ones we already have. So try

explaining to the good folk of Totnes and Tiverton that they are

going to get fewer trains. course, the past week's dramatic

events have left rail/rar ray for es plaining why there have been no

trains on some stretches. It is unlikely any legal of invest t

could have protected the railways from the weather we have had. But

for those passengers fed up with fare rises, and overcrowding,

seeing the main line severed might have felt like the final insult.

Although there could be one more to come, next year's fare rises are

due to be announced later this week. Passenger numbers on trains may be

going up but it is the car that has been our favourite form of

transport for half a century. But Inside Out South West has had

access to major research was suggests for some people that love

affair with the motor vehicle may be coming to an end. The BBC's

transport correspondent has been investigating. Building roads is

controversial, but not building them could be controversial too. So

how do the planners get it right? How do they decide where to spend

our taxes, on road, or rail? The only way you can ever be sure, is

to beam yourself into the future. We all know how easy that is! When

these fans were watching their favourite series back in the 60 we

thought we knew how we would travelling by 2012. There was talk

of having a little personal car that flew. But sci-fi got it wrong.

Most of us get round now the same way we did 50 years ago, having

your own jet pack remains a distant dream. Ever since I can remember we

have asouped that traffic is going to get worse and worse. After all,

we really love our cars, don't we? Maybe not. I mean whisper it but

there is a rumour going round ta we are falling out of love with our

four wheels. In fact they have given it a name. Peak Car. So, what

is Peak Car? Just look at UK traffic growth in the '60s and 70s

when we couldn't get enough. By the '90s the trend was already slowing.

By about 2002, average mile Alan per person stalled. -- mileage.

the love after tear with the car cooling down? What seems to be

happening, in very many advanced country, including America, is that

traffic growth, due to car use simply is not going ahead at the

same rates it used to. Now, Inside Out has been given the first piece

of in-depth research into Peak Car in the UK, and this report is full

of surprise, it shows that while some of us are driving more than

ever, others are dramatically chaining the way they travel. --

changing. Take young men for example. Like a lot of young men I

thought getting my driving licence was a rite of pa San, but that is

changing. -- passage. Mark trader Lee Vernons is 19. But he won't be

adding to the traffic round Mansfield Nottinghamshire any time

soon. He has been forced to sell up, because he has been quoted �2800 to

ensure his three Wheeler. I love it. It is great looking car, it is a

classic car, they are very rare, but insurance is too much and I

can't afford it. The research shows Lee is not alone. Young men are

driving 2,000 miles a year less than they were in 1995. Women

though, young and old, are driving more than they used to. So what is

going on? I think what has changed, attitude wise, I think everybody

has gave up and got that used to using Facebook and the phone, and

sitting round, or using public transport, I don't think anybody

cares about cars any more. One of the big things from this report is

that young men aren't driving so much. There are a lot of

explanations for that, including rise of higher education, rise in

insurance costs, but the important point, is that this, if that trend

carries on, then we will see less car traffic, and a lot less car

ownership as well. So, what else has the report found? Well, this is

the rainy 7. 16 to Warwick Parkway, the numbers using this line have

gone up by 40%. And according to the report, that is in line with

the national trend, since the mid 90s the distance the average person

travels by rail has soared by more than 60%. The last time the trains

were that busy was during the war. The key growth is in two area, one

is business travel in the morning, and the other is is on leisure

travel, where train travel has become cheaper. It costs more to

travel by car, congestion is increasing. And of course, all

those gadgets mean you can work or play on the move. You can even book

your ticket on the train f you can get a signal that is. While

business travel by rail is up, company car mileage is down by 40%

between 1995 and 2007. So that is before the recession. Scrapping tax

breaks made the difference and it has had a big impact on traffic in

London. Despite more people moving to the capital, there are fewer

cars here. But the report found people in the countryside seem to

be driving as much, if knots more than ever. Of course, in big cities,

you do have a lot of options for getting round. Fairfax Hall runs a

London company making gin and vodka and thinks he has distilled the

perfect formula for company travel. Whenever they need a car or a van,

they book it from a car club, and pick it up from a designated

parking space 15 minutes later. T a small start up business. We

invested everything we had into the distillery. Investing loads of

money into a van just didn't seem like a good use of capital. So it

is relatively low cost and the other benefit is flex bill. If you

jump into a brand-new vehicle and drive it at is a minutes notice.

so here is a question. What does all this research mean for the

future of the UK car industry? After all, we have had a bit of a

boom recently. The UK is on course to produce more cars than at any

time since 1972. That is not because we are buying ourselves a

new motor, 80% of being exported. These Minis are heading for Asia an

South America. Last month, in London, at the RAC's Future Car

Challenge, another famous sci-fi face was in no doubt what that

future holds. I think what is happening now is a huge challenge

for the car industry. I think that I don't see that the car is coming

to an end. They are too useful and electric cars are part of that.

Electric cars in a city that you don't own makes much more sense,

you have somewhere to park it where it is always charged. It is not

just the car industry that will be looking at this research. The

Department for Transport is planning a major road building

programme, all based on the assumption that traffic will go up

by 44% over the next two decade, but what if they have got it wrong?

After all, since 1989 successive Governments have overestimated

traffic growth. This is the range of predictions, the red line is

what has actually happened. There is a risk forekas are going to be

wrong, the key thing the Department for Transport model dus is takes a

wide rich sense of data. It ensures that is analysed rigorously, there

are a lot of useful things for us to go away and look at. I am not

convinced it shows we have reached Peak Car. The Government points

thuet the UK population is predicted to grow by another 10

million in the next 25 years, and the RAC Foundation who help fund

the report says that means we are still going to need more roads.

This is not the end of the car, the use of the car has been declining

but for 70% of the population people will need to use cars unless

they have railways and buses available and most will not. Almost

half a century ago, when Star Trek started this is what we thought

travel in the 23rd might look like. And it is pure 60s. It all goes to

show, just how hard it is to predict the future. You see, the

danger is you just end up assuming it will be like a bigger version of

what we have today. Now, the motor car has been the transport story of

the last 50 year, and I never thought I would say this, but I

just might not be the transport story of the next 50. What does