Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

Although we’re based in Surrey, we often need to travel to London to meet clients etc. Whilst we prefer to take the train, there are some instances when we simply have to jump in a car. Off peak, the journey normally takes around an hour but (as anyone local will know) it only takes a minor incident (such as a broken down vehicle) to significantly delay the journey.

There are several major routes we can take into the city (A316, A3, M4 etc) so it’s handy to know if there is a problem in advance (so we can add journey time or choose an alternative route). Before we set off, we like to check out the route using live traffic webcams. This may sound like a time consuming process, but in fact, it takes nothing more than a couple of mouse clicks.

In addition, we can also check road conditions for colleagues or clients on the road. If they call to advise us that they’re “stuck in a jam”, we can look at other routes, and suggest those that are less congested.

The two main webcam sites for London are Transport For London (which is navigated using a user friendly map) and BBC London Jam Cams (where camera locations are listed alphabetically). Both sites use the same cameras, and display a still image taken usually within the last 5-15 minutes. In our experience, the TFL site is the easiest to use, and seems to be updated more frequently.

Whilst we’ve focussed on London in the above example, there are also many other other areas with live traffic cameras. KeepMoving.co.uk shows a map of England, split by region, and shows both city and motorway cameras. The BBC also has good coverage, and covers most major cities (including Scotland and Wales):-

BBC England webcams

BBC Scotland webcams

BBC Wales webcams

If there isn’t a camera listed for your route, then a quick Google search for “live traffic camera” (followed by the place name) should reveal what you’re looking for.

Also, as an added bonus, if you are familiar with Yahoo widgets or the Mac dashboard, you can download widgets and configure these to show cameras of your choice using a single keyboard button press. For example, the London cameras can be found at:-

London Traffic Cameras (Yahoo widget)

London Jam Cams (Mac dashboard widget)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travelling by air nowadays can be a bit of a nightmare. It’s not so much the flight itself, as the ‘pre-boarding drama’ at the airport. Just exactly how early should you arrive at the terminal? how many ‘carry on’ luggage items are acceptable? is taking liquids on-board still prohibited? and what are your rights if your flights are cancelled, overbooked, or delayed?

In the case of delayed or cancelled flights, some airlines don’t tend to be too proactive when it comes to explaining what you may be entitled to (at best, they may try and ‘palm you off’ with an upgrade on your next flight, at worst they might offer nothing at all).

At some time or other, most of us experience delays or cancellations. We recently experienced a cancelled flight ourselves… so we thought we’d do a bit of research. We were surprised to discover an organisation called the ‘Airport Transport Users Council’ (AUC). The AUC is affiliated to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is the ‘UK’s consumer watchdog for the aviation industry‘ and offers tips and guidance for passengers. The AUC site also highlights a European directive (EC261/2004) which (unlike rulings on bendy bananas) would actually appear to be quite useful. By answering a number of questions, you can quickly and easily establish your rights, and whether you are entitled to any compensation.

AUC – Home page
AUC – Your rights if your flight is cancelled
AUC – Your rights as a passenger under EC261/2004

So whether you’ve never flown before, or you’ve stacked up thousands of frequent flyer miles, we recommend that you take a quick look at the site. If you’re really organised, you might want to print a copy of the directive keep it with your travel documents! That way, if your next flight doesn’t go to plan, you will be in a much stronger position… possibly even saving yourself from being ‘bumped’ off the flight by another passenger. At the very least, you can be reassured that the ‘know it all’ check-in counter assistant isn’t ‘getting one over on you.’

Happy travels!