How to solve congestion and pollution overnight at minimal cost

Thisonedone

Every company that allows at least 90% of their workforce to work from home gets a 500 euro tax credit at end of year. If they allow them 2 days working from home they get 1000 euro credit. We are going to be paying massive fines to the EU soon for failing to meet emissions targets so why not just give that money to companies instead while improving the lives of employees at the same time?

For those who don’t get to benefit from working from home they at least get to benefit from much shorter commutes instead due to less cars on the road.

Kivaro

I am a carpenter. How will this work for me?


P.S. I am not a carpenter.

s7ryf3925pivug

Thisonedone wrote: »

Every company that allows at least 90% of their workforce to work from home gets a 500 euro tax credit at end of year. If they allow them 2 days working from home they get 1000 euro credit. We are going to be paying massive fines to the EU soon for failing to meet emissions targets so why not just give that money to companies instead while improving the lives of employees at the same time?

For those who don’t get to benefit from working from home they at least get to benefit from much shorter commutes instead due to less cars on the road.

It would need to be an amount per employee to be enough for large companies to consider it, though I'm guessing that's what you probably meant to say already.

Thisonedone

Kade Magnificent Rabble wrote: »

It would need to be an amount per employee to be enough for large companies to consider it, though I'm guessing that's what you probably meant to say already.

Yes that’s what I meant, per employee who takes up the offer of working from home

Thisonedone

Kivaro wrote: »

I am a carpenter. How will this work for me?


P.S. I am not a carpenter.

Read the 2nd paragraph of the OP

s7ryf3925pivug

Thisonedone wrote: »

Read the 2nd paragraph of the OP

I think his comment was satirical.

is_that_so

OK, this doesn't work in so many ways, company size, type of job, PS or private and PT workers.

s7ryf3925pivug

is_that_so wrote: »

OK, this doesn't work in so many ways, company size, type of job, PS or private and PT workers.

Of course it works. He's not suggesting every job is suitable. Loads are though and have no need to be in an office more than intermittently.

Incentivising companies to allow work from home would reduce the commuter traffic. Freer flow means the cars that are still on the road operate more efficiently and don't produce as much pollution.

is_that_so

Kade Magnificent Rabble wrote: »

Of course it works. He's not suggesting every job is suitable. Loads are though and have no need to be in an office more than intermittently.

Incentivising companies to allow work from home would reduce the commuter traffic. Freer flow means the cars that are still on the road operate more efficiently and don't produce as much pollution.

How do you know it works if nobody has ever tried it? And why should a random segment of the workforce get a tax credit at the expense of everyone else? That has court case written all over it.

Salary Negotiator

is_that_so wrote: »

How do you know it works if nobody has ever tried it? And why should a random segment of the workforce get a tax credit at the expense of everyone else? That has court case written all over it.

Is it not the company that gets the credit?

Mrs OBumble

Compulsory max 4 working days per week would be more effective.

s7ryf3925pivug

is_that_so wrote: »

How do you know it works if nobody has ever tried it? And why should a random segment of the workforce get a tax credit at the expense of everyone else? That has court case written all over it.

They don't. The company does. Even if they did why would there be a court case? People get all sorts of different tax credits for different things, or can take advantages of incentives that other people can't.

TuringBot47

Kivaro wrote: »

I am a carpenter. How will this work for me?

It'll stop you cutting down trees.

ZX7R

Fist try get kids walking to school where possible,I know at least 5 stay at home parents in one estate who all drive there kids to school every day.
It's a 5 minute walk.
Staggered finish and start times in the big big global factory's, I know this would not reduce the amount of cars on the road but it would reduce the amount of time sitting in traffic during rush hour

maninasia

This is a smart idea that works on multiple levels.

Bigus

Kivaro wrote: »

I am a carpenter. How will this work for me?


P.S. I am not a carpenter.

You could pre make your door frames, put locks and hinges in your doors mitre architrave at home on a Monday morning if you had a kitted out van.

Graces7

ZX7R wrote: »

Fist try get kids walking to school where possible,I know at least 5 stay at home parents in one estate who all drive there kids to school every day.
It's a 5 minute walk.
Staggered finish and start times in the big big global factory's, I know this would not reduce the amount of cars on the road but it would reduce the amount of time sitting in traffic during rush hour

One village had what they called a "walking bus"; a teacher/parents collected children and they all walked to school together.

Fr_Dougal

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Compulsory max 4 working days per week would be more effective.

Now that would be great alright.

In San Fran working from home on Friday is allowed in a lot of the tech companies, there has been a significant reduction in traffic as a result of this.

Hector Savage

Kids that are within walking or cycling distance to school - walk/cycle to school
Stop using the dryer so much - hang clothes out.
Stop changing your phone every few months.
Walk to the shops, get public transport into town ...
Make clothes last, stop buying overpriced stuff from Chinese sweatshops with trendy logos on them - have you ever seen the pollution from a chinese clothes shop ?


^^ If everyone did this - a MASSIVE difference would be observed.

But nah, keep virtue signalling on social media and skip school on fridays kids , its far far easier than any actual real change.

LeinsterDub

ZX7R wrote: »

Fist try get kids walking to school where possible,I know at least 5 stay at home parents in one estate who all drive there kids to school every day.
It's a 5 minute walk.

Not having a clue where you live but let me take a guess.


Footpaths if you have them are in a shocking state of repair. Dipped corners and tactile paving are hit and miss, there are cars parked all over the footpath and at the school gates cars are parked anywhere. Pedestrian lights are either non existent or have multiple phases which add a lot to said walking time. If you have a 30 k limit it's basically ignored, the council don't bother cleansing the footpath. Corners are have a large radius allowing cars to take them at speed. As it's an estate you have to walk out of your way to leave it as it has shocking permeability and pedestrians have priority no where

lawred2

Thisonedone wrote: »

Every company that allows at least 90% of their workforce to work from home gets a 500 euro tax credit at end of year. If they allow them 2 days working from home they get 1000 euro credit. We are going to be paying massive fines to the EU soon for failing to meet emissions targets so why not just give that money to companies instead while improving the lives of employees at the same time?

For those who don’t get to benefit from working from home they at least get to benefit from much shorter commutes instead due to less cars on the road.

I'd have gone with public transport myself

xckjoo

lawred2 wrote: »

I'd have gone with public transport myself

Exactly. People keep proposing these mad plans that have so many layers of complexity, but ignore this far more simple and workable solution.

Now excuse me while I exit this thread before the lunatics kick-off...

LeinsterDub

Hector Savage wrote: »

Kids that are within walking or cycling

Many would love to cycling or walk but it's far too dangerous .

twinytwo

If people were honest...Realistically the only real way to do anything about pollution/climate change etc is a massive cut to human population... but the world economy relies on excessive consumerism so this will never happen.

s7ryf3925pivug

xckjoo wrote: »

Exactly. People keep proposing these mad plans that have so many layers of complexity, but ignore this far more simple and workable solution.

Now excuse me while I exit this thread before the lunatics kick-off...

A tax break per employee per weekday they work from home.

So many layers of complexity! Madness - we might as well be building elevators to Mars!

is_that_so

Kade Magnificent Rabble wrote: »

They don't. The company does. Even if they did why would there be a court case? People get all sorts of different tax credits for different things, or can take advantages of incentives that other people can't.

But these credits are only available to a random selection of companies.

is_that_so

Kade Magnificent Rabble wrote: »

A tax break per employee per weekday they work from home.

So many layers of complexity! Madness - we might as well be building elevators to Mars!

It actually sounds like a BIK.

Kade Magnificent Rabble

Kade Magnificent Rabble wrote: »

Incentivising companies to allow work from home would reduce the commuter traffic. Freer flow means the cars that are still on the road operate more efficiently and don't produce as much pollution.

Not just traffic but housing too. If I was allowed work from home 90% of the time, I could move down the country, freeing up my 1 bed apartment in Dublin.

Stark

To be honest, people who are currently put off driving at the moment due to congestion will probably start driving again once you take those WFH people off the roads. Traffic always grows to fill available space (look up induced demand). Need to invest in public transport, walking and cycling to help people get where they're going more quickly/efficiently.

TuringBot47

maninasia wrote: »

This is a smart idea that works on multiple levels.

The pricing isn't right.
€1000 is pocket change for companies, a decent medium company would spend that on a single coffee machine (not including the coffee).

There actually needs to be more decentralisation.
Dublin is an I.T. / Finance hub.
Unfortunately there's no real reason why these jobs had to be in the city centre, it's not like we export money/software via the port. So the IFSC and a lot of digital hubs and regeneration programmes have fueled the "city centre" location fetish. Then only big companies can afford the location, they pay big wages so more people preferentially choose companies in the city centre. It's a vicious circle.

There should be hubs South, West and North of the traffic hotspots in Dublin, outside of the M50.

South... has Cherrywood.
West.. maybe Maynooth and Blanchardstown.
North.. Swords, but nothing North of that really.
I read an article badly criticising the IDA because they were opposed to businesses setting up in Drogheda and preferentially strongly pushing companies towards Dundalk. They were even selling a business park in Drogheda to Apple, so the potential for hundreds of jobs/office locations gets replaced with maybe 35 data warehouse operators. Madness.


As for remote working, if you commute by bus/train as a good eco-citizen then you are likely using the tax saver tickets.
But they're monthly tickets so you pay full price for the service.

Maybe if there was a cheaper "monthly" ticket, 2/5 of the price, that was only valid for say 15 days of the month, that would encourage both employers (who support these tax saver tickets) and employees to work from home 2 days a week.

Hector Savage

Hector Savage wrote: »

Stop using the dryer so much - hang clothes out.

Make clothes last, stop buying overpriced stuff from Chinese sweatshops with trendy logos on them - have you ever seen the pollution from a chinese clothes shop ?

How is that going to help congestion?