I'm just watching Dispatches, this week a special documentary about road congestion in Britain. It's a huge problem, causing so many problems to so many people.
So here's a question: if our government is concerned about congestion and pollution - as they certainly claim to be - why the buggery flip do they allow train companies to charge more for travel at peak times than at times nobody wants to travel? If we want fewer cars on the road during rush hour, which everyone agrees we do, the alternatives to driving can't cost extra, and so be disincentivized, at precisely the times they are most needed! Dur! Dur!
1 comment:
The issue of price and public transport is a huge one. Two points: why do they charge for using short range public transport at all? Think of the time and money that could be saved by not bothering with tickets for public transport within (say) zones 1-6 in London. The residual cost could be met from local taxes on businesses, residents and visitors.
Second: why does no-one sell a public version of the old BR privilege card that allowed staff free travel on long distance services? A £1000 annual ticket providing unlimited annual travel for a family would provide a proper alternative to a paid-for-in-advance-so-you-may-as-well-use-it car.
T.
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