By Admin on Jul 10, 2009 in Other - United Kingdom
rose1 asked:
Public transport in Britain is a joke. To take a 10 minute bus ride it cancost a staggering 2.50 and to take the train….well forget it, you need a mortgage! I wouldn’t mind if it was a pleasant and enjoyable experience but usually it is not.
I watched a programme recently about the train service and the inspectors did a one night inspection on one station and 50% of the travellers did not have the right ticket. The inspectors collected over 1000 pounds in extra fares!! If the train was cheaper then people would pay the correct fare.
Public transport in Britain is a joke. To take a 10 minute bus ride it cancost a staggering 2.50 and to take the train….well forget it, you need a mortgage! I wouldn’t mind if it was a pleasant and enjoyable experience but usually it is not.
I watched a programme recently about the train service and the inspectors did a one night inspection on one station and 50% of the travellers did not have the right ticket. The inspectors collected over 1000 pounds in extra fares!! If the train was cheaper then people would pay the correct fare.
Easy – Rip off Britian…..Why do you think that som many of us have left or are leaving….Sick to the back teeth of it.
Anchor Cranker | Jul 10, 2009 | Reply
PROFIT first customers last.
timsdad | Jul 13, 2009 | Reply
If public transport was cheaper and ran on time and at the time you needed it them more people may use it too.
JJ | Jul 15, 2009 | Reply
That depends where you are.
My 20 minute, each way, trip into town costs me just £1.50 return, and runs every 12 minutes from Monday – Saturday
And train fares are fine if booked in advance, when I was seeing a woman who lives in the Lake District, I live in Devon, I could get tickets for £14 each way by booking up 3 weeks ahead of time.
As for those going on about it being down to privatisation ………… the reason the private firms are having to pump so much money into the rail system is down to the mismanagement and lack of investment while the railways were in government hands.
weatherman_1965 | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
Perhaps it is because it was all deregulated and privatised and everyone wants profit,
When we had British rail and other state operated systems at least the costs were down and all profit was ploughed back into the industry and not the shareholders and management.
We need to take back ownership of many crucial operators into state hands, like the trains and some bus services. That would help i think.
watchetcoastie | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
The government want to get cars off the road and get people on public transport, what a joke.
They do nothing about the ever spiralling costs. The bus company where i live uses the excuse of rising petrol prices to put up the fares everytime.
richard_beckham2001 | Jul 19, 2009 | Reply
PT at the neighbours isn’t cheap either.
zoeksalamander | Jul 20, 2009 | Reply
In Europe public transport is run by governments. In UK it is private and shareholders want profits.
ascoile | Jul 21, 2009 | Reply
£1,50 long-distance singles, Money-Saving Expert’s cheap train tips.
—– updated
I really don’t understand–10 thumbs-down? I guess those 10′d rather whine than get long-distance coach and train tickets for less than 2 pound. Hmmm.
Eurotrip Don | Jul 24, 2009 | Reply
What a great question!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I travel into Europe several times a year and am always amazed how cheap it is over there. I wish someone in Government would get off their lazy bottoms and do something about it. Although quite a few of you have got it right – and this is a theme across the UK in all industries now – it’s all about the profit for the shareholders. Forget about the customers and even those staff who often carry the load of two people’s work as it saves even more money!! We are slowly turning into a country of two extremes, those at the top who earn 10 times they should and those at the bottom who actually do all the hard work who earn 50% less than they should!
Jojotraveller | Jul 27, 2009 | Reply
scumbag Blair and co have made public transport far too expensive by their tax strategy
assassin | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
no offence but travel is far more expensive in Ireland…
before you even step into a taxi ur out 3.80 alreday…
a 5min bus ride is 3.00…
oh n we also dont have the privlage of trains were i live in!!!
i thought england was very cheap 4 transport wen i was over!!!***
xxxamgxxx | Jul 30, 2009 | Reply
all for making money!!
the government wants us to cut down the use of our cars to help the enviroment but wont force the train and bus companies to drop their fares cos they get money in their coffers. in fact our local bus company is cutting services in our area. makes no bloody sense
womble | Jul 30, 2009 | Reply
You’ve just answered your own question.
Because people do not pay the correct fare then the rest of us will have to cover for that cost. I assume that you live in London. Young people under 16 do not have to pay. Old people over 65 gets freedom pass. Proof that you are disable and you will get free travel. I think that should cover 60% of the population who get free rides and the other 40% will have to grin and bear.
Wing M | Jul 31, 2009 | Reply
Noy sure what public transport everyone is using, but around me on a bus £2.50 can take you all over the city, unlimited travel for the day. As for trains, its even cheaper, £12 can take me the 2 hour journey to my parents house and then back again…..hardly expensive. As for abroad, not so sure about their prices, but dont forget we have a strong economy making lots of prices look cheap to us
robb086 | Aug 1, 2009 | Reply
Bus fares depend largely on the operator. I remember moving from Suffolk to where I am now in the North West. A 6 mile bus journey into town in 1990 used to cost me 65p, when we moved up north the comparable journey cost £1.50. Now it is £3.25 for a single. The really bizarre thing is that a “day rider” costs 10p less!! It’s all a question of working through the bizarre ticketing strategy.
The same goes for the trains – turn up on the day and buy a ticket at the station and you’ll pay a fortune, travel after 9am and you can get a cheap day return, book well in advance and you can get ‘apex’ tickets, ‘saver’ tickets and ‘super saver’ tickets. You can get the fares down to something more reasonable, but it takes some understanding of the system. I’d rather there was just one price fits all, but there isn’t. I tried booking a ticket to Inverness and there were so many pricing options as to be unreal, but none of them would have been cheaper than a car or even the coach.
The biggest rip-off of all though has to be taxis!
Mental Mickey | Aug 2, 2009 | Reply
Don’t blame the train companies need to make a profit for all the problems. The real answers are years back:-
-Succesive Governments starved the industry of investment.
-Unions blocked improvements.
-State control meant costs were not controlled.
-Being state controlled innovative Management was not
allowed.
Look how much money has been ploughed into the trains and track now. That should have been done little by little every year. By deferring investment the problems multiply and the likes of Virgin now take the flak for previous incompetence!
Look how Tesco do little improvements all the time. OK there is an anti Tesco movement but in terms of a successful big company they take some beating!
luludoodie | Aug 4, 2009 | Reply
It is profit 1st and customers last! I never used the bus until last week. This was because where I used to live there was only one bus a week! – A long wait if you miss it!
My friend convinced me to take a bus trip with her. It was only 8 miles but I have 4 kids. (My friend, who uses the busses regularly, said it would be a fiver return). To get there and back cost £14.95 so I couldn’t afford lunch. It wreaked our day out!
The government keeps wanting us to use public transport but at these prices it’s a joke!
Excellant question!!!
nettyone2003 | Aug 5, 2009 | Reply
New Labour.
petrovitch m | Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
tell me about it . They harp on about people to use public transport and when you do the big wigs who own these bloody things put the cost of travel up , but it is only to line their own pockets ( PURE GREED )
mark.boulton6@btinternet.com | Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
Good question, and I can think of a number of factors affecting this:
1) we are a small overcrowded island, therefore land is at a premium making rail and road transport costs high compared to say France where there is an abundance of land.
2) As a nation we like our own space and privacy, and this means we prefer to travel in private cars than on public transport. This has led to it being used mainly by those who have to for many years leading to underfunding.
3) We have a relatively huge benefit system, which means many people have subsidised fares, which although is contributed to from the govt, is not as effective as private investment.
4) In terms of rail in your question, have you tried to buy a ticket recently? The fare structure is wildly confusing. I went on line to by a return Preston to London on a fixed train last week, then went back and asked for 2 x tickets for the same trains and it gave me a different price. Out of curiosity, I went back and put 1 ticket in and I got a different quote again. I am not surprised most people dont have the right ticket, there probably isn’t one!
5) As roads become more congested, and people need to arrive at a certain place on time, rail or air is the only alternative, therefore the companies capitalise on this by charging what they can during peak periods.
By the way an open return during the week from Preston to London costs my company around £240.
lt_glenn | Aug 11, 2009 | Reply
its because its privatised. Public transport should be owned by the public for the public and not for profit
enigma_variation | Aug 14, 2009 | Reply
greedy private companies & more importantly the lack of funding by this goverment!!, it does matter where you live!, if you live in a labour strong hold you will get great services & in you live in a tory stronghold you’ll get zip all ( by hitting us with sticks how does blair expect us to vote for him………a**hole )
blue zoo | Aug 17, 2009 | Reply
Before de-regulation and privatisation bus journeys were affordable, possibly due to the fact that a lot of them were subsidised by the government. After that, it rapidly became that only the most profitable routes for the private companies were kept on. Lots of rural services were axed and even though there was more competition, prices went up. I would imagine that train services were similarly affected. Thanks to big business and our political masters, things will never be the same again. PROFIT is all that matters now, not quality of service, running on time nor cleanliness or affordability. Once more, rip off Britain shoots itself in the foot again.
Wildman | Aug 17, 2009 | Reply
Totaly agree, I pay over 70p per mile to travel by bus, just to go shopping cost Over £4.50 return for a 6 mile round trip. If we use the car £5.00 of petrol takes 4 people on a twenty mile journey, where is the sence in that. If the next election was based on public transport I would vote for the party with the best solutions, what on earth Prescot has been doing for the past 10 years I have no idea!
sparman20 | Aug 18, 2009 | Reply
swanseas first busses are having a laugh 2 adults one child will cost u around 8.00 and yet there bus fares still go up
fairy_gdmthr | Aug 20, 2009 | Reply
Because us Brits meekly accept the state of things in this country instead of voting with our feet. We’re too polite for our own good. We moan about things by writing to newspapers but we never take decisive action. It is high time we stood up to the rip-off merchants. Remember the petrol blockades in 2000? It showed what can be achieved by way of mass protest.
The French don’t take any cr*p in their own back yard so why should the British?
Gerbil | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
i know. why the hell is it so expensive? and moreover, the service is not that satisfying as well. transport is old (most of it). in other parts of europe, the transport is all modern and new and yet you pay a good cheap price. here it is so damn expensive!!
Adi | Aug 22, 2009 | Reply
Its all down to politicians tossing a coin.
Tobacco – increase tax so that it is too expensive for people to buy legally.
Alcohol – Implement 24 hour opening to stop binge drinking and alcoholism.
Transport – Increase fares so that it is more economic to use private transport and stop overcrowding on trains and buses.
Drugs – give heroin away on the NHS to lower crime rates
Its not just tossing a coin, its also where their vested interests and directorships are as well
Useless | Aug 23, 2009 | Reply
Northern Ireland, where I live, is possibly the worst area of the UK for expensive PT. For a 15-mile round trip, it’s £5 for a return ticket and £41 for a two-week pass! In Edinburgh the same journey would cost about £1.50 or £2.
chemical_sister_2000 | Aug 25, 2009 | Reply
we’ve returned 2 being Rip-off Britain, again.
the government get 17 % from whatever we pay out 4 & since they were attacked wholesale by organised criminal gangs who conned & took Millions from Public coffers,
the Government have done what they always do,
Pass that Debt on 2 the man on the street, theTax-payers!
the UK will never return 2 cheap & cheerful, again.
the corruption, swindles & cons have damaged us 2 much.
Nutsters Space Cadet | Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
thats true, i agree 100% that it’s wayyy too expensive!! I guess they all just want profit and don’ think about customers.
know-it-all | Aug 29, 2009 | Reply
Because this country is now governed by greed not need
chico | Sep 1, 2009 | Reply
england gets ripped of because we have to pay so much tax
londongirl | Sep 1, 2009 | Reply
‘Young people under 16 do not have to pay’
Since when? I’m under 16 (just), and I still have to pay the same as an adult.
Also the goverment are going on about not using cars ect, but the public transport prices are so expensive, that its a whole lot cheaper to just use the cars. I would use public transport more often if it was cheaper, but whoese going to use Public Transport when its a whole lot more cheaper to use the car- which is alot more comfortable
philley | Sep 3, 2009 | Reply
I have another question:
Why you are so stupid, when the rest of the world so clever?
Stephen C | Sep 3, 2009 | Reply
The answer is historical. The Conservatives when in power privatised the rail system to make some of their cronies very rich. Labour has failed to rebuild the infastructure and the taxpayer pays more into private rail firms than it would pay if nationalised. The only answer Labour has come up with is tax transport so heavily that not so many can afford it so it runs better.
Tallboy | Sep 3, 2009 | Reply
Everything in britain is so expensive where I livewhich is in bourne end is a problem for me so I can sympathise with you because I do not have a car i have to pay to go onto town and that means public transport.
if I want to go the citizens advice bureau jobcentre i have to .pay to go there by public transport. I have to pay to travel to get into town to go the shops to go the hospital job cebtre ridiculious i have cionsidred moving for me i live near high wycombe it is £2.80 return to go form whre I live to high wycombe the same going to marlow and maidenhead. it is a knioght mare because the spublic transport system here is so bad.. This country is arip off as well where profit comes first people come last .
Do you know what I do I walk so instead of taking the train or bus to marlow it is just as easy to walk to marlow as it takes half an hour to an hour plus the trains are every one hour and 15mins why wait when you can walk .
In my opinion Try walking much easier and you dont pay anything.
Veronica W | Sep 6, 2009 | Reply
1) Because we all vote for the party that promises us lower taxes, so the government subsidies are much smaller than on the Continent.
2) Because too many of us are unwilling to use public transport – we love our cars too much – so it is less economic for the remaining few who choose to or have to.
gvih2g2 | Sep 8, 2009 | Reply
most politicians of britain might be richer than their other european counterparts
zack | Sep 11, 2009 | Reply
I agree. The thing I should also point out that public transport fares in London are low, subsidised by TFL (transport for London), and because they have the higher volumes of passengers. If you travel to small provincial towns or out in the country, it is prohibitively expensive and beyond the reach of the people who need it, i.e those who cannot afford to run a car. If the government want us to make greater use of public transport then they need to make it affordable and efficient.
boiled egg | Sep 14, 2009 | Reply
the companies over here, have to pay HUGE amounts to repair the amount of vandalism which goes on, and they behave better in europe than here, hence the fact prices are cheaper!
paulrb8 | Sep 15, 2009 | Reply
So? Here in Belgium taxes are far more expensive then they are in Great Brittain, we don’t have free medical care services, medications are about 50% more expensive, internet is more expensive and limited, cable tv is alot cheaper over there and the list goes on… Do i need to continue this list so your brain will understand that each country has it’s own expensive products? Geez some people are so stupid…
batista_the_animal | Sep 16, 2009 | Reply
Where i live it costs £2.50 for a day rover which you can you use on buses from the same company all day as much as you like. Then theres the return which costs£2.00 for a there and back journey as long as you use the same bus company. But what i dont under stand is that i pay 90p to travel 3 stops to my locall super market and £1.20 one way to travel over 20 stops to the city centre!!!!! How can they justify that? by the way i live in east yorkshire.
jakeysmomo3 | Sep 16, 2009 | Reply
I agree with you it is appalling that we should pay so much to travel. It is all well and good trying to clean the environment and I did use public transport to go work, when I had a job, living in London I bought an Oyster Card but even with this it took a large chunk of my income. Cheaper fares will be more beneficial in cutting down the use of cars and thus saving on pollution. In fact for short journeys it is cheaper to drive ones car. Yes, the trains are to expensive they were sold off to cut the subsidies and now we are not only subsidising them we pay a fortune to travel on them, what irony
I Tisi | Sep 18, 2009 | Reply
I totally agree, the fares here are very expensive, I was in Dublin recently and grabbed a bus, rode for nearly an hour for about a £1, ( just over a Euro), and D ublin is supposed to be expensive.
nosy old lady | Sep 20, 2009 | Reply
People using public transport usually have no alternative, it is either the train or nothing. As it is a service which they have to use, especially commuters, they are able to charge what they like and not offer a decent service as there is no decent alternative.
Jez | Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
The public transport system appears cheap because of the strong pound and corresponding exchange rate. I’ve lived in Germany for 15 years, and just as many people complain about the cost here as they do in the UK.
emaxtde | Sep 25, 2009 | Reply
Profit before passengers,Profit,Profit,Profit,
stopped moving.still alive. | Sep 25, 2009 | Reply
Problem: Train carriages are overcrowded.
Solution: Raise fares to discourage people from taking trains, also hide train timetables and departure information.
Problem: not enough people are taking public transport to make a profit.
Solution: Raise fares to make more money, reduce numbers of train carriages.
Problem: Now even less people, priced off the buses and trains, are taking public transport.
Solution: Raise fares of those who ARE still riding.
Problem: The only people who can afford to take public transport are driving their cars, because it’s cheaper.
Solution: Find as many ways as possible to tax or emotionally blackmail people out of their cars.
The problem is that in the UK, public transport(thanks to PFI) is run as a business, not a service. Therefore the companies in charge don’t give a shit about the passengers, the only thing that matters is making as much money as possible and meeting government targets to get ‘incentives’. If they can meet these targets without spending money to provide a service for the public, so much the better.
blue_teen_queen | Sep 26, 2009 | Reply