Renationalising The Trains

[JamesWales]

I tend to think of transport as a tool to get people from places where they are economically inactive to places where they will produce things/spend money. Therefore I am not convinced the government should aim for a nationalised transport system to be profit generating or break even. Taxpayer funding transport makes sense to me, because it generates returns outside of that bubble, essentially you spend x here to get back a multiple of that elsewhere.

As with most things quick fixes/gestures won't create a better system. I don't think the Tory position or labour position on this issue shows much creativity or vision if I am honest. It feels like this labour commitment is more about tipping their hat to those people who favour nationalisation rather than part of a wider programme to repurpose/reform how we look at transport.

I agree. I also don't think the system is entirely broken. Until covid and WFH, the growth in passengers was huge, so some things are right. The range of universal railcards is great too. I make use of the friends and family one and it's really good.

My frustration is the prices and the complexity of fares. Add to that the recent strikes and other engineering problems and it becomes expensive and unreliable. A bad mix.

[Eric Cartman]

I agree. I also don't think the system is entirely broken. Until covid and WFH, the growth in passengers was huge, so some things are right. The range of universal railcards is great too. I make use of the friends and family one and it's really good.

My frustration is the prices and the complexity of fares. Add to that the recent strikes and other engineering problems and it becomes expensive and unreliable. A bad mix.

Some of the pricing is mental still and not because of being private/public. My base at work has recently moved out of walking distance and because of the way singles/returns are managed a single works out at £8.60 for a 12 minute journey.