Just having a decent service would be better
Public transport doesn’t have to be free, it has to be comprehensive in order to be an effective alternative. I am more than willing to pay a fair sum to get access to regular, efficient, and punctual trains and buses*. The problem is Scotland is so spread out, and getting affordable service to remote areas is going to be a major issue. I shudder to think how much it will cost to extend commuter services to the back of beyond, even in Central Scotland.
* For instance, the £96 I would pay per month for a ZoneCard is fair AS LONG AS the bloody train arrives when it should and isn’t stuck waiting for a platform at Glasgow Central for ten minutes in the morning. Or make my connection a more frequent service. Hell, make the first leg of my journey a more frequent service.
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I just paid 43pounds for a train up from Westbury to London Paddington STANDING ALL THE WAY.
The state of public transport here is a disgrace.
London (hell, England) is an expensive place! I’m not sure where Westbury is. Neil got a train from Edinburgh to Newcastle I think it was, for around the same price (I’m not 100% sure).
I think the main problem in Scotland, maybe the UK, probably most of the world, is that most people want to get fantastic a public transportation network but don’t understand that these things cost money.
I paid 24.90 for a return ticket from Shotts to Newcastle, with allocated seat. Sweet!
A large part of the problem here is the mindset that people are “entitled” to everything for nothing. The flip side is that the government insists that the continual rising taxes on road users are aimed at saving the environment and encouragig people to use pubic transport more. Everyone knows this is nonsense. If they really wanted us to use public transport they would take the hit of building a decent network first.
trouble is thatcher started the whole privitisation thing in the 80s and basic infrastructure has since been down the pits. Train operators are more interested in statistics rather than actual customer comfort, satisfation and god forbid, safety! I miss MRT! and on a greater level the MTR in Hong Kong which made headline news when it was 5 ninutes late in 2004.
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