Railways

[Win2Win]

Price hikes averaging 6%? :doh

Now I don't use the trains, nearest station is 20 miles away :splapme, but one of the trainer owners was on TV this morning being asked about packed sardine trains, and he said that 80% of passengers are happy with the service......so 20% are NOT then? :ermmm

For those of you who use eBay what are the chances of you buying off a Seller with a 80% rating? ZERO isn't it? :thumbs Customer satisfaction is supposed to be 100%......and these folk are being paid £100,000's

And another thing, they put the prices up, and yet share holders get paid a dividend......that's capitalism I hear you say......not quite, the rail industry is subsidised by our tax money, so they are paying our taxes out in dividends. :icon_tong:icon_tong

[TheOldhamWhisper]

After Manchester voted a resounding NO to the proposed congestion charge (effectively withdrawing £3bn which was earmarked for improving the Public Transport system), it comes as no surprise to see another 10% hike in bus fares this morning. Less than 18 months ago the cost of a monthly ticket was £42 - it is now £55. Right, I'm off to see if the boss will put my wages up in line with 'true' cost of living!!

(I won't be holding my breath)

[mathare]

In a potentially unpopular move I am going to defend our local train services (South West Trains in south west London). They have had posters up for a week or more advertising the hike in rail charges and advising customers to purchase season tickets early if they want to get them at the old price, which is what I did and saved quite a bit on it compared to had I bought it this morning. Also the trains I use are modern, run pretty efficiently and are usually clean etc.

Are they value for money? Who can really say as I don't know what the journey 'should' cost. Yes, the price hike is rather steep, especially in the current economic climate, but it's much cheaper for me than owning and running a car so I don't mind that much, and as I said earlier I managed to avoid the price rise on my season ticket. I haven't heard about the bus prices in London and what's happened to them but as they have shot up massively in the last few years I'd hope they would stay the same this year. Mind you, my train ticket covers me on the buses too (as it's a Travelcard) and the London networks have Oyster cards to significantly reduce the price you pay for each journey so few people actually pay the full price these days anyway.

[TheOldhamWhisper]

I use the rail service occasionally when I have to travel to different bureaus to deliver training. There are massive savings to be made by booking a month in advance (as long as you know the dates and times you will be travelling). This month alone, I will be making 4 journeys which would normally cost a total of £220 - by booking in advance, I will be paying just £6.50 (x2 for the return) per journey, a saving of £152!

And on top of all that, I get a reserved seat on each train!

[counterfeit]

Price hikes averaging 6%? :doh

Now I don't use the trains, nearest station is 20 miles away

:H11 - still using these near you?

Still, at least it's only 20 YARDS to the nearest :18: love interest

[Win2Win]

Still, at least it's only 20 YARDS to the nearest :18: love interest
Not even 5 yds, they are outside the front door ::hump