[Travel] Train price rises

[ROSM]

Indeed it is, but I was responding to how cheap rail travel was in Germany, which It isn’t necessarily, it’s just a cross subsidy from non using taxpayers to rail users. We should re-join the EU and become more european in attitude

I work with people from across europe. There are so many cultural variants ranging from the germans and Scandinavians who see paying tax and having it used to better society as a whole, as a form or public duty. They mock the British attitude of 'i dont use it so why should i pay toward it'

Then the southern europeans who see paying tax as something to avoid but do see it as their responsibility to pay for the care or the infirm or elderly in their family

 

[HH Brighton]

Not so much anymore. Labour got it's first councillor in Worthing in four decades last year and East Worthing and Shoreham is down to a 5,000 majority. Labour would fancy Crawley and Hastings next time round while the Lib Dems have Eastbourne and no doubt have ambitions in Lewes.

The Conservatives have long relied on the eldery Conservative vote to keep them in Sussex and Surrey. I think in recent years they have taken it to a new level but there is still too many retired people sitting on their full salary ensions who don't give a toss. Chris Grayling is a despicable MP and minister and today of all days he is out of the country http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi...=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter

 

[Hampster Gull]

I work with people from across europe. There are so many cultural variants ranging from the germans and Scandinavians who see paying tax and having it used to better society as a whole, as a form or public duty. They mock the British attitude of 'i dont use it so why should i pay toward it'

Then the southern europeans who see paying tax as something to avoid but do see it as their responsibility to pay for the care or the infirm or elderly in their family

Yes, classic stereotyping, as even the simple exchanges on this thread shows there are differing views in the U.K. also

 

[e77]

The Conservatives have long relied on the eldery Conservative vote to keep them in Sussex and Surrey. I think in recent years they have taken it to a new level but there is still too many retired people sitting on their full salary ensions who don't give a toss. Chris Grayling is a despicable MP and minister and today of all days he is out of the country http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi...=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter

I think some of the ex-population of Brighton and London moving round Sussex has made it not such a banker for the Conservatives in part but Surrey does seem fairly resistant to such changes!

 

[ROSM]

Yes, classic stereotyping, as even the simple exchanges on this thread shows there are differing views in the U.K. also

I think its based on the prevailing political view - as you say, the public mood is slowly changing on this

 

[essbee1]

It's ok - don't panic. A least the self-voting, pay rise led MPs will be able to afford it topped
off nicely with backhanders from HS2 contractors (the only reason why that f******* line is
being built). "The common good". Politicians don't know the meaning of the phrase. And they
don't give a fig about everyone else.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Indeed it is, but I was responding to how cheap rail travel was in Germany, which It isn’t necessarily, it’s just a cross subsidy from non using taxpayers to rail users. We should re-join the EU and become more european in attitude

You could argue that the rest would be paying for those that wish to work a distance away from their homes, the normal reason being cheaper area to live while taking home a higher wage from the city. In turn the housing in that area becomes more desirable leading to huge rises and "locals" working locally where wages are suppressed unable to afford to live.

 

[The Spanish]

i know i did... costs a lot more to live in London, then theres the quality of local services and schools, being in the country rather than city centre etc.

Brighton wouldnt exist without a rail link to London, its the towns entire reason for being in the first place.

The whole town could sell chips and sticks of rock to each other but it wouldnt last long.

 

[Gwylan]

The Germans subsidise their rail industry by €17bn, us by €4bn, or something like that. Someone ends up paying, in their case the tax payer subsidises the rail user more than we do

Well, given that Deutsche Bahn owns five Britsh rail franchises, has a 50% stake in another and also runs multiple bus services in the UK, the British tax payer coughs up a fair bit for their rail services.

 

[Bozza]

So 3p or so on everyone’s income tax to get us up to the same level of funding as Germany and ensure that those who choose to live a long way from their high paying jobs can travel cheaply.

Sounds a winner to me.

 

[Gwylan]

Not so much anymore. Labour got it's first councillor in Worthing in four decades last year and East Worthing and Shoreham is down to a 5,000 majority. Labour would fancy Crawley and Hastings next time round while the Lib Dems have Eastbourne and no doubt have ambitions in Lewes.

I think East Worthing and Shoreham is down to Loughton being a useless MP - and 5000 is still a healthy majority. Labour could possibly win Crawley and Hastings but they're just two seats. Some of the Tory majorities in Surrey are eye-wateringly big. Grayling, who is one of the most useless politicians I can ever remember, could oversee rail price rises of 300% and would still get in.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

When it costs you more than £5,000 a year just to get to work, then you really need to take a long hard look at your life/work/finance balance.

Pen pushers need to travel to where the offices that hold the pens are kept.

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[e77]

I think East Worthing and Shoreham is down to Loughton being a useless MP - and 5000 is still a healthy majority. Labour could possibly win Crawley and Hastings but they're just two seats. Some of the Tory majorities in Surrey are eye-wateringly big. Grayling, who is one of the most useless politicians I can ever remember, could oversee rail price rises of 300% and would still get in.

Loughton does tend to wind people up. It is a bit of a stretch to suggest Labour will win in the next decade or so but the political landscape of Sussex is changing at the moment. Hove becoming a Labour safe seat was a bit of a turn-up, for example.

 

[e77]

Pen pushers need to travel to where the offices that hold the pens are kept.

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

That would be the extremely well paid pen pushers who can afford to pay £5k a year to get to work.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

That would be the extremely well paid pen pushers who can afford to pay £5k a year to get to work.

I know! It's ridiculous the amount they get paid for pushing a pen around! Disgusting some might say..

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[Bodian]

Governments are wary of big rises as the electoral consequences can be grave, hence the decisions to scale back on fuel price hikes. But these sort of rises are a no-brainer for governments.

Tory ones can push them through knowing there's electoral downside for them - Sussex and Surrey voters (Brighton aside) will vote Conservative no matter how high the rise, and Labour governments can push such rises through for the same reason.

In the wider world, the vast majority of the British electorate just don't care about the problems of a very small cross-section of the population. As a friend of mine posted on FB this morning: "You can tell it's the start of a new year, train users are complaining about having to pay for the railways. If you use them you should pay more for their upkeep. Alternatively, get a job you can walk to."

I suspect that's an attitude that's widely held across the country.

Yes - I think it is widely held - but it's a mistaken attitude in my view.

By the same logic, those who drive to work should pay more for the roads. Road building is far more heavily subsidised than the railways - yet, as you say, if anyone tries to increase tax on fuel there is a national outcry. I do both - and it is getting cheaper and cheaper (in relative terms) to drive rather than use public transport. Where's the sense in pricing people like me out of public transport - I would much rather go by train.

On a similar note, to get to St James' Park on Saturday was a 3.5 hour journey by train for a 120 mile journey. And when I turned up for the first train at 9.22, it had been cancelled for no apparent reason, and no-one at the station to ask. The next train would mean not getting to Newcastle until gone kick-off. So, I had to go back home and get in the car.

If we're going to pay these ridiculously high fares then let's have a reliable service.

And also, don't forget that these rises aren't paid just by wealthy commuters to London. All tickets will rise, and some by 2-3 times the rate of inflation.

 

[e77]

I know! It's ridiculous the amount they get paid for pushing a pen around! Disgusting some might say..

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

Lucrative dear boy. Lucrative.

 

[Beach Hut]

I think East Worthing and Shoreham is down to Loughton being a useless MP - and 5000 is still a healthy majority. Labour could possibly win Crawley and Hastings but they're just two seats. Some of the Tory majorities in Surrey are eye-wateringly big. Grayling, who is one of the most useless politicians I can ever remember, could oversee rail price rises of 300% and would still get in.

I had a bit of time for Loughton but zero now since the GTR strike debacle.

On South Today at the start of this he said he would meet GTR directors and get to the bottom of it, two weeks later he stated on the same program, "well it it a complicated franchise etc".

Clearly told to shut up by Government ministers

 

[Hampster Gull]

I know! It's ridiculous the amount they get paid for pushing a pen around! Disgusting some might say..

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

Yes, but they are far more producive since they moved on from quills. The world was bette before the wheel got invented

 

[Napper]

You vote Tory . . . you end up shafted eventually

People should learn and not do what the media brain washes them to do.