Transport Systems+Funding+Politics

The country must invest via the taxpayer or stagnate . The essential investment cannot be forced on to the “user” especially where the whole country benefits .

Clearly high pricing , as you said earlier, forces people to use the car. The driver pays huge taxes just to drive the car thus ploughing money into the exchequer . If they travelled by train there would be no tax paid ( other than vat) . The government make that choice deliberately, to force monies into the coffers and at the same time running down the railways by reduced investment and minimal maintenance just sufficient to stop the wheels falling off.

Then what….. Sunak actually created a fictitious “ war on the motorist”, just so the less than clever think he’s doing them a favour, when in fact he’s just adding higher taxes on to the motorist, via fuel duty, vat, higher road tax. tolls and moreso ULEZ . To cap it all , ULEZ was invented by and enforced by the CONSERVATIVE Department for Transport.

You can fool most of the people most of the time perhaps?

 

think the problem is it is an easy target to save money as a lot of people never, or rarely use the trains. I know I very rarely use them as I just don’t find them convenient as I would still have to drive from home to the nearest station, find somewhere safe to park and all before actually working out train times etc

 

Agreed , but with an integrated transport system you wouldn’t need to. They are absolutely superb at in Europe… I know why, so do you?

 

It won’t happen , as you think. I suggest they as the Tories are doing, will allow each franchise to run its course or simply hand back the keys as National Express did and run the TOC themselves thereafter. It would have been MASSIVELY costly to the exchequer in 1998 as all the Franchises were brand new then so that would never be a starter in a week of Sundays.
Please don’t keep falling into the trap of quoting what the right wing press and media push . Those who worked or work in the Franchised Industry know the real truth. It’s and was a shambles . Those on the inside have been proved right all along.
Lastly “ higher taxation isn’t the Labour model”… Don’t tell me you don’t know that public taxation is the highest it’s ever been since the Second World War. 75 tax rises under the current Government and guess what, you and I will be paying even more in April because all allowances have been frozen. Surely you knew that as well, before commenting about the “ opposition” tax plans?
We digress from the topic , but at least you now have a semblance of what’s really going on and why rail fares are so high. ie a political decision. Hopefully different decisions will be made in the near future.

 

That is one glaring thing you find when you visit cities in Europe, the transport systems and primarily the trains are generally very good and affordable. i think living in Bradford you get a distorted view of things like railways, its like something you'd find in an underdeveloped country. I was in Manchester for the super league grand final on Saturday and makes you realise just what a lost cause Bradford is.

 

Bradford is not on its own , that’s the problem nationwide. It would be unfair to think we are alone, sadly we arnt. Sad but true. Heading into Europe is a real, real eye opener , as you rightly say, where public transport is a given requirement as opposed to a boil to be lanced or a cow to be milked. Depressing.

 

The Labour Party under Blair was actually secretly in favour of privatisation in 1996 and did nothing to oppose the bill. They actively wanted it to happen before the 1997 election so they wouldn't have to do it themselves.

 

There are a lot of votes in slowing down net zero.

 

You have been tied in a knot once, don’t you ever learn. I have a better debate with the twins. The
“ ban “ on petrol and diesel cars was Tory policy and wasn’t even a ban, , laid out by liar Johnson and Sunak hasn’t scrapped it either, just delayed it by 5 years . Jesus wept they are 10 years old and know more than you pretend to know. Please stop it.
Would you spend £50,000 on a car next year or don’t you know what your finances will be in 12 months time, or more likely spend £50,000 in the first place , yet you expect the opposition leader to say what he will do on the spending front 12 to 18 months in advance. You really embarrass yourself by coming out with such ill informed nonsense. Just give up.

 

Like the ULEZ scheme?

 

It wasn’t privatisation it was PFI. Look it up. It was shared financing , no different to a “rent to buy mortgage” scheme .

 

Lost me there mate.

 

Private Finance Initiative was it name. It was used to fund new hospital building , now we don’t have any building whatsoever other than a new pit prop is classed as a “ new” hospital like my local one in Kings Lynn. You get a hard hat when walking in the place. You think I’m kidding ?

 

I know all about PFI.

 

I don’t let’s ill judged , ill informed , misrepresented comments get in the way of fact. If I don’t know I don’t post , if I do and get it wrong , I apologise. You just bury your head in the sand and name call those who call out your ill judged , ill informed and misrepresented statements out without ever admitting you were so very wrong in the first place.

A few seconds fact checking helps. Try it someday?

Old yes , I’ll give you that.

 

So what are you saying Dub, sorry I may have missed your point.