Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => On The Road => Topic started by: The Family Cyclist on 29 February, 2020, 02:38:31 pm
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Read on the BBC website that Luxembourg are making public transport free. Admittedly there are a lot of factors and it appears it already runs at a loss/is subsidised by the state but still something I wish would be followed as sometimes the cost of taking the train as opposed to driving is prohibitive
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It was stupidly cheap before this xhange was made too, cost more for a day ticket round here than for the whole country. (and the greater Dundee travel area is definitley smaller than Luxembourg)
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It was €4 for unlimited use for a day.
I'm not sure making it free is the right choice. I think it will lead to increases in vandalism and other crime. But, Luxembourg isn't renowned crime rate, so it may be ok. But If they tried this in Brussels or London, then it would lead to the crime issues above.
In Amsterdam GVB have to meet certain requirements for fare enforcement. Not because of any worries about revenue, but because fare evasion is an indicator of other crime on the network.
J
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It just shows that for some governments, public transport is seen as a public good and not just something to make shareholders and directors rich.
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Figures released today, the 25th anniversary of the legislation that privatised British Rail receiving Royal Assent, show the full cost of privatisation for both passengers and the taxpayer.
Government direct subsidy of the railways is around £5 billion per year, an increase of over 200% since privatisation
An additional £4.1 billion per year of public money is pumped into the railways as increased debt for Network Rail
Fares across all operators are 20% higher in real terms than they were in January 1995
I gather private profit making companies running buses in the UK also receive subsidies, including in London.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tfl-set-for-742m-loss-thanks-to-bus-subsidies-a4096581.html
However Transport for London as a whole will make an overall £742 million loss in 2019/20, largely due to the record £722 million subsidy needed to run the bus network.
TfL "manages" London buses but the actual buses are run by private profit making companies.
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Estonia is planning to do the same thing, and yesterday someone posted a link on Farcebok stating that Germany was to follow suit :o
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Young Scot card carriers under-18 will be getting free bus travel as part of the budget deal from 2021.
Shetland are apparently considering making it apply to ferries too.
not quite in the same league...
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It was €4 for unlimited use for a day.
I'm not sure making it free is the right choice. I think it will lead to increases in vandalism and other crime. But, Luxembourg isn't renowned crime rate, so it may be ok. But If they tried this in Brussels or London, then it would lead to the crime issues above.
In Amsterdam GVB have to meet certain requirements for fare enforcement. Not because of any worries about revenue, but because fare evasion is an indicator of other crime on the network.
J
Eh? ??? ??? How exactly is free public transport supposedly to lead to increases in vandalism and other crime?
There are about 100 cities/municipalities around the world that offer free public transport. I can't see any evidence that has led to any increase in crime and vandalism, other than some relatively tenuous data from two cities in the USA over 20 years ago.
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It would also lead to massive cuts in motorised road vehicle crime (particularly when coupled with initiatives like bus gates and modal filters), which is among the most dangerous and impactful. Especially relative to some teenager drawing a willy on the back of a bus seat.
I'm fine with vandalism so long as it's defacement of advertisements.