So my train ticket went up 10% how about you?

[Lucifurr]

One of the simplest ways to increase capacity is to just lengthen the trains. On the Windsor Lines into Waterloo, trains can only be a max of 8 carriages. South West Trains have been doing tets runs of running their red suburban trains as 10 cars rather than 8 to see it it would actually work but so far nothing has actually been done to increase the platform lengths to allow 10 - 12 cars which is down to network rail.

Also another annoying thing is that nothing has been done since Eurostar left Waterloo and left 5 unused platforms. You would think that they would look at getting rid of the flyover near Vauxhall and restore the tracks back to what they were to allow for capacity into Waterloo.

 

[DBT85]

One of the simplest ways to increase capacity is to just lengthen the trains.

This is finally what is happening on the Bedford - Brighton line. Stations are being upgraded to take 12 coaches (currently Farringdon and Blackfriars) so that during peak times there is 50% more capacity. They are also getting new stock so that there are more of these trains running in the first place.

I did hear that the franchise licenses were only like 5 years long which doesn't encourage a company to invest heavily since someone else could win the contract in a few years. I did hear about that starting to change at last though.

 

[*Moangroan*]

I don't see why public services and other important infrastructure should be run for-profit.

I agree

 

[FreeStream]

It's £20 each way Bristol to Home with the added faff of changes, taking stupid time trains and carrying around luggage.

It's £15 in Petrol or £10 if I granny it along the motorway and takes 2 hours compared to 3, minimum, on the train.

If I add in insurance and all the other related costs then yes it's more expensive but unless you decide to go 100% public transport then your paying that anyway.

So on balance, public transport can get stuffed!

 

[crunchman]

It's been £2 for a sinlge fare on the buses around here for about a year now. They are now pretty much always empty, apart from the kids and the pensioners.

Singles here are £2.60 and £2.50 for return and have been for the past 2 years, absolutely insane.

 

[arknor]

Yeah single bus ticket prices are getting way too high now, i know its still relatively cheap compared to other British cities but it should have never ever gone above £1

£1.50 for about 6 bus stops....

 

[Amp34]

Meh cost me less to go first class return from my home to Plymouth* than to drive, which depending on the car would cost between £50 for a noisy cramped journey or £80-100 for a nice comfortable relaxed one.

I know which one I would rather choose...

*With advanced singles, otherwise just standard return the day before

 

[Amp34]

£1.50 for about 6 bus stops....

Walk or cycle.

If it's only a couple of miles why take a bus.

Again from experience it used to cost around £5 return to get to Dartmoor from Plymouth, which is around a 30 minute drive by car or a 2 hour cycle. Lands End to Penzance is only around £3 for a single which again is good value in my book. Short journeys are always going to cost disproportionatly more than decent length one.

 

[The Halk]

I don't understand trains and the UK.

The main lines are packed full like sardines yet they don't seem to be able to make a profit - if they were able to make a profit they'd invest and expand.

We ship, as far as I can see, most of our stuff by road. How on earth can that be better than rail?

 

[Energize]

Walk or cycle.

If it's only a couple of miles why take a bus.

Perhaps because of the icy paths which are a death trap this time of year? Or the fact that you don't want to spend 30mins walking through the wind and rain?

 

[Chubb]

What ****es me off is ive recently come back from Central America and was paying about 60p for an hours travel, and i come back to England and its maybe 10-15x the price. I understand that we have to pay our bus drivers more, but seriously? Give me Guatemala's chicken buses over our transport system any day.

 

[Lightnix]

Perhaps because of the icy paths which are a death trap this time of year? Or the fact that you don't want to spend 30mins walking through the wind and rain?

That's sometimes how far I have to walk to get to the bus stop which then proceeds to charge me £3.70 for a 5 mile return!

 

[sparklebox]

I didn't realise train prices were going up again - it appears my regular journey (every other weekend) has gone up by £4.50 (from £43.50 to £48) not impressed.

 

[arknor]

Walk or cycle.

If it's only a couple of miles why take a bus.

Again from experience it used to cost around £5 return to get to Dartmoor from Plymouth, which is around a 30 minute drive by car or a 2 hour cycle. Lands End to Penzance is only around £3 for a single which again is good value in my book. Short journeys are always going to cost disproportionatly more than decent length one.

because its a long walk in the cold weather... during the spring/summer sure i will walk.

i'd take the car but it costs a fortune to park anywhere near where i work :S

 

[SkeeterUK]

Meh i wish it was the same price as it was in the 80s where i could go to the town for 10-25p or somit. Now with stagecoach its like near £2 and go northeast is more reasonable for £1 but with go northeast if you happen to just want to go to the next stop its still a frelling quid, if u needed a bus to get to shops along a long road with a bad leg for example.

 

[aslco]

Buses in the West Midlands will be going up to £1.80 and has been past the £1 mark for a few years now. Public travel is starting to become a rip off round here

erm scuse me where i live to go 10 miles to the nearest city on return is £5.50

 

[CharlieAlbert]

i live in Greater Manc and my train ticket has gone from £6.20 to £6.80. Which was already ridiculous because one station on, one mile away, the return was £5.20, considering its a 15 mile ride to increase by a pound for 1 mile!!

Just checked and now that return is £5.50, so 30p and a mile on 60p! Damn you national rail!!

 

[Indy500]

One of the simplest ways to increase capacity is to just lengthen the trains. On the Windsor Lines into Waterloo, trains can only be a max of 8 carriages. South West Trains have been doing tets runs of running their red suburban trains as 10 cars rather than 8 to see it it would actually work but so far nothing has actually been done to increase the platform lengths to allow 10 - 12 cars which is down to network rail.

Good luck trying to do that at stations next to level crossings or bridges. Sure, you could expand Sunnymeads and Datchet but does anyone ever use them that much?

Also another annoying thing is that nothing has been done since Eurostar left Waterloo and left 5 unused platforms. You would think that they would look at getting rid of the flyover near Vauxhall and restore the tracks back to what they were to allow for capacity into Waterloo.

Not that simple, the amount of branch lines makes scheduling more trains difficult (through and stopping trains share tracks on most of them). There's a reason SWT keep to a half hourly timetable for each service. Maybe you can persuade Network Rail to lift the 4 minute gap regulation between trains on the same piece of track...

On the price front I notice the off-peak travelcard for TFL zones 2-6 will cost £8.50 versus the old price of £5.10. That's a two-thirds increase in one year.

 

[-Ad-]

****ing £400 for the year (8%).

Errrrr..........

 

[Phog]

Mine was something like a 7.5% increase.