Congestion Charging

[SupremeSpod]

I could halve the amount of traffic overnight!

Make public transport FREE!!!!!

The cost of Buses, Trains etc. to be paid from taxation.

It would be a lot cheaper than monitoring peoples car journeys.

Spod.

[DodgyAgent]

Spod,

There is already a solution to the problem, why dont they just increase fuel tax? this would also encourage people to buy fuel efficient cars as well as encourage manufacturers to build fuel efficient vehicles.

And it still keeps the proletariat off the roads

[TonyEnglish]

Spod if you look at the busses running during the day, you'll find that most are free as the only people who use them tend to be pensioners.

I had the misfortune to have to use a bus a while ago and paid £1.65 for a 3 mile journey. I was one of 4 passengers and was the only one who paid.

[DodgyAgent]

I

was one of 4 passengers and was the only one who paid.

Tony Did'nt that make you feel successful, that you are a cut above the rest of the poor losers of society?

[tim123]

Re: Free PT

Nice idea.

Two problems

1) If it is completely free you find that there is a large increase in "joy riding" which puts extra pressure on the network and the costs go up significantly. You have to have a non negligible charge to act as a barrier to stop this. And then once you have a ticketing system, you have to add in the cost of running that system so the costs go up even more.

2) You have to counter the Maggie Tatchers of this world who think that "PT only benefits those that use it" and that it MUST be self financing. There are very many people who see subsidised PT as "I'm paying part of the cost of YOUR journey to work" and are resentful of this because they fail to
see the big picture.

[zeitghost]

Re: Free PT

Didn't they have a low cost PT system in Leeds in the 80s?

Widely used by most people.

Scrapped after a court case as I recall.

[TonyEnglish]

Re: Free PT

I think it was Sheffield where bus journeys were 2p

[DodgyAgent]

Re: Free PT

The bus services are already heavily subsidised by the taxpayer, and there is also considerable competition amongst bus operators. The quid pro quo of subsidies is that the bus companies have to run unprofitable routes as part of the deal.

[Lucifer Box]

Subsidised PT

Birmingham too, in the early 1980s. All bus trips on Friday were 2p flat fare.

[SupremeSpod]

Re: Free PT

Nope, make it free!

Nationalise it!