Buses - Why so expensive?

[love_rat 10]

. When I working it was costing me about £75 a month for a pass.

 

 

 

Thats very expensive.

 

The only way to make public transport viable, is to make driving into town unviable.

 

Something that is happening now

[kingius 10]

The only way to make public transport viable, is to make driving into town unviable.

 

That's the worst way imaginable to solve this problem and quite simply annoys everybody.

 

It would be much better to simply make the ticket prices so cheap that people left their cars at home - better for everyone (even those with cars who still drove ... less traffic altogether!)

[Number Six 10]

That's arguable; if an industry would collapse without them then subsidies may be the only choice because if that fails, then you've either got no industry left or you have to nationalise it. You're right about the public good point. These services always lost money (as in, didn't make a profit), but because they were paid for by us, the public, it didn't really matter.

 

I wonder if economists will ever learn this lesson. However this is a bit off topic from bus prices, as the original poster intended, really.

 

I am the OP

 

We had a situation where buses were subsidised and publicly owned.

 

We moved to one where they are subsidised and privately owned.

 

So the public still pays, but someone makes a profit, and the service isn't as good.

 

I just don't know how that was ever presented as a good thing.

[chem1st 10]

For the youth buses are RELATIVELY cheap, due to excessive price of car insurance.

 

If petrol hits £10/Litre within the year I'll be more worried about the petrol price, than the cot of insurance.

 

The bus companies should be nationalised.

 

Now they are privatised, and yet they are still subsidised, yet they make record profits. ********

[kingius 10]

I do apologise, I didn't realise you were the original poster.

 

It was a good thing to the one who sold the public enterprise to the highest bidders because they made a quick buck and also reduced the goverment's outgoings at that point in time. 'Look, I've just found x million pounds in taxes that we can now throw at... I don't know... how about some more war?' It might have also been done to avoid defaulting on national debt to the bank of england, or to gain access to more credit at the time. I'm speculating of course.

 

In summary though, it wasn't good for us in the general public at all, as you say.

[Bulgarian 10]

What on earth are you doing prowling the Sheffield forum, trolling about how good a service is in another country?

 

gloating, basically.

[Planner1 438]

The only way to make public transport viable, is to make driving into town unviable.

 

Something that is happening now

 

So how do you think driving into town is becoming "unviable"?

 

Council have invested heavily in infrastructure - new inner relief road to speed up journey times.

 

Council have planned large number of big multi storey car parks at convenient locations around ithe inner ring road.

 

Traffic congetion and delays should actually be a little less than a few years ago as the overall number of car trips is decreasing with the economic dowwnturn.

 

So, what is "unviable"?

[Bulgarian 10]

Council have planned large number of big multi storey car parks at convenient locations around ithe inner ring road.

 

Are they free ?

[kingius 10]

Are they free ?

 

That's a good question which we all know the answer to. They really should be. In fact every service the council provides should be free to all of us; we're paying for it through our taxes after all. Councils should not be permitted to charge twice for a service. I wonder if they can be taken to court for this practice.

[Bulgarian 10]

That's a good question which we all know the answer to.

 

it was a rhetorical question, everyone knows it's a juicy income for the council.

[best sheff 10]

I catch three a day to get in to work, and three to get home again. Where's this crazy idea that only one a day would be needed to get about South Yorkshire come from?

 

Wow you catch 6 buses a day. You must spend a good part of your day on buses alone.

Edited October 18, 2011 by best sheff
wanted too

[denise2436 10]

Are they free ?

 

No - 09:20hrs to 11.13hrs today was £5.30p in one of these