This twitter thread is by Manchester's Mayor Andy Burnham. Manchester to London by rail is a two hour route and Burnham lists the cost of a open return ticket.
As Burnham says, advance booking is not impractical for many people. And when you book in advance for cheaper tickets, there is limited availability. Daily commuters travelling to work pay some of the most expensive rail tickets in Europe.
I've posted this before: a monthly season ticket comparison from 2017 for UK and Continental Europe. It bears repeating because the price differences between UK and other countries are shocking (and for us in the UK, pretty depressing).
- UK: Luton to London St. Pancras (35 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £387 (approx $547/€448)
- UK: Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (32 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £292 (approx $412 /€344)
- Germany: Dusseldorf to Cologne (28 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £85 (approx $120 /€98)
- France: Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris (34 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Italy: Anzione to Rome (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Spain: Aranjuez to Madrid (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £75 (approx $106 /€87)
For people living in the South East and commuting to London a monthly season ticket is easily £500... You can imagine the impact of WFH has had on both train companies' and people's budgets.
Regarding France, in the Paris area (like your example) employers are also required to pay for half the cost of a monthly season ticket. So it the ticket costs EUR71 you actually only pay EUR35.50 out of your own pocket, which may be less for the whole month than a day peak-time ticket into London.
Interesting, feels like the Netherlands has similarly extremely expensive public transport too. People usually commute within the Randstad and pay exorbitant amounts to do so.
The Hague to Amsterdam is approx 40mi/64km. The monthly ticket for 2nd class seating is 325€. If you don’t buy a season ticket, the round trip is 25.6€!!
It seems to me that 35 years ago I would pay $110 for a monthly ticket between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, something around 40 miles. If I am reading the MARC chart correctly, the ticket is now $243. So I guess we are better off than the UK.
For people outside the UK, Channel 4 is a national broadcaster in the UK with a remit to cater to minority interests and under-deserved audiences - as well as producing more popular content. Their funding comes from advertising - a unique situation which means they are a public service broadcast (PSB) who does not rely on an a license fee or public funding. This means Channel 4 content runs the gamut from trashy or 'low-brow' TV programming to more serious documentaries, high-end drama, arts and serious investigation reporting. The more 'popular' or 'low brow' programming brings in advertising to help fund the less popular, more specialised content.
The plan to privatise Channel 4 will kill much of the public service programming. The Government Minister that oversees Channel 4 is Nadine Dorries ("Culture Secretary"). She is so clueless, she was even unaware that Channel 4 was not publicly-funded when previously interviewed by other politicians.
Also, Channel 4 News is often less 'timid' than BBC News when investigating government actions. In a 2019 speech, the Channel 4 News boss said the media have the right to call politicians 'liars'. That can’t have been popular with the current Government (which enjoys the support of most national newspapers in the UK). Here is an example of a news interview of a government minister from Channel 4 News. You are unlikely to find something similar on BBC News:
There are much cheaper bus/coach options for city-to-city travel. But they are not always suitable for commuting daily to work. Expect longer travelling time than rail and be prepared for slow traffic and road works at times.
I'm in favour of nationalisation for UK rail simply because privatisation of UK rail has been a mess. This article highlights the lack of detail in the plans though, particularly concerns about fares which have not been addressed.
Can nationalisation work? Back in 2009, a privatised rail service (East Coast Line) was nationalised when the private operators failed their financial commitments. The state-run line was run for 5 years and returned £1bn in premiums, as well as several million in profits to government coffers. A successful example of nationalisation - but simply not acceptable for the Conservative government who promptly returned the line to private hands in 2015. [1]
The UK already has some of the most expensive rail tickets in Europe. Yes, you can book in advance for cheaper tickets, but often there is limited availability, and you have to book at least a month or longer in advance. In short, the conditions which make cheaper tickets available are simply impractical for most passengers, especially regular commuters.
I've posted this before: a monthly season ticket comparison from 2017 for UK and Continental Europe. The price differences between UK and other countries is eye-watering:
- UK: Luton to London St. Pancras (35 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £387 (approx $547/€448)
- UK: Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (32 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £292 (approx $412 /€344)
- Germany: Dusseldorf to Cologne (28 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £85 (approx $120 /€98)
- France: Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris (34 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Italy: Anzione to Rome (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Spain: Aranjuez to Madrid (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £75 (approx $106 /€87)
>I'm in favour of nationalisation for UK rail simply because privatisation of UK rail has been a mess.
It was a mess before it was privatised. For all the criticism there has been a lot of investment in UK railways and passenger numbers have skyrocketed since privatisation.
The pricing is fine, if it wasn't then the trains wouldn't be running at capacity (putting aside covid effects). Personally I would be pretty pissed if I had to subsidise my neighbours transport costs just so they can commute to a higher paying job in London.
The question is, do you see rail as a cost or profit center? Do you use it as a tool for achieving other goals?
In the matter of public transport, the idea that it needs to pay for itself or be profitable is very much a matter of where you draw the line of which costs you in- and externalise.
People need to go places, space and climate impact are limited, public transport the only sane option. It therefore should be priced such. It /is/ is cheaper than all other options, evidently.
The language in the COP26 deal to "phase down" coal - rather than "phase out" - has come under criticism.
Support for Sharma comes from a unlikely quarter: opposition Labour MP Ed Miliband (who used to be a Shadow Environment Secretary) who says Sharma "has done an amazing job" after a deal was struck at the Glasgow summit.
As always, make up your own mind up on Sharma and the COP26 outcome.
A few years ago (2016), a black MP (Member of Parliament) entered a members-only lift in the parliament building (House of Commons). Another MP (unamed) in the same lift told her: "This lift really isn't for cleaners." [1]
More recently (September 2020), a black barrister (type of lawyer) was mistaken for a defendant three times in one day. Her experience was widely reported in the press. [2]
These examples received press attention, but there are undoubtedly many examples that are never reported (for people from any ethnic minority). There have been horrible examples of racism against people of South-East Asian origin during the pandemic.
Sometimes, it feels that progress is being made. At other times, it seems much still needs doing.
The problem of discrimation appears to be Europe-wide too. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a survey in Nov 2018 that examined the experiences of almost 6,000 people of African descent in 12 European countries. Summary of weighted results across all surveyed countries (taken from the report): https://imgur.com/a/gcHR5dk
> A few years ago (2016), a black MP (Member of Parliament) entered a members-only lift in the parliament building (House of Commons). Another MP (unamed) in the same lift told her: "This lift really isn't for cleaners." [1]
That surely can't have been a mistake, I don't know if the cleaners there are uniformed, but even if not I assume she would've been dressed more like an MP (the MP that she was) than a cleaner, especially a cleaner - as opposed to just non-member aide or whatever - must've been a deliberately racist comment? [*]
(HoC dress code is a lounge suit for male, and unspecified but typically an equivalent appropriate suit/dress for female members. I'd have thought any member, whatever gender/colour/race/etc., that swapped clothes with a cleaner would be kicked out of the chamber before long.)
[*] Assuming it's true - I must admit this sort of unnamed perpetrator, unverifiable story does strike me as a bit suspect. But I think that's fine anyway even if so, the specifics aren't really important, it can be a parable for how she feels generally on other (real) occasions.
> [*] Assuming it's true - I must admit this sort of unnamed perpetrator, unverifiable story does strike me as a bit suspect. But I think that's fine anyway even if so, the specifics aren't really important, it can be a parable for how she feels generally on other (real) occasions.
You're right, I refuse to believe any sitting member of a governing body that [recently put out a report][1] saying Britain is the least racist country in the world could have deliberately tried to make a black MP feel unwelcome
I'm not quite sure how to take your comment, I think it's meant sarcastically? Note the bit the the asterisk was on was me saying it sounds deliberately racist. And I said assuming it was true and that it doesn't matter if it isn't because it can be how she feels generally or on other occasions.
Maybe I'm getting the wrong end of the stick, but it seems like you're reacting as though I said 'no way, didn't happen, she's a liar, nobody was racist to her, racism doesn't exist'(?) - which is not at all what I said.
For comparison, a 2019 survey of 33 European countries ranked countries by their trust in the written press [1]. The UK ranked last (75% do not trust the written press, just 15% trust the press, 10% don't know).
Unlike newspapers, TV and radio in the UK is regulated by a government-funded body called OFCOM (Office of Communications) where broadcasters are required to follow rules around impartial news coverage. These rules exclude opinion-based shows e.g. talk radio shows.
These impartiality rules apply to all broadcasters i.e. public service broadcasters (PSBs) like the BBC and Channel 4, and commercial broadcasters like ITV and Sky News. People often criticise PSBs for their news coverage (justified in some cases), but there is no editorial standard or code of ethics for national newspapers in the UK.
Most of the national newspapers in the UK lean to the right, and a few to the left. But they are all awful. The Financial Times is the only half-decent national newspaper in the UK and even they have their biases.
I have long held the belief that the national press in the UK has poisoned political discourse in the UK for decades. Despite declining newspaper circulation, they continue to exert outsized influence on public discourse (and on politicians). The relationship between journalists and politicians is uncomfortably close and unhealthy. (Journalists often move to positions of influence into political parties).
Interesting tidbit about UK newspaper columnists: attendence at private schools makes up just 7% of the general population. Yet, in UK national newspapers, the proportion of news columnist who were privately educated is disproportionately high: 44%. [2]
[1] EBU (European Broadcasting Union) Media Intelligence Service – Trust in Media 2020 Report
The flexible season tickets are welcome. However, missing from this news report is any mention of making the cost of rail travel more affordable for the public.
The report quotes the former boss of British Airways about "greater flexibility in the way that fares are operated in the future"
What does this mean? Can we expect less expensive tickets?
The UK already has some of the most expensive rail tickets in Europe. Yes, you can book in advance for cheaper tickets, but often there is limited availability, and you have to book at least a month or longer in advance. In short, the conditions which make cheaper tickets available are simply impractical for most passengers, especially regular commuters.
Here is a monthly season ticket comparison from 2017: UK vs Continental Europe:
- UK: Luton to London St. Pancras (35 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £387 (approx $547/€448)
- UK: Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (32 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £292 (approx $412 /€344)
- Germany: Dusseldorf to Cologne (28 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £85 (approx $120 /€98)
- France: Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris (34 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Italy: Anzione to Rome (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Spain: Aranjuez to Madrid (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £75 (approx $106 /€87)
Why should frequent travellers get 50% plus discounts on journeys? When I travel to london I pay about £1 a mile in the peak on a fast train. A season ticket holder pays about 20p a mile.
It wasn't mentioned in this article, but a commonly repeated complaint during COVID times is that season tickets don't work for people who commute 2–3 times per week and work from home the rest of the days.
A possible flexible solution is to have the option of buying bulk tickets for a discount and using them whenever you want.
As Burnham says, advance booking is not impractical for many people. And when you book in advance for cheaper tickets, there is limited availability. Daily commuters travelling to work pay some of the most expensive rail tickets in Europe.
I've posted this before: a monthly season ticket comparison from 2017 for UK and Continental Europe. It bears repeating because the price differences between UK and other countries are shocking (and for us in the UK, pretty depressing).
- UK: Luton to London St. Pancras (35 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £387 (approx $547/€448)
- UK: Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly (32 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £292 (approx $412 /€344)
- Germany: Dusseldorf to Cologne (28 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £85 (approx $120 /€98)
- France: Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris (34 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Italy: Anzione to Rome (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £61 (approx $86 /€71)
- Spain: Aranjuez to Madrid (31 miles) | Monthly season ticket cost: £75 (approx $106 /€87)
Source: https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/uk-commuters-spend-6-times-much-...