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Spreadie
I haven't seen my friends in so long
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:06 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: IoW
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Yes, the railways do make a profit - we subsidise the ticket price! The government wants to pull away from that, and I agree it should - why should the public offer subsidy to private enterprise? Last time I checked, the Highways Agency was a public sector organisation.
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Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes; after that, who cares?! He's a mile away and you've got his shoes!
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:50 am |
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jonbwfc
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:26 pm
Posts: 17040
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Because if we didn't they'd have to take profit away from their shareholders, and we can't have that can we...
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 10:53 am |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am
Posts: 29240
Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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And why not? It seems wrong that you cannot subsidise a publicly run organisation but can subsidise a privately run one. _________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:53 pm |
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MrStevenRogers
Spends far too much time on here
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:44 pm
Posts: 4860
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any one remember fares fair which was introduced by the GLC under Ken Livingstone
within 6 months all public road transport was running on time no road congestion
set fares for buses and underground that were very affordable
plans were also in place to make central London a public transport zone only
but this was all ruled illegal, but it was working ...
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 4:54 pm |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am
Posts: 29240
Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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I remember the policy but I moved out of London when it had come in. I had switched to cycling, as I was living relatively close to work and could do so. It was also a lot faster than public transport, but I did get wet more than a few days.
_________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 5:27 pm |
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l3v1ck
What's a life?
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:21 am
Posts: 12700
Location: The Right Side of the Pennines (metaphorically & geographically)
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Because if we didn't they'd see there's no profit to be made and not make any investment in the railways at all. It would soon end up in the state it was in in the early 90's.
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:23 pm |
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MrStevenRogers
Spends far too much time on here
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:44 pm
Posts: 4860
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the state BR ended up in, in the 90's was planned and designed with only one purpose ... (this is the same game that is happening to the NHS, planned and designed for only one purpose)
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Hope this helps . . . Steve ...
Nothing known travels faster than light, except bad news ...
HP Pavilion 24" AiO. Ryzen7u. 32GB/1TB M2. Windows 11 Home ...
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:31 pm |
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jonbwfc
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:26 pm
Posts: 17040
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They're making profits instead of investing in the railways.
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:45 pm |
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l3v1ck
What's a life?
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:21 am
Posts: 12700
Location: The Right Side of the Pennines (metaphorically & geographically)
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But theyy wouldn't invest at all without the chance of profits.
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 10:29 pm |
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jonbwfc
What's a life?
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:26 pm
Posts: 17040
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In which case it's utterly pointless them having anything to do with it.
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 10:43 pm |
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l3v1ck
What's a life?
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:21 am
Posts: 12700
Location: The Right Side of the Pennines (metaphorically & geographically)
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I agree. In the 90's the government should have borrowed on the money markets to rebuild the railways.
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| Sat Jan 04, 2014 11:13 pm |
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TheFrenchun
Officially Mrs saspro
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:55 pm
Posts: 4955
Location: on the naughty step
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I believe if there had been decent fast and cheap railway services 25 years ago, not all businesses would have concentrated in London and it wouldn't be the overpriced mess it is now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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| Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:10 am |
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Amnesia10
Legend
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 2:02 am
Posts: 29240
Location: Guantanamo Bay (thanks bobbdobbs)
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The problem is that they were ideologically opposed to anything that was run by the state. Same as now. So goodbye NHS, but hopefully it will destroy the Tories and their dogma in the process. Some privatisations were sensible but where you have natural monopolies the creation of a regulator with insufficient power and resources means that the customer was being sold down the river by the government. New Labour were no better. _________________Do concentrate, 007... "You are gifted. Mine is bordering on seven seconds." https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5MzczNTkhttp://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwx404couk-21
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| Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:25 am |
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ShockWaffle
Doesn't have much of a life
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 6:50 am
Posts: 1911
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There's a lot of study done on the question of why cities (with their expensive congestion and high land prices) continue to grow in some cases, but fall into neglect and disrepair in others. There's a 5 minutes video summary here. http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexch ... nd-recoverThe basic thing is though that London has finance, law, business consultancy, fashion, media, government, tourism, leisure and academic sectors. If you concentrate that lot together you are guaranteed a big, prosperous city. Companies will continue to move into it or its environs because they need access to those things and, specifically the labour force that they attract.
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| Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:19 am |
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l3v1ck
What's a life?
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:21 am
Posts: 12700
Location: The Right Side of the Pennines (metaphorically & geographically)
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I found this on the BBC. I'm surprised profits aren't higher than that. 
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| Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:37 am |
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. Railways actually make a profit, otherwise the private owners would have chucked them back to the government immediately. If it was run by the government with all profits reinvested, the running cost would be much lower and tickets be sensibly priced. Right now the government pays for a lot of railway improvements and gets little return on them. 
