Nationalise Public Transport
This crisis must be impacting heavily on the companies which provide public transport. They may be quite happy to sell them back to the Nation more cheaply than at any other time.
Legislation for compulsory purchase may well be easily introduced for the dual crisises of Coronavirus and Climate Emergency.
Nationalising all public transport would benefit the service, the safety of passengers and staff, the numbers of passengers and the economy.
I am concerned that, in private hands, services will be cut. In rural places, services are inadequate already and, following lockdown, the companies will, no doubt, have to slash unprofitable routes. This will have devastating effects for many who rely on these services for their basic needs.
Legislation for compulsory purchase may well be easily introduced for the dual crisises of Coronavirus and Climate Emergency.
Nationalising all public transport would benefit the service, the safety of passengers and staff, the numbers of passengers and the economy.
I am concerned that, in private hands, services will be cut. In rural places, services are inadequate already and, following lockdown, the companies will, no doubt, have to slash unprofitable routes. This will have devastating effects for many who rely on these services for their basic needs.
Why the contribution is important
I am concerned that fears about public transport not being safe will lead to greater car use after lockdown measure are lifted. In public ownership, the safety measures required to give passengers confidence to travel could be introduced much more quickly. If ot were also free to use there would be no need for contact between drivers and passengers. The current system is terrible for passengers as it is expensive, difficult to find the cheapest fare options and the services do not link up. Without through ticketing, multiple tickets need to be bought for each train, bus or metro. The system is antiquated and not user friendly. A more serious crisis is also happening. The Climate Emergency and a return to a car centric transport system is not sustainable.
by CarrieT on May 09, 2020 at 10:09PM
Posted by Cmnotzs May 10, 2020 at 11:15
Increase use of prepaid tickets (not only reduces contact but also reduces cost (my annual bus travel works out at 3p per mile or £1.20 per work day)
Prepaid travel also supports providers to plan services better and sustain those less profitable routes where any subsidy payments can also be targeted.
Encourage major providers to support and connect with community transport schemes as well as walking/cycling networks. Avoiding nationalised one size fits none services offers a real chance to have public transport that does what it says.
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