I was interested to note that Rail Fares have gone up today. I only found this out after a conversation with my father in law and I must have missed the news leading up to it… to me the whole increase has gone in under the radar and with little public debate.
I honestly can’t understand how a government can authorise an increase in these times of higher petrol costs. The trains run on electricity and apart from the fuel that goes into their maintenance trucks, they have little exposure to the impact of higher fuel costs. So that cant be used as a justification.
Also, I was of the view that CityRail had to demonstrate improved services and reliability to timetable to justify increases and even then there would be a large public debate via the media. But they seem to have cut services and changed the timetable to reflect their poor reliability (i.e. moved the goal posts) and BAM they are now suddenly on time.
The increase is unjustified and unfair.
I was also interested to note Peter Costello’s view on altering the Constitution and make a number of traditional services now under State Govt control under the Federal responsibility. Costello for me is a worm, but this idea may have some merit. If the NSW Govt no longer had to worry about Ports and other peripheral matters, then they could spend their larger portion of attention on directly impacting areas of government spending – namely Public Transport, Health and Education. To do this, I think they need to change the way Local Government interacts with State Governments but in general I think this idea has merit.
2 comments:
How can they be expected to improve service when they are probably underfunded?
How long has it been since the last price increase?
Is there anything they could actually do that people wouldn't complain about?
My point is that they continually do less with the money is given and when they get more money via a price rise, then little happens by way of better service.
CityRail is entitled to ask for a raise every year. They asked last year but were refused, so they slashed services and rejigged the timetable. This meant that all those trains that were running late were miraculously on time.
Now they are on time, they get the price hike. Will that improve services? No.
Since the timetable hike, my trains now get me home 15mins later than before and I have gone from a train that had carriages comfortably occupied to now the situation that if you get on after Emu Plains you have to stand.
I am lucky that I get a seat, but I can assure you many people are now paying more for getting in later and they dont even get a seat.
Check out my first posts on this site 12mths ago. How I used to get the same seat every morning... how people would get to know each other in that silent kind of way of acknowledgment.
Today, when I get on at Glenbrook, there is a rush at the door by the suits (me incl in that number) to try and get the one or 2 seats remaining with a coat rack. The experience has turned into a bit of a rabble.
And why? Coz CityRail cut one train out, made all trains 10-15mins later, include extra stops (we now stop at Penrith) and have cut many services from 8 to 6 cars.
End result - slower, overcrowded trains that do run according to the timetable, but that timetable has now been built in with an acceptance that durations of an extra 15mins are acceptable.
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