Let's talk about train fares

Mikey23

@IW... A long long time ago in a galaxy far away. 1969 in fact which was pre decimalisation. The kids today don't know they're born...

arran77

Mikey23 wrote:

@IW... A long long time ago in a galaxy far away. 1969 in fact which was pre decimalisation. The kids today don't know they're born...

I wasn't in 1969

dmclite-3.0

seanoconn wrote:

dmclite-3.0 wrote:

I did look at working in London but only halfwits and dopes would do that. I mean, if you know how much it is, you also know how ripped off you will be. Its not rocket science, its a choice so stop bleeding moaning you soft, namby pamby, latte sipping communter. :P

In other words, London chose not to employ you

Potato/potato....I chose....ESSEX instead

Mikey23

4 farthings = one penny
2 halfpennies = one penny
12 pennies = one shilling
4 three pennies = one shilling
Two and a half shillings = half a crown
2half crowns = one crown
20 shillings = one pound

Now what could be simpler than that ...

WindyG

Stuff all this long and expensive commute, I earn a decent wage and live 6.5 miles from work can either drive or cycle, I could earn more but made the decision a few years ago to earn a little less but have more free time for both myself and my family, I used to drive to London a lot and just got fed up joining in with all the sheep.

Pross

My commute either takes about 45 minutes in a guaranteed comfy seat and it costs about a fiver a day or takes about an hour and ten minutes sat on a slightly less comfy seat enjoying fresh air and the British weather paying virtually nothing. I could also jump on a train, probably get a seat for the 15 minute trip (trains every 10 minutes) for less than £5 but would have to endure a 20 minute bus ride and pay an additional £2.50.

It's hardly a shock that fares are high for people doing the highly popular commuting routes into the major city is it?

Mr_Cellophane

I was going to take the train one stop from Willington to Pear Tree http://goo.gl/maps/wTcdx

But it's not an easy journey
07:25 Willington [WIL] Platform 1 Peartree [PEA] Platform 2 07:43 18m
12:25 Willington [WIL] Platform 1 Peartree [PEA] Platform 2 16:44 4h 19m
13:18 Willington [WIL] Platform 2 Peartree [PEA] Platform 1 16:18 3h 00m

I think I'll have to take my bike and keep it in the hotel room at night.

ballysmate

How about the OP throwing himself at the mercy of a forumite with a spare room in London and staying over for the week? Wimbledon perhaps?

the playing mantis

its a complete facking joke, especially when the crunts at greater anglia/network rail are incapable of running peak time trains on time and cant work a set of signals.

DesB3rd

"So all you people who seemingly don't mind getting f*cked in the bum"

This coming from someone who lives in Brighton...

But aside from that; you pays your money, you takes your choice, no one is coercing you. That said working in a major conurbation (London in my case) can be hard to give up; I thought working in a small, local town would be a nice for the "work life balance" but actually it left me so under-stimulated I thought I was slipping into a coma.

the playing mantis

this isnt just about those of us who get to work by train, its about walk up and go leisure users. ive travelled as a walk up passenger to taunton, southampton and worcester this year and bought one way tickets, and they have been ridiculously expensive. off the top of my head a one way to southampton in the evening non peak from waterloo was 34 quid...thats terrible value, i enquired about 1st class and that was over £50!

train companies can do what they want cost wise and not suffer any real problems from providing a crappy service. there customers, at least commuters, are a captive audience with 0 choice (apart from obviously not working in the city...but that would involve a change in career in a lot of peoples cases) than to use the trains.

franchises are so long and the performance parameters so skewed in the train companies favor (eg, a train being considered on time so long as its within 10 mins of its timetabled time) that they can ride roughshod over the populace.

badgerbeaver

Anyone who voted Tory in 1992 has no place complaining about train fares on this forum or anywhere else.

Frank the tank

I've lived a mile from where I work since I left school. Over the past 36years going to work has cost me firk all in time and money.

ballysmate

So from what I can gather, people who work in London to earn the big bucks, don't want to live there because the houses are expensive, they choose to commute. The train fares are expensive, so they would like some sort of subsidy. So the people like Frank the Tank and myself should subsidies them so that they can carry on earning the big bucks. Is that the gist of it? :roll:

greg66_tri_v2.0

Stevo 666 wrote:

Shouldn't this be titled 'Let's talk about living too far away from where you work' ?

Nah. It should be titled "Those Commuting Chat fellows: they can't be that stupid after all, using their bikes and all"

I commuted by train -B R South East slam door trains - to school from when I was ten. It pretty much scarred me for life, in that I've flatly refused to live anywhere that's required me to travel to/from work by train. When we moved to our current house, I worked out how far 30mins from work was by bike, drew a line, and told Mrs66 we were living somewhere inside the line. Pick a spot.

I fecking hate trains.

Stevo_666

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Shouldn't this be titled 'Let's talk about living too far away from where you work' ?

Nah. It should be titled "Those Commuting Chat fellows: they can't be that stupid after all, using their bikes and all"

I commuted by train -B R South East slam door trains - to school from when I was ten. It pretty much scarred me for life, in that I've flatly refused to live anywhere that's required me to travel to/from work by train. When we moved to our current house, I worked out how far 30mins from work was by bike, drew a line, and told Mrs66 we were living somewhere inside the line. Pick a spot.

I ******* hate trains.

Trains have never really bothered me - and coincidentally I used the South Eastern slam door jobbies when I was at Uni. Although I do now cycle to work 3 times a week - does that make me a commuter? :oops:

the playing mantis

Ballysmate wrote:

So from what I can gather, people who work in London to earn the big bucks, don't want to live there because the houses are expensive, they choose to commute. The train fares are expensive, so they would like some sort of subsidy. So the people like Frank the Tank and myself should subsidies them so that they can carry on earning the big bucks. Is that the gist of it? :roll:

no, its not just about those who work in london. its extorniate for leisure users too.

i wouldnt mind paying high fares if the trains didn't stink of puke (the friday night vomit comet excluded as that's to be expected if you manage to make the schoolboy error of missing the last but one train), if they were relatively punctual, if the station didn't stink of piss everyday (i must admit to having peed on the station platform, albeit at the far country end on a friday night when i have been in something of a state, but thats no reason for it to reak everyday), and if the drivers actually gave the passengers a bit of info as to why the 7.15 from ipswich has just come to a stop for 10 mins for no apparent reason in the middle of nowhere when trains continue to pass on either side.

as for subsidies, i dont get it. the train companies rack up massive profits dont they? if the subsidies didnt exist would they not be in profit?

Iamnot Wiggins

DesB3rd wrote:

"So all you people who seemingly don't mind getting f*cked in the bum"

This coming from someone who lives in Brighton...

No doubt you're down here quite a lot then with the EDL and your 1950's attitude? Do you also believe that women should be seen but not heard?

Ben6899

You're doing it wrong. Work in Zone1, live in Zone2. Walk to work.

Sorted.

the playing mantis

Iamnot Wiggins wrote:

DesB3rd wrote:

"So all you people who seemingly don't mind getting f*cked in the bum"

This coming from someone who lives in Brighton...

No doubt you're down here quite a lot then with the EDL and your 1950's attitude? Do you also believe that women should be seen but not heard?

boohoo

brearley

I work in Sheffield and used to Live in Hull, only train options were northern rail.
At £24 return per day that works out at £480 a month in train fairs. What's worse with northern rail is no matter how far in advance you book you still pay the same over-inflated price.

Needless to say I moved to Sheffield.

mrfpb

When I started commuting in Newcastle I spent 100 days bus fare on a bike - £225 at the time. I spent about the same on accessories and kit. I cycled.to.work.100 days the first year and 120 days for the second year, then moved down South. Bike and kit paid for!

I can't cycle all the way to London from where I live (I only have to do it about once amonth), but if I cycle to Woking that's a ten pound saving each day that I do it. Once a month that's £120 saved. With a full time job (200 days per year) that would be a £2,000 saving. So I'm with Greg66 on this-bike commuters are winners.

MaxwellBygraves

Obviously cycle commuting is the best solution to over priced trains.

Although, thanks to the wonders of our free market economy, you could just elect to take a cheaper train from a competitor...

rjsterry

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

... I worked out how far 30mins from work was by bike, drew a line...

Something similar here, only it was an hour, rather than 30 minutes. That covers most of Z5, which is comparatively affordable. Train prices are, um, sufficient to enforce commuting by bike in almost all circumstances.

Stevo_666

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

Obviously cycle commuting is the best solution to over priced trains.

Although, thanks to the wonders of our free market economy, you could just elect to take a cheaper train from a competitor...

It's not like it was in the good old days (actually it is, you had no choice when it was 'BR')...

daviesee

To think that I think cycling is the better option than paying £3.50.
Return.
It must be great living in the S.E.

Yellow Peril

My mate is a boss at Southeastern. I think the problem is that they get f*cked in the bum for infrastructure costs

Bozman

Yellow Peril wrote:

My mate is a boss at Southeastern. I think the problem is that they get f*cked in the bum for infrastructure costs

Would that be down to Network Rail?
I used to work on the Railway and previous to this year my ex work collegues pay had risen by roughly 13% over the past 3 years, Network Rail does not apply austerity and I'd guess that this gets passed on to the train operators and then to the passenger.

arthur_scrimshaw

Ballysmate wrote:

So from what I can gather, people who work in London to earn the big bucks, don't want to live there because the houses are expensive, they choose to commute. The train fares are expensive, so they would like some sort of subsidy. So the people like Frank the Tank and myself should subsidies them so that they can carry on earning the big bucks. Is that the gist of it? :roll:

The fares are already subsidised and that's a problem, but the real issue is the housing market which is a mess and George's latest wheeze to get it moving again (by increasing the credit availability and consequently debt) is exactly the wrong thing to do in so many ways, to get the economy moving we need to have lower house prices and not tie up disposable income in housing stock, we need money moving around and people buying stuff. And relax..... 8)

the playing mantis

if you want to go down that route, then the housing market is a mess because there is too much demand caused by too many people.

again i repeat if the rail franchises were not subsidised would they really not make a profit?

more delays the last 2 days on my lines.