WTF? 11-15% Rail Fare price hike?

[Poag]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19251068

I already pay 35% of my salary on railfares just to get to work, let alone car and parking costs.

Another 11% wont even be able to afford it anymore...

Already moved back in with my parents to reduce costs, its getting stupidly expensive tho

 

[cHodAX]

You are paying for the network upgrades the government recently pledged to 'spend' £10 billion on when the truth is that the bulk of the investment is coming from fare rises.

 

[Raven]

It's pretty farcical really but that's what happens when they have an effective monopoly. Where there isn't a monopoly they have obvious price fixing.

It's the same for gas/electric, petrol even food. Everything is priced to make sure everyone has to spend the majority of their wage just to exist.

We need a revolution.

 

[Deebs]

Cannot fucking believe it, not looking forward to the announcement

 

[BloodOmen]

christ, thats some hike

 

[Scouse]

11-15%?

The Retail Prices Index measure of inflation - expected to remain at 2.8% - is used to calculate the increase.....English fares will rise by inflation plus 3%, while in Scotland they will go up by inflation plus 1%

So, that would be 5.8%...

??

 

[Job]

Here's a tip, ask around the platform if anyone going your way wants to hire a taxi, get a deal with a driver and he'll pick you up from your door, it was a bit silly the day the train got more expensive than the motor car.

 

[Poag]

As i understand it, its an average. So if they drop a price of shit station with no passengers A to Shit Station B by XYZ% they can use that to offset the price rise somewhere else.

Atleast thats how I understand they get around it.

 

[Poag]

Here's a tip, ask around the platform if anyone going your way wants to hire a taxi, get a deal with a driver and he'll pick you up from your door, it was a bit silly the day the train got more expensive than the motor car.

I, personally, live down in kent and catch the highspeed train in. I wouldn't even do the journey as is if i had to catch the slow train. I getup about 5:30 to get into work about 7:45. If i got the slow train it'd be a 4:30 start :/

Its a bit better than when i was in Southampton, 5:30 getup for 8:30 start and get home about 7:30 at night, now i get home about 6 which is nice.

Driving to work would take 2-2.5 hours minimum.+ congestion etc.

 

[Raven]

Anything above inflation is retarded, especially when hardly anyone gets an equal or over inflation pay rise...if a pay rise at all, not without changing jobs or negotiating a better salary.

 

[TdC]

welcome to Holland! oh noes, wait, UK train prices are ridiculous as is. one barrybeer I went to, my train ticket (return) in to Londinium was actually more than my flight in!

 

[Raven]

I, personally, live down in kent and catch the highspeed train in. I wouldn't even do the journey as is if i had to catch the slow train. I getup about 5:30 to get into work about 7:45. If i got the slow train it'd be a 4:30 start :/

Its a bit better than when i was in Southampton, 5:30 getup for 8:30 start and get home about 7:30 at night, now i get home about 6 which is nice.

Driving to work would take 2-2.5 hours minimum.+ congestion etc.

Is there any reason that you work in London yet live so far away?

I truly don't understand people that travel for 2,3,4 hours a day to work. Get home knackered, have no time or inclination to do anything. Sure they might get a few quid more but who cares if you are either at work, on the way to/from work or too knackered to do anything?

Work to live dude, not live to work! yeah man.

 

[Poag]

I'm trying to find a new job back down in Kent atm, or something I can telecommute to.

I don't actually like London very much anymore. it was fun for 7 years but this last year has just been a mental slog with traveling long distances, cost of living somewhere close in enough to actually be quicker than highspeed raillink.

Yeah I put the distance of my work on the breakdown of my last relationship, can't blame it entirely, it was my job afterall, but that's the reason pretty much. My current job i could do from anywhere, theres no reason for me to be in the office, but they wont let me telecommute even for less pay.

 

[TdC]

can't you blag a work-from-home day mate? tis an awesome break to your week, and can be fearsomely productive. also, it gives you your entire traveltime to go and do something nice, like gym, or getting decent groceries in, some "outside" time, etc.

 

[Job]

I understand why people commute so far, but really that's a terrible life and 35% on travelling?
Take a 50% pay cut with a local job and start living, you'd only be 15% down.
My old company BT was the same, they sent us on endless seminars on telecomuting and we were actually putting in the code for the conference calls, but they wouldn't let us do it.
It's a middle management thing, utterly useless tossers who hold back every company.
Hopefully a good percentage of the people given it for the Olympics can hold on to it, when the dinosaurs realise that the roof won't fall in.
Kent is lovey, my step sister lives there and she runs a mobile ironing service, started off herself with a bike and now she has four vans...can you iron?

 

[DaGaffer]

welcome to Holland! oh noes, wait, UK train prices are ridiculous as is. one barrybeer I went to, my train ticket (return) in to Londinium was actually more than my flight in!

To be fair that's not unusual in a lot of places; I've had the same experience in Paris. Loads of competition in the airline industry, fuck all in ground transportation.

Said this before, I wouldn't live outside London and commute in, apart from the sheer soul-crushing tedium of it all, they've got you by the balls when it comes to costs. At least inside London you can say "ah fuck it, I'll buy a bike".

 

[TdC]

well, in the NL the trains are hyped as a super efficient and cheaper alternative to the car. however if one other person comes with me, my gas guzzling GT is cheaper than the train for almost every major city here.

 

[DaGaffer]

well, in the NL the trains are hyped as a super efficient and cheaper alternative to the car. however if one other person comes with me, my gas guzzling GT is cheaper than the train for almost every major city here.

Probably not the case in London with the congestion charge and parking costs, but for other cities its probably similar to NL. Dublin is surprisingly cheap if you take advantage of all the tax saver fares etc. Only costs me about €18 a week for an unlimited ticket (I live on the very outskirts of Dublin, still inside the county but out of the city). Biggest problem is there are a lot of holes in the public transport network and its not very joined up.

 

[Poag]

can't you blag a work-from-home day mate? tis an awesome break to your week, and can be fearsomely productive. also, it gives you your entire traveltime to go and do something nice, like gym, or getting decent groceries in, some "outside" time, etc.

Office has a no working from home policy. Unless your a woman then you can because you have to look after your kids...apparently.

Yeah I do look at the time i spend going back and forth. The 1.5 hours on the Southampton train was crushing. The 35 mins highspeed train is alot better. 15 mins drive, 35 on train, 15 on tube.

Previously 15 mins walk, 1.5h on train, 20 mins tube.

I'd really love to find something closer to home, i actually want to buy a house, deposit n stuff knocking around. But I can't afford it atm as i'm effectively paying a mortgage to get to work.


Anyway, this isn't meant to be about me Its about blood sucking train companies!

 

[old.Tohtori]

In Finland there's a zone system in place. Regular tickets cost what they cost(2 fiddy per trip/hour), but if you pay(for example) 40€/month, you get unlimited access to all public transport inside the helsinki area. Then with 80€/month you include the neighbouring cities of vantaa and espoo as well. Which basically gets you anywhere, anytime, at a range of....well....anywhere you need really.

 

[Job]

The Swedish train system seems to rely on honesty,we travelled into town from the camp site several times without paying a penny or even working out how to.

 

[Madmaxx]

fuck ! Im going to have get on this Team GB cycling bandwagon and start riding, lessen my work hours and see if they can get a defib unit at work waiting for me

 

[old.Tohtori]

The Swedish train system seems to rely on honesty,we travelled into town from the camp site several times without paying a penny or even working out how to.

Yeap, we got the same kind of system. Busses have the card reder by the driver, so that's a no freeby zone, but the trams, trains and subway usually don't have inspectors on them and you can avoid them if you keep an eye out.

If you get caught though, 80€.

 

[Raven]

I used to travel from Northampton to Farnborough, via London every weekend for about 2 years. I always had a ticket. I hardly ever got checked and most of the time the barriers were open and not guarded. I bet if I didn't have a ticket one time I would end up getting checked. This was before terrorists prowled our streets though.

 

[cHodAX]

Office has a no working from home policy. Unless your a woman then you can because you have to look after your kids...apparently.

That is a discriminatory practice right there bud and your company will brick it if anyone ever challenges them on it.

 

[Yoni]

Railfares in the UK are fucking ridiculous compared with any other city I have been to / worked in in Europe. Currently in Stockholm my monthly rail pass is 790kr (c. 80quid) it allows me to travel anywhere in the greater Stockholm area using any form of transport (train, underground, bus or boat). Living in the midlands I had to get a train and bus to work 12 miles away. It was 80quid for the railroads and 100quid for the bus pass....

Transport in the NL was more expensive than Sweden but cheaper than the UK ie 17euros to go from the south to Amsterdam.... The same distance in the UK has cost me over 60 quid before now.....

 

[DaGaffer]

Office has a no working from home policy. Unless your a woman then you can because you have to look after your kids...apparently.

I find that surprising. Usually the biggest problem HR departments have with working from home is the fact you're distracted by things like looking after kids. My missus was a home worker but we still had to put our first child into a childminder because of that.

If they do have that as a policy, they're definitely open for a discrimination charge against them.

 

[cHodAX]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19198342

BBC have broken it down nicely with regards to why the price keeps smashing inflation rates, it does seem that some of the busiest lines will be getting double digit rises too.

The line that makes me laugh most...

The government also says it is paying for huge improvements across the network.

The government rapes billions in tax every year off fares and the business tax from the rail companies. They are not putting any new money in, they are just using existing revenue where it should have already been spent.

 

[Helme]

I feel for you guys :/

Apart from the utter incompetence of SJ in maintaining their railways our prices are fairly acceptable - especially in Stockholm as previously mentioned. Uppsala/Uppland is a bit on the expensive side though if you just want to take the train for a day or two every now and then. But yeah, they rely on people being honest so if you don't feel like paying you can usually get away without doing so.

Prices are going up though. UL (Upplands lokaltrafik) raised prices by 15% this year. Planning another 15% next year to pay for the double-deck buses they added to the line between Uppsala and Västerås. But hey, I'm moving. So fuck them!

 

[Hawkwind]

Probably not the case in London with the congestion charge and parking costs, but for other cities its probably similar to NL. Dublin is surprisingly cheap if you take advantage of all the tax saver fares etc. Only costs me about €18 a week for an unlimited ticket (I live on the very outskirts of Dublin, still inside the county but out of the city). Biggest problem is there are a lot of holes in the public transport network and its not very joined up.

In London it's that parking costs that get you. Up to 10 GBP an hour in Westminster!

I swapped 10 years of 2 hours a day commuting to Heathrow from Hampshire for a life in Dubai. I live 10 minutes from work and would never go back that old life.