Why does the Government seem so disinterested in improving public transport?

Question

Should one of the Governments top agendas be "to get people out of their cars"

Railfares have gone up and bus routes have fallen. Tony Blair & the Government don't seem to be to bothered with this?

Is this the case? and if so why is this so?

Answer 1

the goverment wants more money in their pockets..thats why

Answer 2

yes its about money, but public transport isnt the panacea manypeople claim it is

Public transport works well in London, where there has been =vast expenditure over many many years. its bad to appalling elsewhere.
If you wanrt to travel to the centre of the major cities then you may be lucky and find a suitable bus or train, or then again you may not. Even if you do that model only really works where you want to go is the centre of the city.

To get other cities to the same level of public transport provision as London would be astronomical.. and unlikely to happen in the current environemnt where London is hoovering up all the cash int he transport budgets for it (and the Olympics)... did you ever wonder why Livingston was so keen on the Olympics?

it doens't help that the goverment has created its, frankly barking mad and wastefull PFI scheme which will continue to take us to the cleaners for the next 40..50 years as Brown fiddels the books to pretend he isn't selling us all into massive debt.

it doens't help that the governemnt is desparately short of cash having lavished vast amlounts oin its pet projects over the last 10 years (Iraq,AFghanistan, immigration, IT, equality agendas)

in short there is insufficent cash, if you want a better service then expect to pay more for it.

personally I resent beng told I can use public transport; for some journeys I can and do.. for many, if not most, I can't, or at least I can't and fit in a normal working day.

Answer 3

Oh this is a continuing problem that i don't see improving in the forseeable future. We all know trains are sooo expensive (it cost me over £100 to go from Norfolk to York and back again), and busses are the most unreliable form of transport ever conceived... (I have stood at a bus stop for over 2 hours waiting for a bus that never arrived...).

Also, there's still nothing to compare with the convienence of just leaving your house, getting into your car and driving anywhere you want. Thats the freedom you don't get if you have to rely on busses.

On a final note, increasing car taxes or making us pay-per-mile isn't going to stop people driving... they'll just use the back roads, or travel at off-peak times, causing even more chaos (imagine the traffic on the M25 all going round the back roads to avoid paying the higher prices for the better roads!).

Answer 4

As with all things public. It has to be paid for. The percieved freedom of the personal transport is a much bigger draw for funds than the idea of 'public' transport. would you pay 15% of your salary for a 'public' system or 15% for 'personal' transport. Most people will only give what they have to; and if they have to give thier 15% to the government to cover public transport then they will feel that their personal freedom has been co-opted for the public good. or to put it another way they are being oppressed.

Answer 5

The UK Government, and UK governments consistently throughout the twentieth century, have failed to invest in capital projects generally. A major reason is that the payback period is greater than the five years interval between elections.

For instance, in 1921 the North Eastern Railway proposed to electrify the railway between York and Newcastle. They got as far as building a prototype express electirc locomotvie (Number 13, they had a sense of humour). The Government finally got round to investing in electrification of this line for 1990!

The result is not only that there is a failure to invest in public transport generally, but that such investment as is made is distorted towards types of transport, such as cars and buses as opposed to trains and aeroplanes as opposed to high speed rail links, that require comparatively low initial investment as opposed to running costs. Unfortunately, high running costs usually imply high environmental costs too, particularly in realtion to global warning.

It is particularly appropriate to question US Government transport policy at the moment because of the disgusting Eddington Report that was brought out before Christmas. Eddington is a former boss of British Airways, an Australian, who is therefore an interested party with comparatively little personal involvement in the consequences of his recommendations. In addition, his report was encouraged by the Treasury, which wishes to minimise capital investment. Eddington has supported expansion of internal air transprot as opposed to the construction of a new high speed railway between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. The fog just before Christmas at heathrow has already overtaken, to my mind, this report by showing how much unecessarily environmentally damaging air traffic is being generated internally, not to destinations on other continents inaccessible by land. There is a need for public representations making clear to the politicians that the Eddington Report has no credibilily and investment in a new high speed railway is urgently needed.

Answer 6

This Government is disinterested in anything to do with Britain!!Only countries fair better than Britain from Tony Blair and his "cronies"!!!

Answer 7

So we have to use our cars more and that way the goverment will get more tax from the fuel we use. I not sure about the amount but i think its arounds 60 pence in every litre of petrol goes to the goverment in tax.That alot of money.

Answer 8

Because it is privatised. Privately owned and Run. Where all the investment is just pocketed by shareholders.Renationalise and admit defeat on the private transport system - and you admit that privatisation doesn't work. So we all suffer and get charged extortionate prices (bit like the private housing sector).

Answer 9

Its an open market now and shares are owned by the fat cats, who also contribute to party funds. Its all about making money, not the state of our transport system.

Answer 10

the answer is in the question=public which means you and i. The powers that be dont care about us they just get us to pay for thier cars and travel and will carry on scewing us so thier rich friends can get richer

Answer 11

Well, the last Tory government (you may be too young to remember) thought they'd leave the difficult business of public transport to the private sector, the private sector duly enjoyed and regularly enjoy large profits, . . . oh sorry, you were asking about the government's disinterest - nothing to do with them mate . . . thanks to the last Tory government (you may be too.....