Should the UK nationalise the public transport companies?

Question

With soaring prices and poor (if not very bad) service delivery in the public transport sector, the UK tends to be the perfect example of what not to do in that particular area, As a regular Public Transport user I often come to notice wrong doing, being charged extortion rates and so on...
By comparison with its European neighbours policy, I strongly feel that the UK government must act to (re)nationalise the public transport network.
Dear fellow commutters, how do you feel about the UK public transport?

http://www.gmpte.com/news.cfm?news_id=5062919

Sorry Paul what's you point with the Nazi??
Have been in the Netherland or Germany? Did you experience here and there? Do not see nationalisation as a communist or national-socialist act...This attitude is somehow...dangerous. Once should not warn of a monustrous wolf when they see a friendly puppet!

Answer 1

Public transport must be controlled by the government because it is a public service. If costs are skyrocketing, the government must subsidize the expenses so that fares will not be high for the good of the people.

Answer 2

Eh...? Sorry but your question seems a little meaningless at face value. Canada is the second largest country by land mass and very sparsely populated. On the other hand, the UK is a small country with a burgeoning population. It's these differences that dictate how people and freight are transported. Because the distances between centres of population in Canada are so huge people would prefer to fly than use land transport, and it is cheaper to move freight by rail than using fleets of trucks. When I visited Vancouver and BC in 2004 I saw many many freight trains but never even found the main passenger terminus let alone see a normal passenger train (the only one I saw was a charter). However, centres of population in the UK are much closer together making the market for domestic flights smaller and the need for land transport greater. In the UK, rail may not necessarily be the cheapest option but, for many long distance journeys at least, it is the quickest and safest. But to try and answer the question, the UK runs passenger services at a higher frequency and higher speeds. A large proportion of the British passenger stock is capable of 100mph with express services capable of 125mph, and will routinely achieve these speeds in normal service. All major cities have large network of suburban rail services in addition to any light rail system they might operate which are vital to the economy of the area. There are also fast and frequent "inter-city" services. 40% of the UK network is electrified, including long-distance routes such as the East Coast route from London to Edinburgh and the West Coast route from London to Glasgow. The only area I would say that the UK lags behind is in moving freight by rail.

Answer 3

Most if not all services should be, yes.

It's the only way to get more 'joined-up' thinking with timetables etc. And to take wider responsibilities for the hidden benefits to society and our national wealth and well being.

Also, not all services should be expected to be big profit makers, but are somewhat essential to keep more cars off the road, and thus lessen CO2 emissions.

(The bleating cry-babies running some of the large train companies are only in it for profit. Get that bearded loon who runs the red 1's (and never seems to shut up from either whingeing or talking utter cr*p, to clean his train loos for a few months too! Unfit for human use, usually. Sorry, I have suffered so much from their generally rubbish service standards)

I would expecially love trains renationalised and managed expertly. We should ship in some European management with good expertise if we can't find all the means to do it ourselves.

Answer 4

It was private until the Attlee (Labour) then nationalised it, then the Tories gained power Beaching destroyed it, claiming he had made it profitable, the profits came from the destructing of a massive network of rail connecting most villages, by selling off all the rail lines for scrap the the land they were occupying, all this because he refused to fund it That was the start of road chaos ( conservative minister of transport) 1950. then Tebitt re-privatised it and "What a fine mess" to quote Stan Laurel

To jef M
the railways were under Tory control very much more than the were under labour, just research the no. of year Tories were in power
OF COURSE IT SHOULD BE NATIONALISED

Answer 5

UK Transport should be natonalized immeadiately,privitization has been a free for all for rich businessmen who constantly plunder the treasury for subsidies. Its got to the point where bus companies are holding the public to ransom by threatining loss of jobs and reduction in services,if they dont get what they want,get rid of them now!

Answer 6

With regard to the railways, I would say no. Labour have messed the railways around so much that hardly anybody knows what they're doing anymore, or for whom. They should keep their meddling, inexperienced hands out of it and let the experts run it. Too many fingers in the pie.

Mind you, it's virtually nationalised anyway. "First" now run a huge proportion of the trains in this country and have a complete monopoly between London, Exeter, Cornwall, South Wales, and everything in between. There is no competition for them so they've cut services and raised prices as much as they're allowed to.

Network Rail, as a not-for-profit company running the rails is sensible. But we need open access for all train and freight operators, not the restrictive and monopolistic "one terminal, one operator" nonsense that the Labour sink tank have come up with.

Answer 7

yes, just like in the depression Germany embraced National Socialism ..I can see now the UK going the way of the socialist movement. Hows come UK never got the Euro? well they were not wanting the rest of the Common Market to pull them down.
Average Germans are suffering because of the Euro and the problems with East Berlin and the mess the Russians made of their country.
If you do not like the situation of the com mutters then you only have yourselves to blame.

Answer 8

Yes, although I am not a commuter, I have always thought so, along with other services like gas, electricity and water.

Answer 9

Yes, absolutely.