Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #railfares
Most recents (2)
The main users of railways are commuters, who are relatively well-off and most likely live or work in London and the South East. So cutting #railfares by 1/3 would increase both income #inequality and regional inequality.
(snips from factsheets here: gov.uk/government/sta…)
(snips from factsheets here: gov.uk/government/sta…)
To be fair, distributional impact also depends on how lower #rail fares are funded. Higher taxes on car ownership and/or use might even the impact out a little, and could be better for the environment, but plenty of poorer people rely on cars too.
Finally, remember any environmental benefits rely on more people travelling on trains which are already overcrowded. Much better to use the money to improve infrastructure than cut #railfares, especially as users themselves will benefit from this too.
Because writing this for @TheTimes (thetimes.co.uk/article/believ…) and going on @BBCBreakfast (& other outlets) to defend our train system didn’t do enough to my notifications, here’s a short thread about #railfares
(Or, if brevity isn’t your thing, you could read this excellent briefing note from the @cpsthinktank team cps.org.uk/files/reports/…)
First up, you won’t find anyone inside the industry, or outside it, who argues that the model is perfect. Grayling himself says in @Telegraph today that ‘it is now clear that the franchising model cannot be the path for the future’
