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Well the tube makes about 50% of its money from fares which is about double the 25% it gets from the government. The rest are things like advertising, renting o
by IkmoIkmo 8y ago
Well the tube makes about 50% of its money from fares which is about double the 25% it gets from the government. The rest are things like advertising, renting out real estate, financial plays etc.
Consider that London has a ton of people from outside of the city, and tourists. You can go free for residents, but you'd still need an RFID card system for everyone else. Moreover, if just London decided to do this you'd still need an RFID system for transport that goes in/out of the city, e.g. every train station, many buses. In Estonia they still used cards even though it was all free. You essentially need to make the whole country have free public transport, that's a big decision. Hope the UK will get there within 15 years!
- isostatic 8y ago> You essentially need to make the whole country have free public transport That would be horrendous. Trains are already crowded enough off-peak. In lieu of more infrastructure (like HS2) the real solution would be to increase the prices to encourage people who are more concerned about price than speed, flexibility, frequency, to take less crowded trains, or other solutions like coaches.
- 7952 8y agoOr just allow a certain number of free miles per day. Ramp up pricing on longer unsustainable commutes. This would mean that the maximum number of people can use the system and prevent abuse.
- isostatic 8y agoPricing actually drops on long unsustainable commutes. I travel Crewe to London every few weeks, if I want to arrive in London before 11.30, or avoid the 1900-2000 overcrowded 'offpeak' trains, without using the slow train or the loopholes, that's £261 return, or about 90p/mile. If I were to commute every day (and it's only 90 minutes), that would cost £361.90 a week, or 25p per mile (for a monthly ticket it comes down to £1,133.20 for the month -- or under 20p per mile.
- crispyporkbites 8y agoDo you think people take trains for fun? If all the of the bus and tube network were free, I don’t think charging would make a difference to overcrowding, given how much more efficient the buses could be.
- isostatic 8y agoYes, people take trains to go on holidays, do leisure trips, etc, so yes they do 'do it for fun' However if trains were free, why would people take a coach? Currently those who are more concerned with cost can take a slow cheap coach rather than a expensive fast train.
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