Taxis or taxes?

I'd like to see more public transport, more buses, trains, and trams. I'd like the price of public transport to be kept low and affordable. This blog post is a bit of a rant if you want to come along for the ride.

Have you thought about going to London by train recently? 

If you aren't eligible for any of the railcards, it costs an arm and a leg. Well, the cheapest return tickets seem to cost about £55, which is just too much. No wonder lots of people just get on the train and hope to get away without paying. 

There are signs saying that traveling without a ticket is theft, but the person who didn't pay (because they couldn't afford to pay) isn't taking something away from someone else -- there are empty seats. 

Someone somewhere is getting away with daylight robbery when most fares to London are well over £100. 

I want to travel from Stoke-on-Trent to London, not from one country to another. It's 160 miles. The train journey can take upwards of 90 minutes. Why should a day-return ticket cost over £100?

I want to go because: 

(a) my eldest child lives there, and 

(b) a dear old friend who I've known for almost 40 years is very ill. VERY ill. 

Unfortunately, it would be a lot cheaper for me to drive and let the train go with plenty of empty seats: make it make sense.

I'm a parent. I've spent many years doing my utmost to raise the next generation. I've also worked most of that time. I've made a contribution to society. And now I wonder how many times I can visit my friend in what is likely to be her final year, given the exorbitant cost of the train fare. She's almost 80 years of age and has worked all of her adult life, too.

Our taxes, our contribution to the country, should be enough to mean that basic essential infrastructure is functional and affordable. 

Just remind me: is the UK one of the richest countries in the world?

And I know the train fare isn't fair because if I were JUST a few years older than I am now, I could cut the cost by 1/3rd with a railcard. 

That's not based on the ability to pay, it would be solely based on age.

I know plenty of people older than me with bags of spare cash.

It's nothing to do with the capacity of the train. 

There are many empty seats on the Stoke to London trains (after 9am).

***

If I had my way, the public transport system across the UK would serve the British public. 

It would be priced so people could afford to use it. 

but Deb, HOW WOULD YOU PAY FOR IT?

I don't want to say I have all the answers, but there has to be a better way. 

• I suspect the people who work on railways and people who use railways frequently have far better ideas about how to change them than I do.
• I suspect we could learn a lot about running an efficient public transport service from other countries; many of them seem to do it better than we do.

Socialists Always Want to Raise Taxes

That's the accusation, as if all taxes are a bad thing.

Shared control and funding of public services and infrastructure for the good of us all is a good thing. Everyone benefits, even the rich and mega corporations.

I'm in favour of a welfare state and a fairer distribution of wealth.

I'm in favour of everyone contributing to public services that benefit all of us.

And things that benefit society do benefit all of us, even if we don't all personally use those things.

On the subject of TAXES: 

I've been listening to Dan Neidle a lot. On YouTube, on the Radio (BBC Sounds), and reading his website: Tax Policy Associates. It is interesting stuff and very accessible. You don't need to be a lawyer, accountant, or have A-level maths to follow along with his shows on TAX.