I live in Bishop’s Stortford, on the busy line between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street.
I chose Bishops Stortford because it presents an opportunity to work in London without too much travel, and I work in London anything from three to five days a week.
The news of the rail fare increase has been a hard pill to swallow. I already spend anything between £310 and £520 on travel per month which can constitute up to 25 per cent of my monthly income.
As an agile worker I sit on the cusp of choosing between a weekly or monthly ticket (which I wouldn’t use for all days concerned) versus paying for daily tickets which works out almost as expensive as a season ticket.
Coupled with the migraine-inducing thought of paying more on rail fares is the fact that I am often faced with an unreliable service on the railway line.
My journeys are frequently delayed, which makes planning difficult. I often have to turn back from the station to work from home when trains are cancelled or delayed into London.
When I first moved here I thought being able to travel by public transport was a blessing but it has turned out to be a curse.
Delays like this mean I don’t make it into the office in time for scheduled meetings, so must dial in from my office at home. It is not uncommon for the delays on the lines to be classed as ‘major’ – this is the chaos we are faced with.
I haven’t yet mentioned the overcrowding of trains. This is an extremely busy line and nine times out of 10 I am left without a seat on my 40 minute trip to work or home.
I come from a country where public transport is well behind UK or European standards, so when I first moved here I thought being able to travel by public transport was a blessing but it has turned out to be a curse – one that also ripples into my family life.
With a job based in London, a partner who also works to make ends meet in our household and one child in school, planning my work day is instrumental in making sure we are able to keep our household running.
Constant delays or cancellations on the line have made our lives measurably more difficult as the reliability affects when we’ll be able to pick my child up from school.
Not only that, but as a family we now have to consider future job prospects for my partner that are not London-based to make sure we do not have that added expense of rail fares topped with the unreliability when planning child care.
This is extremely frustrating for the both of us as there is a narrower and less lucrative job market outside of London. It also leaves us worrying as it affects our household budget for the worse, including future planning and saving.
I work for Campaign for Better Transport, so I’m only too aware that I’m not alone as a suffering rail commuter.
Last year, as botched timetable changes led to cancellations and delays across the network, we heard from many passengers whose jobs and health were under severe strain, and others for whom missing their children’s bedtimes had become the norm.
Today we have heard from commuters who will have to work until April to earn the amount of money required to pay for their season tickets, as well as others who are looking for new jobs as their travel has become unaffordable.
As commuters, we only want the service that we pay for, a reliable service that is not delayed, at a fair and reasonable price.
Having to pay more for my rail fares after a very dismal 2018 year of service – and with trains already being cancelled in 2019 – does not instil any confidence in me as a commuter.
Understandably there are various factors and moving parts that affect this. The bad weather last year, for example, contributed to the worst rail punctuality figures for more than a decade. Added to that, persistent delays on some routes, trains skipping stations, and the collapse of some services when the new timetable was introduced in May added to the nightmare passengers experienced.
But as a regular occurrence, it is unacceptable. We need to see fundamental reform of the railways so that they are providing a service that puts passengers first – that means overhauling the fares system, how services are run and how people are treated.
For more information on the Campaign for Better Transport, visit bettertransport.org.uk.
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