Privatisation of Royal Mail

[Dr Gloom 22535]

Are you making a fair comparison though Dan? I.e. I assume you're commuting in London, where I know the trains can be bloody awful, but do you have experience of having done that before privatisation?

 

you're right, it's probably not a fair comparison as in the 80s i was young, still living up north and not taking a train to work every day.

 

i still find it hard to believe though that they were as bad as they are now. perhaps they were just as shite down here in london but surely turning the network private hasn't improved it? i'm a firm believer that priviatising public services rarely work. i just don't see how it can be in the national interest to have a whole bunch of different companies, all with one eye on their individual bottom lines, operating the various train lines

[Guest alex]

Are you making a fair comparison though Dan? I.e. I assume you're commuting in London, where I know the trains can be bloody awful, but do you have experience of having done that before privatisation?

 

you're right, it's probably not a fair comparison as in the 80s i was young, still living up north and not taking a train to work every day.

 

i still find it hard to believe though that they were as bad as they are now. perhaps they were just as shite down here in london but surely turning the network private hasn't improved it? i'm a firm believer that priviatising public services rarely work. i just don't see how it can be in the national interest to have a whole bunch of different companies, all with one eye on their individual bottom lines, operating the various train lines

I think the trains I tend to use (like the East Coast Mainline) are ok and probably have improved. Like you, I couldn't compare many commuter routes from then and now. I have used the trains in London a bit though and I was once on a platform in Croydon, trying to get to King's X, on a Monday morning and (not due to bad weather or anything) there must have been four announcements of trains cancelled in the space of about 10 minutes. You could tell by the lack of reaction by the other people there it was par for the course as well. This was about 7 or 8 years ago.

I'm not a massive fan of privatisation across the board either fwiw.

[Rob W 0]

shit news. privatisation rarely works. just look at the trains ffs

 

 

hmmm- I can remember when the Post Office ran the phones before BT was spun off and sold - you had to wait over 3 months for a landline

[Rob W 0]

"i still find it hard to believe though that they were as bad as they are now"

 

they were - years of zero investment and appalling management