Fare rises: Time something was done?

Excessive Public Transport fare increases are undemocratic.

Every year prices go up higher than the cost of living, commuters get angry, refuse to accept that the increase is justifiable, but adjust their budgets accordingly and pay.

Or do they? How many are forced to take jobs closer to home because they can no longer afford to pay their travel costs. Worse, how many young people have entered the workplace but ruled out a career in their preferred sector because the price of travel is too high for their entry level wages and opt instead to take a job closer to home which, in the longer term, is less fulfilling and pays less?

Public transport enables us all to go about their business. Without it, people's opportunity to work is hindered with broader consequences on society. In Croydon, the fairly recent Tramlink has enabled residents in some of the districts more deprived areas to travel easily to East Croydon and Wimbledon with all the transport links that those two places offer. In the past, people from places like Phipps Bridge or Belgrave Walk would most likely have left their communities in order to get near a tube stop or railway station to a better life. This is not necessarily the case any longer. While it will take time, those communities will benefit economically and socially from that connection, even if the Tramlink itself is a bit shonky at times.

It is for this reason that I believe that affordable and accessible public transport should be a democratic right. Continued over-inflationary price rises threaten to exclude people from deprived areas from good jobs or compel them to leave home, taking their economic potential with them.

But what can we do? Lets face it, existing commuters still have to commute right? There is, realistically, only one way of getting in and that's by public transport. Commuters fall into that category of consumers who need to pay for a service where no other alternative exists in the marketplace. They can't just take their business elsewhere. The collective transport operators have commuters over a barrel and there is nothing we can do about it right?

Maybe, but has anyone actually tried? Surely there are some effective means of protest that may, over time, influence policy makers and the transport operators change their pricing structures. If nothing else it give us commuters the chance to let off some steam. 'You've pissed us off so now we're going to piss you off'. I've been giving the matter some thought and come up with ways of protesting that commuters might try:

Individual

Refuse to cooperate with revenue protection staff and tell them why. No need to cause trouble, just take your time producing your ticket while at the same time politely reminding the inspector how much you are being charged. Bit naff though.

Write to your MP. Straightforward and probably only slight less effective as the former.

Complain to your operator. Ask them for a full breakdown of the costs of the price increase and what they hope to achieve with it. When they reply with a standard response, write back complaining that your complaint is not being taken seriously.

Collective

Organise protest marches. Everyone take a day off for a day of action. Alternatively...

...walk to work. Not the whole way but everyone get off at designated Zone 2 stops or stations, grab a placard and walk the rest of the way into town.

Raise money to hire a political lobbyist. This one is for the well healed. A better approach might be to...

...stand in council and/or parliamentary elections as a single issue candidate on Public Transport. Form an selection committee and choose a likely candidate. There are examples of single issue candidates succeeding electorally.

Coordinated protest campaigns can take years to have any effect, however I think in time it may be possible to affect a change of thinking and a change in prices. At the very least there should be more transparency. Operators should be compelled to give comprehensive answers to question like Why is this price increase so high? What do you hope to have achieved by the increase and by when?

Whether we have the time or inclination much less the drive to undertake such activities is the big question. However, if we do nothing... well it doesn't need to be said does it?