tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373451344442489822.post6351679696999490277..comments2012-10-18T20:32:32.854+01:00Comments on Barbarian Politics: Bus Fare IncreasesBarbarian of the Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09546237341963301419noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5373451344442489822.post-9445840227738582922012-03-28T23:51:00.377+01:002012-03-28T23:51:00.377+01:00Indeed.
But in general I think the problem is the...Indeed.<br /><br />But in general I think the problem is the level of subsidies lavished on public transport that's been the problem - running near-empty busses around, paradoxically in the name of green transport, for example - and the chickens had to come home to roost eventually.<br /><br />It reminds me a bit of the higher education debate. The UK's aim of getting 50% of the population into degree-level courses was never going to be sustainable in the long term, either academically or financially. Hence the whole tuition fees debacle, and in a different way it's all happening now as regards public transport. People are effectively having to pay more for something that the taxpayer could never really afford anyway.<br /><br />Of course, Scotland and the rest of the UK aren't precisely the same as regards their approach to these problems, but the basic issue is essentially the same, and of course how Holyrood tackles the student funding problem in the long term is a huge question.<br /><br />Something had to/has to give.Stuart Wintonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02772436419630464325noreply@blogger.com