Northern (Arriva Rail North)

[Sprinterdriver]

RE: Northern (Arriva Rail North)

(11/08/2017 16:32)Dentonian Wrote:  A double edged sword. Its probably because (in theory) GM Stations have better onward public transport (ie. bus), that parking is free. Despite the 2014/5 RailNorth Review into Fares Strategy, ATN have continued Abellio's policy of using massive public subsidies to compete with commercial bus services. It seems this obviously includes free parking for peak commuters to compliment fare freezes for Off-peak travellers. That said, these areas named in common with an increasing number of suburbs away from "the Regional Centre" have seen bus service reductions.
No doubt, you will be correct in your forecasts of busier roads, and apart from the moral argument of subsidising rail to abstract from bus in a nation with millions of car-less taxpayers, this illustrates the practical folly. The more you replace Bus with Rail, the more suburban pollution and congestion you cause, because people won't or can't walk the increased distance to Rail. After all, in many cases, its the loss of the bus service that's forced them into car ownership.
We see it at Reddish North where the increased overcrowding of single unit trains (and not just at peak times!) is mirrored by increased parking (including on the pavement) at not just the Station, but the side streets across the bridge.

So where there is both a bus service and a rail service the rail service should be withdrawn? Are you for real?

There are both buses and trains between Liverpool and St Helens. The bus takes an hour, the train takes either 20 or 30 mins depending on where it stops. Do you seriously think people would use the bus instead?

Maybe people don't use bus services to railway stations as the connections are lousy, such as Arriva re timing the buses from St Helens Junction to just miss the train arriving, so any intending passengers have to wait around for the next one for 20 minutes.

ARN are operating services as per the franchise agreement, if they didn't they would be in breach of it. As for the massive subsidy, well taking the train operators combined, they pay more money to the Government than is paid out in subsidy, don't blame the rail industry for the problems in the bus industry.

SD.