Public transport in Britain is fast going down the drain. Trains and buses are frequently cancelled, especially in more remote places - leaving workers unable to get to work, and the vulnerable and elderly unable to get around. 

People's jobs are regularly under threat for being late to work due to cancelled trains or buses. Many do incredibly important jobs - NHS, police, ambulance, social services - and being late to work can mean the loss of lives in such professions.

The prices of public transport are increasing year on year leaving commuters spending thousands a year to get to work, without even the guarantee of getting to work on time when they leave that morning. Popular and vital train routes are arranged in such a way that often there is not enough time to catch a connection if the first train is even a minute late. Running from one platform to another becomes one's daily exercise. 

There is so much expectation on the commuter to pay - but zero expectation on bus and rail companies to provide a service. I am calling for accountability on the bus and rail companies for cancellations incentivising them to ensure they have running trains. Both rail and bus services have received financial support from the government. They are being funded by both our taxes AND extortionate fares (notably for trains) - and yet the services are not working for the people who both pay for it and need it. You'd wonder if perhaps they were struggling financially - in 2024, revenue growth for the railways grew by 12%, higher than growth in leisure (11%) and business (10%). So why has this not translated into the services? This absolute atrocity cannot go on any longer.

I am calling for them to issue enquiries to provide answers into why the services aren't provided and fines to public transport providers for poor performance. This would include a cut in pay for top company bosses' if targets aren't met. If anyone absent-mindedly forgets to pay for a ticket or gets confused and orders the wrong ticket, they are treated like a criminal and heavily reprimanded with a fine. Why does this attitude not go both ways? 

I met an ordinary commuter who was regularly losing part of her pay due to her train constantly being late or trains being cancelled. If the average person should have to potentially lose their wages or job over a poor service, then why should the provider of said-service get away without repercussions? It's a culture of targets and times and performance for us, but not for them. We need to act now!