CommonSpace columnist James McEnaney says transport in Scotland is expensive and benefits the private sector more than the public
EARLIER in the year I visited New York City for the first time. It is, as everyone who had already been kept telling me, a quite incredible place: the sheer scale of Manhatten is awe-inspring, the overtly-political street art across Brooklyn is fantastic, and the sense of unrelenting inertia which permeates the entire city is utterly intoxicating.
But believe it or not, the thing that amazed me most of all was, in fact, the transit system which forms the beating heart of this remarkable metropolis.
New York’s public transport network – which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – means that you can easily access almost every inch of the 300 square miles that form the skin of the Big Apple. It is an extraordinary achievement, without which this great city simply could not function.
The quality and reliability of train services is a running joke and the subway, which only serves parts of the west, south and centre of the city, doesn’t even run past midnight.
What is especially staggering, particularly for someone who has grown up in Scotland, is the price – for just $31 (around £21) a week or $116.50 (£78) a month, residents and visitors can access unlimited travel on all buses and subway lines. The system, operated by a public body known as MTA New York City Transit, also provides a free (yes, free) ferry to and from Staten Island.
With that in mind, it’s not hard to understand why 56 per cent of households in New York City do not own a car: for most people, there is just no need. In terms of time, money and effort, it would cost much more to drive around New York than to hop on a bus or train.
Even here, in the clearest symbol of exploitative, 21st century capitalism, public transportation is recognised as a vital public service. Compare all of that to Glasgow and the surrounding area, where fares on First Buses have just risen again (this time by as much as 7.5 per cent for single journeys). The quality and reliability of train services is a running joke and the subway, which only serves parts of the west, south and centre of the city, doesn’t even run past midnight.
Here, unlimited access to a woefully inadequate public transportation system will cost you £66.50 per week, more than three times what the residents of New York City are required to pay.
Here, unlimited access to a woefully inadequate public transportation system will cost you £66.50 per week, more than three times what the residents of New York City are required to pay.
In fact, public transport provision is so bad in and around Scotland’s largest city that many of those households who do not bother owning a car in New York City would have no choice but to do so in Glasgow. It’s also important to note that, as ever, life is even more difficult for those living in poverty, or beyond the central belt, or both.
If I lived in New York I can’t imagine using anything but public transport to get around; here, I ride a motorbike through all but the most atrocious weather in order to get to and from work.
Through the winter this can mean battling through torrential rain, howling wind and near-freezing temperatures, but this is still preferable to depending upon a disjointed, unreliable and under-resourced system of buses and trains. It’s also significantly cheaper – travelling by motorbike cuts the cost of my commute by more than 50 per cent even once insurance and road tax are taken into account.
For all sorts of social, economic and environmental reason, we simply cannot go on like this. As things stand, Scottish taxpayers hand almost £70m of public subsidies to private bus companies every year but have no control over the charges levied on customers.
As things stand, Scottish taxpayers hand almost £70m of public subsidies to private bus companies every year but have no control over the charges levied on customers.
In 2014-2015, First Scotrail received a £261m public subsidy while it’s successor, Abellio Scotrail, will receive £776m in subsidies over the course of its seven-year
franchise.
The question, of course, is obvious – if we’re going to spend public money helping private companies to make profits, why not just use public companies to run the services, allowing us to invest in the system rather than boost the bank balances of billionaires and shareholders?
Far from citizens who require an effective and efficient public service, public transport users are seen as little more than cash-cows, while the transport system itself looks for all the world as though it has been designed to convert public money and infrastructure into privatised pounds.
This is why it’s time for a new approach to public transportation in Scotland, starting with full regulation (regardless of the complaints from SNP donors) and ending with the nationalisation and public operation of bus, train, ferry and lifeline flight services.
It’s time for a new approach to public transportation in Scotland, starting with full regulation and ending with the nationalisation and public operation of bus, train, ferry and lifeline flight services.
Imagine it: a public transport system designed to serve, rather than exploit, the people of Scotland.
Such a transformative approach would boost Scotland’s economy, improve public health, protect vulnerable communities and help us to reduce carbon emissions. It’s a win-win scenario which requires just one thing as a catalyst – the political will to make Scotland a better country.
The CommonSpace opinion section is an open platform for anyone who wants to voice their views and does not represent the editorial position of CommonSpace itself. If you'd like to have a piece published, email CommonSpace editor Angela Haggerty at angela@common.scot
Picture courtesy of James McEnaney
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