When will public transport in this country stop being an absolute joke? Writes Kieran Kelly
22 December 2023, 11:37 | Updated: 22 December 2023, 15:13
Last week, as I drove back from London to my family in sunny Birmingham, I felt a slight sense of guilt.
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“I should be getting the train really, shouldn’t I?” I thought to myself as I burned rubber on the M25.
After all, it’s cheaper, quicker and more reliable, right?
At least, it should be.
Instead what Brits are left with is a semi-functioning, lacklustre, and expensive transport system that regularly causes more issues than it’s worth.
Even as someone whose car doesn’t pass the ULEZ, costing me £12.50 every time I leave/re-enter London (plus diesel costs), I have so much more faith in my red seat Ibiza getting me from A to B than the Euston line to International.
It’s not like my lack of confidence is unfounded either.
Two weeks ago, hundreds of passengers were stuck on the Elizabeth line without power or the ability to get off, due to overhead cable failures.
And yesterday, on what promised to be one of the busiest travel days of the year as Londoners headed off home for Christmas, hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Euston, unable to leave for the north due to, once again, signal failures.
These two examples are just from the last two weeks, but there countless others have happened throughout the year.
But we didn’t need HS2, did we?
It begs the question, when will public transport in this country stop being an absolute joke?
