Commuters of the world, this is our chance
Covid’s radical impact on working patterns has put power in the hands of travellers. Let’s not waste it
It was only a short walk from the poet TS Eliot’s offices at Lloyds Bank to London Bridge, and as he watched the crowds of fellow commuters crossing, he observed that “I had not thought death had undone so many./ Sighs, short and infrequent, where exhaled/and each man fixed his eyes before his feet.”
A hundred years on, we commuters are suddenly in the ascendancy. Newly empowered by working-from-home technology and practices triggered by the virus, we can tell the powers that be – train operators, local authorities, ministers – that we will not be coming back full time unless they start treating us properly. It is time for a commuters’ manifesto.
Commuters of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your trains!
The train operators have been allowed to put up fares in line with the Retail Prices Index for more than 20 years, with the consequence that ours are among the highest in Europe.
Picking apart where this money all goes is very hard. But in general, the Department for Transport expects train operators on commuter routes to pay a surplus to the Treasury, which is then recycled to subsidise the rest of the network and the HS2 money pit. If the great cities of the UK want to be connected by a gleaming, superfast railway, fine. But they can pay for it themselves or it should be subsidised out of general taxation. The retail price formula for season tickets should be abandoned and commuter discounts and incentives be offered.
Our next demand should relate to the levels of service on trains. Two operators in particular, Southern and South Western Railways, have an abysmal record of strikes and delays. Train operators should have their service levels, including punctuality, length of trains, provision of (comfortable) seats, bike storage and cleanliness, properly and aggressively regulated. Strikes should be banned and the dispute about guards on trains resolved in favour of the customers, by firing the strikers if necessary.
We also expect to be treated much better when we get into town. Cycle superhighways in city centres (as opposed to suburbs) are fine and dandy for a handful of bankers, lawyers and television personalities who like to reconstruct the Tour de France on their journeys each day, but they are a menace to the rest of us.
As pedestrians walking into the office from the station, we get shouted at, are unable to cross the road, and are forced to endure terrible air quality as traffic piles up elsewhere. Cities should go Dutch, and create mixed-use roads with speed limits, staggered traffic lights and ultra-low emission zones in central areas. And we want ordinary, wide pavements that people can walk along and use to cross the road safely.
The other hazard we have had to endure in recent years has been the repeated demonstrations, lasting for weeks, by any number of selfinterested pressure groups. These are positively encouraged by some metropolitan mayors, such as the useless Sadiq Khan, and indulged by the police. We workers are fed up with the noise, filth, diversions and aggravation. Demonstrations should
George Trefgarne on Twitter @ Georgetrefgarne; read more at telegraph.co.uk/ opinion be reduced to a minimum compatible with democratic protest, lasting a single day before being cleared off.
This brings us to our final demand. Improve the ambience. My office is near Trafalgar Square, and a combination of Westminster Council, the Government and the London Mayor (him again) do a terrible job keeping it clean, managing the homeless situation, moving on living statues dressed as Yoda and managing tourist numbers. In the City of London, the ambient issues are slightly different: inadequate parking (including motorbikes), inadequate pavements and signage, and a lack of civilised sports facilities and outdoor space to sit out in at lunchtime. The Corporation of London, not short of money, should put these things right.
Most large organisations are only too happy about reducing their urban office space. Commuters and firms will no doubt come to miss the social, cultural and commercial advantages of the metropolis one day, but if cities and transport companies want us to return, they are going to have to try much harder in future.