Mark where do you get off suggesting that Employer’s are just awkward people trying to make life difficult for employees. We work the hours our customers demand.

School hours determine most people’s working hours change requests. If you have no business at 7am, and you’re not in an administration function (where work can be done at any time) how can you bring people in when their job dicates there is no work for them to do? We have people starting at 8am, 0830, 0900, 1000, 1445, 1745, and 2230, by far most people are more content to start at 0900 or 0910 if their train can’t get them in on time. I offered one girl to change to a 0930 start when she moved farther away, she didn’t want to because she couldn’t afford to lose the pay and didn’t want to work later to make the time up.

Can I ask what size of organisation do you work for, if you work, and is it public or private sector?

How many disruptions to the free movement of freight have you heard about in the past twenty years. The majority of freight is moved at night when most people are tucked up in bed and don’t see it.

I don’t know if heavy loads over the greater distances are more cost effective on rail, but if they are then you can be sure the private sector transport market will be using it as margins are very tight in this industry sector.

We already know that it is necessary to make the employer pay, because employers show no sign of reflecting the peak cost of a season ticket in their business decisions on working hours – leading too many employees to add to road congestion because the motorist doesn’t pay a peak charge other than in time wasted in traffic jams and a related fuel inefficiency penalty compared with being able to drive to work at a steady 60mph, because without congestion charging road is cheaper than peak public transport.

You win if you travel less than the average in your car. What if I drive more than the average, not so much from choice as from necessity?

You win if you travel on non toll roads. What if I need to travel on the toll roads, not so much from choice as from necessity?

You win if you travel on toll roads outside peak hours. What if I need them only at peak hours, not so much from choice as from necessity?

What you’re proposing would add bureaucracy, and a new layer of government regulation. It would also add costs to business people who need to use the roads.

To improve roads, allocate the money and call in some appropriately qualified engineering firms. Do it at public expense because they are a public service. Don’t give us another rail privatisation, please!

From our starting position – all roads in public ownership – it only makes sense to privatise if there can be (1) diversity of provision, and (2) proper market forces giving proper risk/reward incentives. Neither of these are available where the product is a road.

Do you know of any data on the cost per ton-mile for this option? It would be nice to make a comparison with road freight.

I imagine that the vast majority of road journeys in this country are over shorter distances where motor rail is not economic. The maths might look a bit better for freight rather than pax, especially if roads were charged.

We seem to have some distance between us, and I’m not sure I understand the basis of your critique. If you could spell out precisely where you feel I am in error, in terms of premises or reasoning (perhaps with some maths of your own?) it would greatly help discussion.

I feel that simply gain-saying my position doesn’t add anything useful. This is a well above average forum, and I’m sure we’re both keen to live up to the normally high standards of comment here.

Cheers.

You expressed yourself perfectly clearly. You were just wrong.

“…but you seem to have the right idea in part. Naively, yes, …”

Excuse me while I write out 100x :
I am a guest in Mr Redwood’s place, and I will not rip his other guests a new one, no matter how much they need it.