Stagecoach ticket price breakdown would provide clarity

摘要

I would [ike to clarify Paul Clifton's coverage of the Passenger Focus annual conference (Fares unfair, May 2009 issue), where he makes the general comment that transport group representatives at the meeting 'sidestepped the issue of fares, service levels and value for money', and chose instead to focus on the environmental benefits of rail, bus and coach travel. I was a member of the discussion panel in the afternoon, and took part in a question and answer session with delegates on key issues raised during the day. Paul was sitting a few feet away on the same panel and surely must have heard the comments I made about the need for a 'more honest debate' about fares, what kind of rail service we want and, crucially, what we all - as taxpayers - are prepared to pay to get it.