Well look Max, I certainly don’t want to put off any new ideas, or come across as ‘this is the way to do it…why? Because we’ve always done it like that’. I hate that way of thinking. I’m like you now, an enthusiast, what we say here is no more than debate. And debate should be encouraged.
I don’t want to rubbish your ideas, or any one else’s, if I think they are credible.
Where this whole thread has gone wrong, was the tone from the start. Without wished to rake over old ground, in good ol’ he said that, you said this, but mode. Let’s just all stand back a second - and I’m addressing this to everyone.
The thread initially started over ticket barriers and going through those without a ticket to purchase a ticket on board the train. I’ve made no secret I am annoyed that it has been suggested that is okay, and it’s none of National Express’s business. Not because I have any connection with them, simply because I thought it was far from proved that such an action was permissible and somebody was going to get into trouble.
The thread turned into a flame war between Yorkie and NXEC staff (assuming that’s who they are). Does anyone really think that is acceptable, given that these guys are told by the managers what to do with regards checking tickets? Has it occurred to anyway many staff actually don’t agree with official policies of the railway, or even other managers?
A lot of people have piled in on the notion NXEC are evil capitalists **stards and GC is the cheeky cherpy start up and well, we rather like that staff too. So NXEC must be bad. This isn’t logic, this is raw emotion. And raw emotion, if not checked, can lead to conspiracy theories and that’s what we have here.
The first thing is to identify the problem and is there really a problem. All too often what a person THINKS is a problem is actually blind prejudice. A really good example is: Immigrants are on benefits are stealing our jobs.
It’s worth sometimes taking time to just double check these things. The internet is a fabulous resource, and there are lots of data sources to help make up your mind.
I see a lot of, well, anti rail comments on here, some of which is born of prejudice. And quite honestly some of the comments about NEXC are. I’m 100% they aren’t perfect, but sometimes its worth checking what you have heard is actually true. It’s just not intelligent to do anything else in a debate.
Which brings me onto the next problem: If companies or people do things a certain way, ask yourself why they do it like that, try and find out.
A good example is these ticket barriers, why might NXEC want barrier at certain places? If they didn’t have them, what would be the solution? Is that solution practical, what are the downsides and upsides?
Sometimes solutions look easy from the outside, but with solutions come practicalities: These practicalities are limited by things like money, time, skills, ability, overall resources, economics. And just because humans can dream things, or we think they should happen (in an ideal world) doesn’t mean they can be done. Some problems, believe it or not, have no solutions. And because things don’t always go 100% right, that doesn’t mean companies or people are bad.
Now let’s take this suggestion of a barrier at every station? Well that would mean every station needs to be staffed, is that actually economic where stations only have 1000 passengers per year?
One of the things about experience is you learn what is possible and what isn’t because you have insight to day-to-day problems you simply don’t get reading it in book, or viewing from the outside. You learn, while some things are desirable, they aren’t actually practical or possible. It doesn’t mean you are not open to new ideas, but what can look tantalising from a third party point of view is suddenly made crystal clear it's just not possible or there is good reasons for doing things certain ways. So when someone with experience says something, try and put yourself in their shoes and listen to what they say before making up your mind.
So what’s my point? The reason I used the tone I did, is because I feel very strongly that we have got way beyond logic and reason here. It’s got to the stage were blind prejudice is taking hold. It just isn’t acceptable to jump to all sorts of conclusions about things based of very limited information and then use that against something or someone. And I’m sorry, I feel very much that’s what has happened here. People need to step back and ask many more questions as well as look for answers.
Finally, on your point about expensive systems in the EU and so on, you have to remember railway privatisation was put together by economists from the Adam Smith institute and various other Government advisors. Hardly any railwaymen actually think the system is anything like perfect, but it’s a system that has to be worked to. And sometimes, again, there is a limit of what can be done, and can be changed.
I'm hoping this forum gets a lot more friendly and generally thoughtful and positive, else I suspect I won't be the only one that just won't bother.
.
