‘Unravelling the spaghetti: How Labour is fixing public transport’

I like to think of myself as a considerate person, though I do have one little naughty dream. I meet a bow-tie clad Madsen Pirie, he of Adam Smith Institute fame, and I take him to Mid-Wales or North Devon on a cold, wet Sunday evening in November. I want him to acquaint himself with some of his ‘handiwork’, so we find a bus stop! Instead of a cornucopia of promised new bus services, there are none on our imagined winter day. Madsen now faces a long walk unless he can cadge a lift from a passing vehicle. Who would want such a lonely trek home in the wet and dark?

Yet, that’s exactly what he and his ideologically driven free-market chums have inflicted on the nation with, first, bus deregulation after 1986 and then the wholesale destruction of British Rail after 1993.

The privatisation of public transport has proven to be an unmitigated disaster. Even Mrs T was never in favour of breaking up British Rail, yet the ideologues went ahead. That’s why you need Labour governments and dynamic Mayors to put things right again. In under two years, Labour has been quietly undoing the mess, making huge leaps as proper integrated transport solutions are rolled out every month. A happy state of affairs with the nation’s railways, trams and buses run for the people as a service, not for shareholders for profit. We want our buses and trains back and it is happening.

READ MORE: ‘A socialism of utility – not posturing’

So, what’s new? Capped fares and tap in and out cards, improved security, especially at night for women, free travel by bus for disabled passengers and cheaper or free travel for children and a regular timetable that actually works, even with night services as with Manchester’s Bee Network. Fleets of brand-new state of the art zero emission electric buses in bright colours and with comfy interiors. Swanky new yellow trains introduced for Merseyrail by Mayor Steve Rotheram and Tyne and Wear Metro by Mayor Kim McGuinness. Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has some new air-conditioned Piccadilly line ones ready to roll in December. What Liverpool has also done is buy the trains themselves, a cheaper deal than using exorbitant train leasing companies. Mayor Rotheram has even gone one step further, with Merseyrail services taken into full devolved ownership. Also, the fantastic Tyne and Wear Metro is extending to Washington!

Clever, inventive and what a difference these fully costed solutions make to people’s lives. They have increased ridership every time, with Andy’s superb example of Manchester leading the way with the number rising 14% on average for those routes initially brought back under public control. So many great cities lost ‘their’ buses under deregulation, now they’re coming back in style. Watch Cambridge, Liverpool, Newcastle, Peterborough, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, West Yorkshire etc, etc.

These changes can actually transform lives for the better. If you’re sure it’s safe and affordable to travel, you’re sure of arriving on time for that job interview as the bus turns up. It’s now so easy to head into town for the weekly shop or for a good night out. These tangible improvements are something we should all be proud of as a movement after decades of wilful destruction. I doubt Nigel has ever been on a bus. As for Zack, check out how many rail revival plans the Green nimbies oppose? 

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If anyone tells you Labour no longer cares about ordinary people, shout to the rafters about these amazing transport wins!

Then there is the jewel in the crown in creating a new publicly run national passenger operator; Great British Railways (GBR). Under the gifted leadership of Heidi Alexander (who gets railways) rather like a game of delicate Jenga, the new publicly owned and customer focused operator is emerging from the wreckage. Be patient, as unlike the birth of British Railways in 1948, which was created after a world war and was unfairly scapegoated from the start, a new GBR wants to get it right from the beginning for the passenger. As each train operator falls into public ownership, it’s important that everyone gets to know their new friends, and now allies, in Network Rail. Working together once again; train operators, signallers, station staff, track maintenance; all have a natural organic relationship that had always existed since the birth of the railway in 1825 but was replaced by teams of adversarial lawyers. What were they thinking?

This is something to celebrate, and a great former Labour Minister of Transport, Barbara Castle, would recognise it as such and no doubt thoroughly approve.

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