to think that the commuters should go on strike as well?

[bleh]

London transport is terrible. It's overcrowded and expensive. They ANNUALLY raise the price by about 10% (with little or no justification). It closes early on weekends. They routinely decide to suspend lines (usually the Victoria) or close stations. They have all these unnecessary people telling you what to do all the time (I have NEVER been told on Tube equivalents in other countries to move down inside the carriage, please use all available space etc. etc.) and it is just generally rubbish. I am particularly narked, having seen in other cities that public transport is possible without all the expense and drama (Moscow: twice the number of commuters, faster travel, much cheaper. Paris: more lines, hardly ever down, generally much better. Same story for Barcelona, Athens, Kiev ... I could go on).

So, who's with me?

Me.

And my mainline train company, London Midland, are dreadful as well. Can never get a seat. And quite often there is no train either.

You should see the underground system Tokyo, then you'd be seriously pissed off

Yes, the train companies. They're shocking.

I remember reading an article about the commuter trains into London; that they're over-capacity and that London's rush hour lasts from 6:30 to 10:30am. The boss of one of the train company's helpfu solution was that people should not travel during peak hours.

They basically don't care about providing a customer service. I am not being cynical - I honestly believe (after much emailing and complaining) that customer convenience is the least of their concerns.

But it's the price that shocks me. It's outrageously expensive to travel on the Tube.

They also used to give you a £4 (cash price of a single fare ) refund if your trip was delayed by more than fifteen minutes, and they've now reduced it to £2.20. I have to confess that DP may be partly to blame, as he submitted a refund request everytime he was delayed. As a regular user of the Jubilee, Victoria and Northern lines and DLR, he was submitting at least one a week.

Me!

Every bloody Friday afternoon (and sometimes morning too) there are delays and cancellations. Last train home is frequently replaced by a bus with little or no notice.

They are shit. Bus and Cycling not really an option for my 20 mile commute unfortunately, it would take me forever with about 5 changes and on a bike I would probably die.

I think the London transport system is fantastic compared to the public transport services in provincial towns, which really are crap and expensive.

£1.60 for a single tube journey in zone 1 isn't bad, and the bus is even cheaper.

Obviously I'd love it to be even less expensive than this, but that would mean greater state subsidies, as I assume is the case in the mainland European cities you mention.

The crucial problem with public transport in the UK is that it was privatised. It was supposed to introduce competition and thereby improve services, but since most companies end up getting a monopoly for 10+ years, this does not happen. In most other countries (like those I mentioned) public transport is nationalised. It is a public service, and should be treated as such, whereas it is not. The companies are run for profit, not for the benefit of the users.

I agree bleh - and I'd like to see the rail system re-nationalised.