Contrast our miserable Nannyist state's 'Don't exceeed the recommended units', 'Don't drive the morning after a night out' and Don't forget that public transport ceases to exist at Christmas' messages with Belgium, where I spent a very pleasant time last weekend.
Over there, the conspicuous consumption of ultra-strong Christmas beers, gluhkriek and jenevers is almost compulsory and trains, buses and trams run 365 days a year. They even lay on extra buses after midnight on New Year's Eve to take the revellers home to their outlying villages. Just like they do in the U.K. (I wish).
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ReplyDeleteOffer bus and train drivers triple time on holidays, and you'd get enough volunteers. And why shouldn't they be well paid for giving up their holidays to ferry us drinkers around?
ReplyDeleteNev, You misinterpret my comments. I am a member of a trade union and was a steward at Liverpool City Council under Derek Hatton so I'm hardly right wing. In those countries that form part of the supposed spawn of Satan that is the European Union, public transport is usually state-owned. Presumably the staff are happy with the wage negotiations because I've not encountered any disruptions on the many occassions I've been in Belgium over Xmas. In contrast, the privatised rail and bus companies baulk at enhanced payments so deem it cheaper to not provide any service. Rather than subsidise a transport service at Xmas the Government would rather spend money on telling people not to drink and drive.
ReplyDeleteBut you can't expect a transport service to be run for the benefit of the user surely? Are you mad? (it's OK I know you're not!). It's just one of the many flaws in using privatised companies to run public services-will return with the rest of a long list some other time....meanwhile all the best and keep blogging in 2013-it's nice to have a local blogger-I'm off to Gallaghers now (well later...)
ReplyDeleteActually I didn't misinterpret your comments and what I wrote was meant to agree with what you said, not contradict it. Call for volunteers, offer decent recompense, and we'd have public transport over the holiday. Happy Xmas to you on the Wirral!
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