Commuter complaints (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Commuter complaints

11:05am Friday 20th January 2012 in Letters

Sir.- I read the article by Emily Roberts with interest, particularly as last Monday I too was on the 7.29am from Basingstoke to Waterloo and was standing.

On Thursdays, I like to buy The Gazette to read and a coffee to drink on the train, but last Thursday this was particularly difficult as I had to stand all the way on the train (at one point I had to move to let someone get by and was hoping I wouldn’t get knocked and spill my coffee on someone’s laptop).

I’m a gold card season ticket holder as I work in London and have to commute daily.

In the nine years I have been commuting, the fares have gone up significantly, by almost £2,000 I think, but we do not have faster trains, and on some occasions the trains haven’t been cleaned either.

There are often delays, if even by just five or ten minutes. Last June, I was stuck on a train due to copper theft (which I know South West Trains was not responsible for) but I only received £20 compensation for this.

However, SWT can still afford to refurbish the front of the station.

I have to work long hours and I earn below average earnings for the UK. At the moment, with the recession, I would find it hard to find a local job, so I am concerned with the fare increase that I am no longer going to be able to afford to work in London.

I have contacted SWT several times over my years of commuting about delays, overcrowding etc. They just tell me to travel at off-peak hours.

I contacted them in December after one horrendous journey, with the suggestion that rather than having a first class carriage, which is empty most of the time, they should replace that with a carriage for gold card holders – after all we pay enough for travel.

No one has come back to me.

If I could just add that the staff at Basingstoke station are really helpful and always greet everyone with a smile.

–Joanne Wells, address supplied.

Sir.-I not long ago retired and therefore gave up commuting from Basingstoke to London. This is something I had done for 37 years on a daily basis – starting in April 1972, when an annual ticket to Waterloo was £151.

The journey took approximately 45 minutes and on most days I had to stand – so no change there.

Your article raises the same questions that are raised every year at this time following the annual rise in ticket prices. The big question must be – are you paying to get from A to B or are you paying for a seat? Lots of arguments on that one!

I have experienced additions to the timetable to relieve congestion, trains having extra coaches added – that lasts for about a month until the word gets around and you end up standing again.

I really do not see an answer to this perennial question. I look forward to reading a follow-up article in 12 months – I bet it’s very similar.

–Barry Clayton, address supplied.

Sir.-I am writing in response to Emily Roberts’ article about the commute from Basingstoke to Waterloo. I have made the journey every day for the past two years to get to my job at Canary Wharf.

I pay over £4,500 each year yet I am often left standing in a crowded carriage, getting hot and bothered before the day has begun.

Despite the substantial fare increases, I have seen no improvement in the service.

Like Emily last Monday, I tried to board the 7.29am train but it was too full, so I had to wait 20 minutes on the freezing platform for the next train – making me late for work.

It’s about time that South West Trains realised what passengers have to put up with and add more carriages or increase the number of trains. Passengers need to start seeing where our money has gone.

While I realise it’s my choice to make the journey, I do feel that I should at least be able to get a seat and travel fairly comfortably for the price I pay.

As a passenger, I am disappointed that South West Trains have decided to ‘improve’ the station with a glass front without addressing the real issue – the trains.

Was it really necessary to add the glass front and destroy the Victorian look of the station?

–Jenny Weyman address supplied.