Re: [Vic] Age: Train fare pledge dumped

[mauried@tpg.com.au (Maurie Daly)]

On Thu, 04 Jan 2001 11:32:47 GMT, "Daniel Bowen"
<dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au> wrote:

>
>"Maurie Daly" <mauried@tpg.com.au> wrote in message
>3a53fb82.19260541@can-news.tpg.com.au">news:3a53fb82.19260541@can-news.tpg.com.au...
>> The only way to bring fares down is by introducing genuine competition
>> into the rail passenger business,of which currently there is none.
>
>But as we know, rail doesn't need to compete with itself: it needs to
>compete with the private car, which holds the vast majority of the state
>travel market. That should be the motivation to drive prices down and
>improve services.
>
>
>Daniel
>--
>Daniel Bowen, Melbourne, Australia
>dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au
>Melbourne public transport FAQ http://www.custard.net.au/melbtrans/
>
>
Not so.
Monopolistic providers of services be it rail,airlines or even Telcos
have no interest whatsoever in reducing prices of their services until
their is direct competition within the same market.
We didnt see any reduction of airline fares until the introduction of
Impulse and Virgin , likewise Telstras prices only fell with the
introduction of competitor Telcos.
NXP wont reduce prices unless the Govt forces them to ,or there is
direct competition for the rail market.
Trains have been competting with cars for the last 80 years but this
hasnt brought rail fares down, they just keep on going up.

MD