Re: "Fare Comment" letter in today's Daily Telegraph (Sydney, .au)

[Bill Bennett <"billbennett"@ozemail.com.au (spammerjammer)>]

A good reply, but for one thing. Nobody HAS to go to the fireworks, plenty of people
HAVE to get to and from work. It seems there's a problem with priorities here.

Matthew Geier wrote:

> In article <368A0EA8.1725F686@ancc.com.au>,
> David Langley  <del@ancc.com.au> wrote:
> >
> >
> >"C. Dewick" wrote:
> >
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I'd like to respond to the edited letter titled "Fare Comment", written by
> >> Don Walker of Ashfield, in today's Daily Telegraph.
> >>
> >
> >Being a Victorian I have not read the Telegraph but this letter and many others
> >like it are being written by the same idiots who really don't have much of an
> >idea about how a railway operates.
>
>  What also isnt pointed out in Craig's response is that one major reason for
> running to weekend table between Christmas and NewYear is to 'rest' enough
> crews to operate a peak diagram service on New Years eve and operate weekday
> daytime diagrams all night so us party goers can get home. And with out the
> 'peak premium' fare that normally applies.
>
>  I wouldnt mind betting that many of the same people that spent this week
> bitching at how hopeless the railways are, will think nothing of stepping
> onto a train this evening to go into town and watch the fireworks display,
> and again think nothing of the crews when they go home again at midnight
> half pissed. This of course provided the station staff, who have been working
> instead of partying manage to keep all these drunk passengers on the platforms
> and off the tracks. The resulting chaos caused by a City Circle fatality would
> have the same poeple again bitching how ineffective the railways are, and in
> their drunk state will probably take it out on the nearest railway employee,
> a station assistant would would be rather partying themselves.
>
>  I personaly know a number of Cityrail drivers and guards. Im sure all would
> rather be partying with the rest of us instead of driving tin boxes around
> and getting abused by passengers.
>
>  Sydney Busses are also running special all night services as well. However I
> expect the entire operation will fall down in the same way as last year -
> the trains will get you to your station, but the private bus network will be
> nowhere to be seen. All the taxis will be running the high value jobs from
> the city to the suburbs, few would be seen at the suburban stations I imagine,
> especially the smaller ones.