Fallacious comparisons with disparate public services including large parts of the NHS, local govt, pharmacies etc keep being made.
You can't stockpile transportation in any sensible way that isn't catastrophically costly in money and time to the user. As such, these comparisons are specious. In all cited examples you can either a) "stockpile" whatever you need from those services at a different time at essentially no detriment to yourself or b) there is emergency provision at all times for actual emergencies, in which case inconvenience is irrelevant.
Not really “fallacious” - there’s no reason why non emergency operations couldn’t be scheduled 24/7, and on bank holidays and weekends. The reason they aren’t? Surgeons and consultants don’t like working on bank holidays either, and nobody wants to pay what they would require in order to be prepared to do so - exactly the same as much of the rest railway.
Some parts of the railway
are operating, today, and there is also transport available today in various forms - my OH took an Uber 60 miles from London to join me and the parents down in rural Kent this AM, which only cost approx twice a single train fare for the same distance. The roads were pretty quiet heading back in the car this eve - quieter even than a regular Sunday I would suggest.
Transportation is inherently unique in this regard. Setting up a transport company or choosing to work as an individual in transportation ought to involve implicitly accepting that at the outset. It's only Railway Exceptionalism that has allowed the current stupid impasse to be arrived at. On one side the provision is via inherently monopolistic bodies and corporations and on the other the nature of the industry means they have to deal with effective labour monopolies like ASLEF and the RMT. Everyone else just gets to pick up the ever-exploding tab for a "We don't care what you think" service while these adversaries wield their power against each other. How lovely. It's so bad, in darker moments it almost makes you think the tories had a point...
It is explicit for many transport workers that they will not have to work on certain days. Nothing to do with “exceptionalism”, just that nobody wants to pay enough to crank up the network to run a Sunday service on a day when not that many people will want to use it. Your description of the industry isn’t entirely inaccurate, however your last sentence is revealing, and suggests it’s the staff side of the equation you have an issue with, while ignoring that the DfT controls the “monopolistic bodies”, and that their ineptitude/shortsightedness is the cause of many of the current issues.
Hmm. Would there be enough confidence that there'd be sufficient volunteers?
Absolutely, so long as the price is right.
@baz962 gave the example above. Three or four times normal time plus other days in lieu is going to be a healthy offer and will incentivise plenty of volunteers. It’ll be worth it for London Overground and one or two others, who I guarantee will make far more money in fares than spent on those pay incentives, I’m less convinced it will be for much of the rest of the network.
It’s notable how - in stark contrast to Northern and GWR falling apart on a daily basis - we never hear of London Overground having staffing issues; that’s because they treat and pay their staff well. It’s a simple formula that breeds success.
I've just asked, the Mrs, who is a midwife, thinks it's standard Bank Holiday enhancement only for Christmas Day, plus any top ups, eg if it's a weekend, or night pay from 10PM until 6AM. Not a great uplift, but better than a kick in the teeth.
It’s notable that, despite the perception of railway unions being stronger than NHS unions, a “Standard bank holiday enhancement” is not something most traincrew get. For most of us bank holidays, apart from Xmas day and Boxing Day, simply aren’t a concept we benefit from. We even have to use annual leave for Xmas day and Boxing Day if rostered to work, despite no trains turning a wheel across much of the network. That said, I’m glad to hear that NHS staff get those enhancements - I’m sure they’re well deserved.
If it was a public service then perhaps if would be run for the benefit of the public rather than the convenience of the staff.
This is just laughable, and clearly written by someone who hasn’t worked traincrew shifts!
That the railway hasn’t, in 30 years, moved to bring Sundays inside the working week in many areas isn’t the passenger’s concern.
That longstanding arrangements haven’t changed also isn’t the staffs’ concern, though. It’s natural that those being asked to make changes to their working patterns will want to be paid well for doing so, especially when that involves Boxing Day working. Like it or not, it isn’t considered a “normal” bank holiday by most, and if the cost is considered too dear to justify across much of the network, so be it. We will continue as we are!
Boxing Day does seem to be generally regarded as different to other bank holidays, in that many more places are closed, or open with heavily reduced hours.
My gym for example is open every other day, but is closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
If we want to go down the road that these days aren’t any more special than anything else, then let’s have everything open, and rather more of the population at work. As ever, the problem is that the first of those two things would be popular, the second isn’t.
I’ve found Christmas this year extremely unpleasant to be honest, it seems to have brought out the worst elements of greed, selfishness and aggression in people. Personally I’d scrap the whole thing, then we could have had a full weekday service on Boxing Day, which I’m sure would please a few people here.
I couldn’t agree more.
