First class rail fares - are they reasonable?

JWF

I suppose 1st class fares are a good way of keeping the plebs out of the nicer carriages on the train, but are they worth the extra cost?? Let's ask 'Gorgeous' George Osborne.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20008342

headcone

My [EMAIL="bl@@dy"]bl@@dy[/EMAIL] MP,the useless twit.

grizzly1911

I wonder if Richard knew Ozzie was after a freebie:think: That manager deserves a bonus.

I thought IPSA had stopped 1st class travel.

Arrogant and out of touch has been used before. Surely if he wanted to sit there he should have just paid up and shut up rather than argue the toss (not directly obviously) and not opened himself up to criticism.

I wonder if his entourage were also being paid for to travel 1st class with him courtesy of the tax payer?

thor

Day by day the mask of these tory f*ckwits slips a bit further.
I have no doubts the reports of this incident are true given how the Piers Fletcher Dervish look and sound alike thinks of us 'Plebs'.

Loughton_Monkey

"The situation was dealt with amicably between the train manager and George Osborne's aide.

"At no time was there a disagreement or a refusal to pay for the upgrade. Nor was there any discussion between the train manager and Mr Osborne."

Train Manager: "That will be £189.50 sir."

George Osborne's aide: "But don't you know who this man is?"

Train Manager: "Of course I do. If it had been anyone else, a tenner in my top pocket would have done."

George Osborne's aide: "You're a f****** jobsworth pleb. You f***ing lot should know your place."

Train Manager: "I fully understand. I know my place is in the cattle truck....."

George Osborne's aide: "Good. Then that will be all. Please leave us alone."

Train Manager: "..... because the chef told me to scrape up the shI*t from the floor to put in your boeuf bl00dy bourguignon.

Thankfully, now that Mitchell has resigned, he won't be travelling first class again!

danielanthony

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Thankfully, now that Mitchell has resigned, he won't be travelling first class again!

I think you'll find he is a millionaire, so could afford 1st class train tickets if it wasn't transport for the oinks. Proper posh-boys have chauffeur driven cars don't you know?

grizzly1911

danielanthony wrote: »

I think you'll find he is a millionaire, so could afford 1st class train tickets if it wasn't transport for the oinks. Proper posh-boys have chauffeur driven cars don't you know?

Surely it would be cheaper to use the ministerial car than pay for 3/4 first class tickets. If you used a police driver two birds with one stone.

paddyrg

If there's even a hint of seriousness in the question as opposed to just a quick snipe at a silly man...

Yes, sometimes it is absolutely worth it. I used to commute from Oxford to Liverpool St each day - in standard I would stand 9 journeys out of 10, in first I would sit 9 journeys out of 10. I would sit, have a (paid extra for) breakfast cooked by the travelling chef, and enjoy free newspapers, tea and coffee. On the journey home, I would pop into the lounge to wait for my train, and have another coffee/water/juice and a snack. How much more did I pay? 40% more, on a season ticket. Totally worth it.

Graham_Devon

So we should believe a few tweets....from someone sitting in s DIFFERENT carriage, over what everyone involved in the transactions, has stated? Even the Virgin staff dealing with it have said this isn't what happened, but someone in a different carriage is suddenly to be believed over everyone actually involved?

I'm all for MP bashing, when something is proven, but this is the problem with twitter. Anyone can make anything they like up and that's the story.

She didn;t even get the fare right when sounding off....yet were supposed to believe her?

GeorgeHowell

How would anyone propose to prevent wealthy and influential people from indulging in privileges like first class travel ? The former Soviet Union surely indicates the folly of believing that countries can ever be run by people who will behave differently from the priviliged ones that preceded them. If anyone has doubts then read George Orwell's Animal Farm and look carefully at what the pigs did.

StevieJ

I liked this, handy having influence

On his website, Mr Osborne says he helped to save direct train services between London and Wilmslow, which he uses to commute from his Tatton constituency, in Cheshire.