On 31/03/2012 12:37, Bruce wrote:
wrote:
On 30/03/2012 14:31, d wrote:
The real blackmail is in the holiday companies and airlines stiffing people
with exhorbitant fares during school holidays. There's no reason for them to
do it , they just do it because they can. Its naked profiteering.
Isn't it just a case of them offering lower fares during quieter periods.
Are railways profiteering by charging more during peak periods?
Almost certainly, yes. The prime example is Virgin Trains' peak
services into Euston which are far from rammed full. Virgin has
chosen to charge very high unrestricted fares in order to extract a
huge income from these services even though they are far from full.
Lower unrestricted fares would mean more passengers would travel,
filling up the trains, but at a lower overall income to Virgin, which
is why they prefer the stinging, ultra-high fares.
In the USA, which we in the UK often regard as the home of unfettered
capitalism and a mostly unregulated free market, such practices as
Virgin Trains routinely operates would be regarded as evidence of
illegal profiteering and punished severely.
This would be the USA where intercity rail services are provided by a
nationalised company?
Are there any 'commercial' intercity passenger rail services in the USA?
Even local transport is often publicly owned - apparently having Veolia
contracted to run the trams in New Orleans is seen as cutting edge
stuff, rather than just how public transport is provided.
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK