How passengers can improve the railways - the Boris Johnson way

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Huffington Post

Passengers Must Know 'The Right Arse To Kick' For Railways To Improve, Says Boris Johnson

Working with private sector contractors can leave you open to "ransom" and "gouging", he said

Passengers must know the “right arse to kick” in order for the railways to improve, Tory leadership hopeful Boris Johnson has argued.

Asked at a leadership hustings in York whether he thought the railways should be privatised, the aspiring PM said there must be “political responsibility” for rail transport, adding that “nobody knows who is accountable” under the current system.

“The secret to improving rail transport in my view is you need to find the right arse to kick,” Johnson said on Thursday.

He went on to talk about his time responsible for public transport in London

“In London, everyone knew I controlled the fare box, I set the fares, I was entirely responsible for time-keeping, I was responsible for the improvements on the Tube or not,” he added, referencing his time as London Mayor.

“People knew if I failed, they were going to kick me out of office. But they didn’t because I didn’t.”

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, that has all turned out rather well, with the benefit of hindsight.

CfN.