In my last article, I went through a list of commodities that we use at home and never think about too much how we get them. One thing that came out of all four previous articles was that these people have to get to work somehow. Due to people being terribly hidebound, most prefer to lose hours a day for traveling and pay through their noses for the privilege to use public transport or for their otherwise superfluous car.
Getting to work on foot would be the most logical solution for everyone. But various factors usually prevent that. Bicycle would come next on the list, but here too, distance is of an essence. Which lets people choose a motorcycle or a car in a mistaken belief they somehow save time or money with it. The time usually disappears in the next bottle neck, or behind an accident; the money is gratefully accepted by overpriced insurance companies and the gas stations. Not to mention the garage doing the service and repairs. And all these people must be available during a pandemic.
The more intelligent of working humans use public transport. First to mention the bus drivers seems only fair, as they are underpaid for the risk they run on the roads everyday. They take on a great amount of responsibility in dealing with headless pedestrians, moronic cyclists, stupid motorcyclists, and idiotic motorists. And their pay is not good.
Less stressed but still working on the over ground tracks and dealing with unexpected situations there, tram and train drivers could also be better paid. And to run the buses, the depots must run as well. To run the trams and trains, the engineers responsible for the tracks must be out beside the people in the depot.
Last to be mentioned are the people letting the underground trains run. Like other track related transport, there are stations to man; for the underground that is more employee intensive than for over ground services. Most employees in underground employ are not well paid.
I exclude the London underground drivers (and drivers only) who are grossly overpaid thanks to their system of regularly holding the capital to ransom with their evil strikes. My favorite strike was the one when they went on strike because one moronic driver had been sacked after being found drunk on shift three times. Those same drivers went on strike a month later because of something or other with the express explanation that 'they cared extremely for the safety of the passengers'. I would expect them to not only not strike because of an alcoholic but to throw him actively out. Or is it more secure if they are drunk because they are so bad at their job?
On a total, the employees of public transport have to be pitied like all the rest of the essential services, and will be let down by their respective employers as soon as possible. Public transport should never be in private hands, because then it is private transport. Public should be run by the public. And anyone living behind the seven mountains who absolutely has to use a car to fulfill a job commitment in civilization, ignore my idiotic comment. City dwellers on the other hand know where to find a mirror to point at the culprit.
Further reading
Covid-19 Lesson 4
Covid-19 Lesson 3
Covid-19 Lesson 2
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