We made a round trip on Friday, almost 6 hours masked. Over 90% of fellowpassengers were fully complying. It's a pain, but I had more of a grouse with the lack of knee room and ended up with a trapped nerve in my leg! I've taken trains on my own from time to time since last March, trying to keep to the rules. It's only in the last month that we've travelled together, but now the shackles are off I'm instructed to find more places to go. Seems the car is going to be getting a rest, but our infrequent journeys won't save the railway.
We got our kids onto trains with Rail Riders and a series of excursions from Sheffield that preceeded them. Good to see they're back;
Rail Riders, The Railway Club for Everyone but it's not enough. We need more and bigger leisure promotions like this, but getting all the commuters back to commuting 5 days a week is impossible.
I was speaking to a young lady who lives in Sheffield and works in Manchester. She has returned, but only 2 days a week. Working from home she rolls out of bed in pyjamas and may not get dressed and made up all day. She might even answer emails from bed! On a commuting day it's half an hour to get ready, at least, allow 20 minutes to the station, an hour on the train and at least 20 minutes to her desk. In the evening it's likely to be 40 minutes from leaving her desk to the train leaving, an hour in the train, and 20 minutes back home. Add that all up and compare about 4 hours with zero minutes when working from home - then factor in the cost!
It's going to be a very hard job to get longer distance commuters back. They have had too long to get used to not commuting, and their managers have learnerd how much can be saved on office costs. Not a few have changed jobs to work from home, to work nearer home or moved to live nearer work. It's a confused picture and may take 3 or 4 years before everything settles down to whatever becomes the new normal.
www.standard.co.uk
