IN YET MORE positive public transport-related news, a new campaign in the northeast has been setting a great example of how to deal with over-priced, profit-driven public transport. With fare prices shooting up and up, increasing numbers have been finding travel on the Tyne and Wear metro system an increasing financial burden. Enter ‘Checky Watch’, a leaderless movement dedicated to providing commuters with up-to-date information on the whereabouts of ticket inspectors (“checkies”) to help the hard-up people keep their quids. The campaign, started by 21 year-old Ben Heywood from Jarrow, attracted 10,000 Facebook followers in its first week and now has it’s own website, featuring intel on checky movements, and is organising public protests against the increasing cost of fares. From the start, the campaign has made it clear that the aim of the action is not to dodge paying for public transport indefinitely, but to pressure transport companies into charging affordable fares. A Checky Watch organiser said “This is not pushing to make Metros free, it’s trying to get the prices down. One person can’t make a difference, but 5,000-odd can.” And how have the metro bosses responded? Obviously not by taking the demands of commuters seriously, but by announcing plans to spend hundreds of thousands on expensive barriers and security checks!
Even though their demands have not yet been met, Checky Watch is a great example of how ordinary people, organising together, can fight back and win improvements in our daily living conditions when we stop begging for scraps off the table and take matters into our own hands.
Before signing off though, The Mutineer would like to remind it’s readers that, while fare-dodging (especially against rip-off merchants) is both big and clever, the checkies themselves are getting ripped off by the same company that rips off its commuters, with attacks on wages and working conditions. The bosses can deal with the odd fare dodger and even the occasional strike, but checkies and Checky Watchers uniting would be enough to make any fare-hiking, wage-slashing capitalist quake in their loafers.
We would like to point out the Tyne and Wear Metro is not private or profit-driven it is one of the last publicly-owned railways in the UK. It also has about the lowest rail fares in the Uk, a third of the price of London Underground, for example. Nexus, the public body which runs it and which I work for, actually froze all prices for two years 2009-2011, has cut most fares for students and young people this year and runs the cheapest concessionary fares scheme for under 16s in the country (outside wealthy London Transport). By not paying fares on Metro people are not depriving a private company of money but stealing from taxpayers, I am afraid, as it is hard-up local councils in the North East who help subsidise Metro to benefit local people. Some of the abuse of Metro customer service staff on checky watch is very disturbing and we don’t think it’s right to target ordinary working people trying to do their jobs. If Checky Watch really is a ‘fare’s fair’ campaign then it’s leader should approach us instead of promoting fraud and abuse of working people.
It’s fine you report on this issue, but choose your heroes carefully.