Why the government does NOT want cheap affordable train fares?

There's nothing wrong with the high prices, obviously customers are willing to pay so what's the point in making the fares cheaper? The number one aim of a business is to make maximum profit for their shareholders, if you don't like it then tough.

Which is why its nuts water companies are regulated by interferring government. They should be allowed to charge whatever the market will bare - about £100/week per service user I'd have thought. Same for gas/lecy.

No, youre wrong or deliberately making stuff up to "prove" a point.

Most people arent willing to pay these extortionate (and they are extortionate, see my explanation of how much singles cost compared to returns.) fees, they just dont have a choice, that is different than "fair and willing." Does this mean you think it is ok for me to dodge train tickets?

Clearly you live in a bubble.

Surely if they weren't willing to pay for the fares then they'd find alternative options - car, plane, or just move closer to family. At the end of the day, the prices that they're using now are the prices that give the business maximum profit and that's all that matters.

As long as the train companies are still getting a full house on the services then nothing will change, and in fact I wouldn't blame them if they put the prices up even higher.

Don't these other railways get funded by the taxpayers even more than the uk's so what people who complain about fares are saying is it's unfair that I have to pay for a service I use people who don't use it should pay

No, people are annoyed at being fleeced for their money by a private company who is offering an increasingly unreliable and poor service.

I don't get you Joe. You claim politicians and the left have ignored the concerns of the working man but one of the biggest concerns of the working class is a reliable public transport service.

Our rail service is incredibly expensive and overcrowded and you don't care at all about regular people suffering as a result.

I personally don't use the army, nor do I use Buckingham Palace, nor do I use the civil service, nor do I use the judiciary. Should I get my tax back for all those things?

Well if all the trains are overcrowded then surely the best thing to do would be to increase fares, so more people seek an alternative which would free up space on the trains.

Great, so far less people would be able to go to work and we'd have far more unemployment. That would be great for the economy.

Or, it would mean that far more people chose to drive, which would make our roads a hell of a lot more crowded. At which point people like you would complain about the levels of traffic...

The obvious answer is to heavily invest in our rail infrastructure, to reduce crowdedness and make it easier and more affordable for working people (who you claim to care about) to get to work.

Or people could just work locally - somewhere within walking distance or a 10 minute bus ride away - instead of jetting off to never never land and back every day.

And investing in infrastructure would mean fare increases too, the money has to come from somewhere, after all.

Or people could just work locally - somewhere within walking distance or a 10 minute bus ride away - instead of jetting off to never never land and back every day.

And investing in infrastructure would mean fare increases too, the money has to come from somewhere, after all.

Well if all the trains are overcrowded then surely the best thing to do would be to increase fares even higher, so more people seek an alternative which would free up space on the trains.

Or people could just work locally - somewhere within walking distance or a 10 minute bus ride away - instead of jetting off to never never land and back every day.

And investing in infrastructure would mean fare increases too, the money has to come from somewhere, after all.

Having a set charge on things where people have literally no other choice is extortion. You want to charge people in some cases £50 more, just simply because you can and people will have no choice but to take it or lose jobs/education?

You people really do live in a bubble. That and not knowing the definition of extortion.