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Privatisation of Tube and the Oyster
scam
• In last week’s CNJ you observed in
your second editorial (Solving the debt) how private companies
are “taking over the public sector”.
You note that Tony Blair is continuing the process started
by Margaret Thatcher. One difference in approach, though,
is that whereas Mrs Thatcher sold off state assets up front
and with a fanfare of publicity, New Labour involve the private
sector rather more stealthily and not always at one go (hospital
and school trusts, and Arms-Length Management Organisations
in council housing).
London Underground, encouraged by the government, has part-privatised
the Tube’s infrastructure maintenance operation. Last
October the Northern Line was closed for a few days because
drivers refused to work following a safety alert.
Underground management attempted to keep the true reason for
the line’s closure from passengers by putting up misleading
posters at affected stations and, apparently, instructing
front-line station staff not to give details.
In this newspaper the General Secretary of drivers’ union
Aslef gave a convincing account of how private maintenance
contractors were at fault.
Having privatised behind-the-scenes track and signal maintenance,
London Underground is now doing the same for fare payments
with the rapid rolling out of the Oyster system.
Oyster is essentially a Public-Private Partnership. Ken Livingstone,
who once opposed privatisation in the Underground, but now
wearing the hat of Chair of Transport for London, is keen
that traditional tickets should give way to the Oystercard.
Since January those who still use paper tickets have been
financially penalised.
Some have expressed concern that Oyster is another part of
the surveillance state. Although it is possible to use Oyster
without registering personal details (there is an extra fee
involved, refundable only by having the card registered!),
the push is for passengers to do so.
Details of journeys made are kept on record for eight weeks
and we now know that the police are increasingly requesting
personal travel information. Whilst London Underground is
still “a company controlled by a local authority”
under the Local Government Act of 1989, personal Oyster registration
details are processed by private sector contractors. We are
reassured that only “a few authorised individuals”
can access this personal information. Wedges, of course, start
with a thin end.
Oyster has been spun as time-saving for passengers. What is
not stated is that station staff numbers will be reduced as
ticket offices open for shorter times and might eventually
go at outlying stations.
Recently, at Kentish Town station, there was a serious escalator
accident. Luckily no-one was injured or killed.
As a regular Tube passenger (I am not a ‘customer’)
the idea of closing some ticket offices does not fill me with
confidence. I will not use Oyster…and am, therefore,
paying my paper ticket “supplement”.
Eric Krieger
Haverstock Road
NW5
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