It’s not a clean case of privatisation being the problem. A fare hike would have reduced congestion by encouraging users to find another way to get to where they needed to be while also raising money to for the true solution: more train carriages on the line. The mayor (and probably popular opinion) denied the fare hike.
It would be interesting to know what the profit margins were on the line. Were they making squillions by skimping on staff and carriages? Or were they barely scraping by. If the second one, the government would have had the same problem.
This reminds me a LOT of the Mumbai Metro's Line 1. Almost identical issues, right from the private operator to 4-car trains (approved to convert to 6 but stalled), crush load in trains and stampedes on interchange stations, ownership disputes, etc
Hello - this is a really cool exploration. If you'd like to discuss it with me on the Korea Deconstructed podcast, feel free to get in touch (datizzard@swu.ac.kr)
It’s not a clean case of privatisation being the problem. A fare hike would have reduced congestion by encouraging users to find another way to get to where they needed to be while also raising money to for the true solution: more train carriages on the line. The mayor (and probably popular opinion) denied the fare hike.
It would be interesting to know what the profit margins were on the line. Were they making squillions by skimping on staff and carriages? Or were they barely scraping by. If the second one, the government would have had the same problem.
This reminds me a LOT of the Mumbai Metro's Line 1. Almost identical issues, right from the private operator to 4-car trains (approved to convert to 6 but stalled), crush load in trains and stampedes on interchange stations, ownership disputes, etc
Hello - this is a really cool exploration. If you'd like to discuss it with me on the Korea Deconstructed podcast, feel free to get in touch (datizzard@swu.ac.kr)