"Solar Penguin" wrote in message
...

--- peter said...

If you take into account the cost of maintenance, staff wages,
depreciation, management costs, and all the other fixed costs,
the actual cost of a 2 hr journey is probable only marginally
above a 15 minute one.

But most of those fixed costs would still be in place even if there were
no journeys at all. (e.g. an empty bus still needs to drive along its
route looking for passengers to pick up.) Why should customers be made
to pay for costs which aren't our fault?

That's my point. The fares have only a passing relationship to the costs.
The fare levels are based on what the market will tolerate and not drive
users to other modes of transport. In some cases it's a social decision and
some wouls argue that public transport should be free and the cost covered
by general taxation.
peter