Commuters strike against "Worst Late Western"
Today dissatisfied commuters held a fare strike against First Great Western (FGW) trains. The passenger group More Train Less Strain (MTLS) who organised the strike said they were protesting against overcrowding, high prices and unreliable trains.
According to FGW just under 100 people refused to pay for their tickets, however MTLS has said that the strike was meant to make a point.
FGW has said that the causes for complaint result from old rolling stock and a lack of staff, however they added that they are investing 200 million and are recruiting more staff in order to tackle the problems, reports the BBC.
FGW has also said that it would double compensation for passengers suffering delays MTLS however dismissed the rail company's reassurances as a publicity stunt attempting to avert the protest.
Commuters from 15 stations took part in the protest, including the stations at Bath, Bristol, Penzanze and Plymouth.
MTLS said they distributed 10,000 fake tickets bearing the words "Worst Late Western" to commuters.
Peter Andrews of MTLS said, "People travelled on the tickets to London, Birmingham and Penzance. We made a lot of fuss, smoke and noise and hope FGW has listened to us and realises the depth of feeling.
He continued, "It is a way of hitting back because we have tried to speak to them and meet them to get them to do something about the state of their services," reports the BBC.
However Andrew Griffiths, FGW regional manager said, "We do share the frustration of a lot of ordinary passengers. Our performance hasn't been good enough - we're the first to put our hands up and admit that."
According to the BBC he also warned, "People are allowed to protest but we can't compromise safety. We will take the names and addresses of everyone without a valid ticket and decide later on whether to prosecute."
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