What Public Transport Improvements?

[payingpax]

Its not only airlines that levy take it or leave it surcharges.

Park your car in Long-stay at Gatwick or Stansted, and 30p gets added to the total bill as a contribution towards public transport improvements.

I don’t have a problem with signing up for better public transport to and from airports.

If the current public transport options weren’t so expensive, inconvenient and (in the case of the Stansted flyer) unreliable I wouldn’t be taking the car in the first place.

30p is not a lot of money – but they have been making this charge for some time, so what are (where are?) these “public transport improvements” that we have all been paying for?

[Flightmapping]

The Stansted Express is going from every 30 mins to every 15 mins as part of the new franchise. But at £13.40 each way, how do they need any more subsidies?

Putting money at Heathrow towards Crossrail is much more justified + EDI & GLA are both valid candidates for rail extensions (think EDI is getting underway).

I would send your question to BAA, and let us know the response. There is certainly no point if it just goes on empty buses running around with no passengers. This happened as part of the "public transport commitment" at Warwick Parkway station