'˜Why it's wrong to refuse to employ staff who travel by train'

A phenomenon of modern life is that people commute further to work than previously. This is now expected '“ indeed a requirement of receiving JobSeekers Allowance is that one must be prepared to travel 90 minutes each way by public transport, writes Jane Ann Liston, secretary of the RailFuture Scotland campaign group.
ScotRail trains at Edinburgh's Waverley Station (Picture: Jane Barlow)ScotRail trains at Edinburgh's Waverley Station (Picture: Jane Barlow)
ScotRail trains at Edinburgh's Waverley Station (Picture: Jane Barlow)

The annoyance of workers and employers, therefore, when public transport fails to run as scheduled is understandable.

Yet, while slating the unpunctuality of the railways has acquired the status of a national sport, very little is said about the timekeeping of other modes.

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There is a system to record every late or cancelled train, but this information does not seem to be collated for buses; is it even collected?

And even private transport can let people down, especially in winter; cars break down or get caught up in traffic jams, perhaps caused by accidents occurring to other vehicles. Even bicycles can have punctures.

In fact the only way to guarantee perfect punctuality is to live within walking distance of work, though even that strategy is not immune from the odd sprained ankle.

A few decades ago, many people lived so near work that they could even go home for dinner. However since then industries have centralised their operations well out of walking distance from most of their staff, with the average daily commute being nine miles.

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There is also the small matter of the environment. With transport being identified as a major contributor to climate change, it would be perverse for an employer to discriminate against those using the most environmentally friendly form of commuting.

Of course, had the railways been properly supported during the last century, perhaps there would not be the need for so many closures for infrastructure upgrades, which can and unfortunately sometimes do impinge upon the working week.

So while the Edinburgh employer who says he “would definitely not employ another person reliant on the trains again” is entitled to feel aggrieved that his Fife-based employee is being made late for work by problems on the railways, he would be ill-advised to only employ those not dependent upon trains.

Given that many people cannot drive for medical reasons, it may even be illegal to do so.

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That does not let the railways completely off the hook, though, nor the Government, who must get their act together. The rail industry has a great advantage over other forms of transport, in that people actually like travelling by train, despite the best efforts of train-operating companies, Network Rail and BR before them. It should not squander such goodwill.