exactly
privatisation only works when you have companies scrapping each other to get your custom. On the railways they have it sown up for their particular patch
( Milkman Dan, Wed 29 Nov 2006, 12:37, archived)

until it comes up for tender
then they scrap for it
( swaza I'm bad, I'm bad. You know it. I'm bad., Wed 29 Nov 2006, 12:43, archived)

doesn't help that a lot of the tories who saw privatisation through
did so in order to take highly paid directorship jobs with said transport companies
the very thing that labour is positively encouraging with air traffic control and bits of the NHS and other things they're privatising.

I'm from the school of thought that believes it's stupid to expect public services to make a profit because they should be there to, y'know, serve the public
( Mushroom, Wed 29 Nov 2006, 14:14, archived)

It also only works for services where "trying to make money" equals "providing a good service".
I don't think this includes transport.
( Newington HM Time Corps: Quo vadimus non requirimus vias, Wed 29 Nov 2006, 17:44, archived)