Girl, 6, Tells Off Southern For Train Delays Preventing Her Father From Tucking Her In

A six-year-old girl tugged on the heartstrings of rail bosses when she wrote a letter begging them to get her father home on time so he could tuck her in at bedtime.
Ella Porter wrote the heart-wrenching note to bosses at Southern, pleading with them to help her father Neil get back from work in time to see her before bed.
Porter, a graphic designer from Uckfield, East Sussex, takes the train to east London each day to get to his work in Shoreditch, paying £4,000 a year for his commute.

But disruptions, delays and cancellations between Uckfield and London Bridge mean he faces "major chaos" on his journeys, making him late home.
Young Ella also chastised Southern for "taking all of daddy's money", meaning she can't go on a holiday to Disneyland.






In the letter, which Porter posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, she wrote: "Dear Mr Railway Man, my daddy is always late home and I miss him very much because he always used to tuck me into bed, this makes me upset.

"Please get him home on time. Daddy says you take all his money, that is why I can't go to Disney Land. I really want to go to Disney Land."
She signs off: "Ella aged six."
Tweeting his daughter's letter, Mr Porter wrote: "Please share my daughter's letter, I think Southern Rail UK should compensate my daughter for her time without her Dad.
"I pay £4,000pa, I accept the odd disruption. Major chaos surrounds every journey. It's stressful."
The letter gained support on social media, with one fellow commuter, @jimdesign, writing: "I feel your daughter's and your pain. Been late too many times."
Sophie Pizzey said: "Aww that's so sweet, heartbreaking too, bless her xx"
The letter appears to have melted the heart of at least one person at Southern. A tweet from the rail firm said: "Really sorry for the disruption caused to you. Genuinely has got me welling up. I'm sorry."


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/19/girl-6-tells-off-southern-train-delays-prevent-father-tucking-in_n_6501592.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

ANOTHER  "unforeseen consequence" from the increasing Conservative/'Economic Rationalist' predilections for cost cutting, privatisation, 'corporatisation' and outsourcing of previous public utilities;
where maximising profit is now their #1 goal...


EXTENDED delays, travel times, waiting times, heavy job losses, vastly reduced services @ greatly increased cost ~ it seems to be the same story wherever you go around the world these days, going by daily chatter and regular protests..

EVEN down here train travel down to Sydney takes 15-40 min's longer per trip (that's 30 -> 80+ min's longer for a return trip ~ or 1.5 -> 6.7 hours (!) extra travel time for weekly commuters..) than what it did 30-40 years ago - so much for "faster" trains !

THAT'S  over 70 lost (and unpaid..) hours  from the long distance commuter's life over a year of regular to'ing and fro'ing to work [and over 300 in some more extreme cases !] ~ and that's time that those disaffected commuters are never getting back..


AS FOR that £4,000 p.a. bill [>$6,000 a year !] for a daily train commute in the O/P :
(a) how can that possibly be justified these days, when the minimum f/t wage over there is barely $20,000 a year;
(b) HOW MUCH of an actual 'real world' increase is that over the term of the current Tory guvm'nt;
(c) where does the gov't expect that the future supply of waitresses, barman, labourers, cleaners, tradesmen, teachers, nurses, ambulance officers, firies and police will be coming from to service those bigger cities, once they can no longer afford to even travel to work ?!?