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Commuters vow to fight ‘rip-off’
Continued from page one possible. However, in the case of Maidstone East, it would be neces- sary to reduce all fares on the line and, with profit margins on the Southeastern network being “rela- tively modest” (about 2%), thiswas not a viable option. He said: “This [a reduction in
fares] would have an impact on the revenue projections hard-wired into our franchise agreement with the Department for Transport and would have to be met by either an increase in direct subsidy or fare in- creases elsewhere. “As a consequence of the Rail-
ways Act 1993 (which paved the way for rail privatisation), train op- erating companies now operate on a commercial basis.” Helen Judges, who commutes
daily, said: “They asked us to form this group, so that we could work with them, yet the momentwe come up against a difficult issue, they try to close the conversation down. They say it’s not in their power to make the necessary changes, but at the very least surely they could draw attention to the issue with
whoever they believe does have that power.” However, the group is not giving
up. Helen added:“We are writing to our MP asking for her support on this issue.We hope other commuters along the line will do the same, as it covers several constituencies. The rail company might think that by saying it can’t do anything it has ended the issue, but as we are the ones being over-charged, we think rather differently and will continue with this untilwe see some results.” Earlier this year, the LibDemchal-
lenger for the Maidstone and The Weald parliamentary seat, Jasper Gerard, said fares between Maid- stone and Londonwere “a rip-off”. His research revealed a Maidstone
East season ticket holder paid an av- erage of £105 per mile, compared with £97 from Farnham in Surrey or £85 from Burgess Hill inWest Sus-
sex.Acommuter fromWest Malling would pay £117 per mile and from Barming £108. A season ticket into London costs
£4,180 from Maidstone East, £4,244 from Bearsted and £4,092 fromWest Malling.
downsmail.co.uk Ilsa to shape town’s future
THE future ofMaidstone town cen- tre has been placed in the hands of a new “change co-ordinator”. Ilsa Butler (36) has been ap-
pointed by Maidstone Town Centre Management (MTCM) as its change co-ordinator for the next 12 months. Her priorities will be to separate
the crime reduction partnership Maidsafe away from MTCM as a standalone business and to manage the gradual absorption of the Town Team functions of events, market- ing and regeneration under the MTCM umbrella. The temporary post was created
following the retirement of former town centremanager Bill Moss. Advertised with a salary of £26- £30,000, the job sought someone who could “develop and implement a strategy and plan for the coordi- nation of town centre activities within Maidstone”. Andy Davy, MTCM chairman,
said: "Ilsa was the stand-out candi- date from the 35 applicants who applied for the job in displaying the vision and creative thinking neces- sary in driving the business forward." Ilsa, who lives in Chart Sutton, at-
tended Cornwallis School. She has stepped up from her personal assis- tant and administrative roles at MTCM to fulfil the secondment. She said: “MTCMlooks forward to
further engaging with businesses and organisations to find out more about their needs and the role that the company can play in and around the town centre.” Ilsa’s job will involve liaising with Maidstone Council, the police, char- ities, businesses and churches, to come up with options for the cre- ation of a new organisation to co- ordinate and manage Maidstone Town Centre. She will also be looking to see if
there is an enthusiasm for creating a Business Improvement District (Bid) in the town. Bid members pay an additional levy to fund projects and improve facilities within the Bid area.
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