Letter to the editor: The state of our public transport is appalling. Not only do we seem to have the highest fares in Europe, but we seem to endure the worst service.

If this was any other company in any other industry, they would have gone bust by now.

The train companies capitalise on the fact decent hard-working people are forced to use their joke of service, and then hike up the prices indiscriminately. For a higher price, we are forced to endure cramped, over-crowded and disgraceful conditions.

Despite train companies banding the latest increase as one of the lowest, it is what it is: an increase. Fares are outpacing wages at an alarming rate.

The jobs we must complete obstacle courses to get to will soon not cover the cost of reaching them.

Yet there is no end in sight to the perpetual price hike and misery of commuting.

For many, there is no other option to get to work. The peak-time travel is set at eye-watering amounts, as every executive knows people simply cannot travel at another time.

The element of choice has been taken away from people, supposedly a cornerstone in our capitalist society.

People take their money elsewhere when dissatisfied with service, yet public transport is the exception to the rule. There is no incentive for them to improve service, as they will get paid regardless.

We must suffer late, cancelled, and intermittent services.

The recent debacle at London Bridge station is testament to the ineptitude of public transport.

The fat-cat executives must be held to account; they only respond to profit. For every late or cancelled train, charge them a premium. Maybe then we will see some real change.

CHARLOTTE STANBURY, Bromley