Give honour payment systems a chance Honour systems operate all over the world, but not in Britain. Are high levels of social inequality solely to blame? Phil Hall I am used to using the rail and underground system in London. Here we have high prices, turnstiles and guards . Advertising campaigns try to intimidate us with posters showing mugshots of fare evaders with criminal records. Teachers, students and City workers stare down from the walls and CCTV cameras spotted with pigeon shit point down blankly at grubby platforms in run-down busy stations. It feels Orwellian and depressing. (The bus system, I'll admit, is much better.) And so, when I went to Munich to celebrate the 99th birthday of my great uncle this month and used the S-Bahn and U-Bahn system, it was a joy. The German government was actually trusting me to pay for my ticket and use their clean and efficient system responsibly. And so I did – with pleasure. Honour payment systems seem to work in Germany. There you p...
Left wing commentary from the heart and the head