Reading Roars!

I was somewhat dismayed, to say the least, to see my First Great Western (FGW) Reading-Paddington ticket all of a sudden jump last week to nearly £400 per month, thanks to their removal of a 10% discount for poor performance .  This follows a January 6% fare rise.  

According to the Reading Chronicle report, FGW’s spokesperson said:

We’ve still got much to do but we’re pleased we are now delivering a service much closer to what our customers want on a regular basis.

Not close enough.  It’s really not close at all.  Lib Dem Gareth Epps summed up customer feeling more accurately by saying:

Reading commuters already pay some of the highest fares per mile in the world, so to reduce the discount it should rightly be paying for poor performance is arrogance of the highest order.

Paul Smith goes further, with his colourful (but reasonable) analysis of the situation on the brilliant site Bitter Wallet:

They’re ready to start punching strangers in the back of the head, partly because they can’t sit down during their commute and have to stand like shitty-arsed cattle for hours on end, but mostly because they’re paying through the nose to do so; their season ticket prices have jumped up in price, and not by just a few quid, either.

As well as the Thames Valley Social Media Cafe,  social media types reading this may also be interested in Reading’s fortnightly gatherings of Twitter enthusiasts.  The Reading “tweetup”, or #rdgtweetup, is a product of the recent Twestival held in the town.

For regular #rdgtweetup updates, visit this page. It appears that the next tweetup will be held this Saturday evening at Starbucks (The Oracle Riverside one, I think).

Friday 13th might be unlucky for some, but some also say that you create your own luck.  As first announced by Neville Hobson, the first Thames Valley Social Media Cafe will be held at 10am on 13 March 2009 at the smashing Workhouse Coffee in Reading.

The idea emerged from conversations between Neville, Drew Benvie, Benjamin Ellis and myself, and was inspired by Lloyd Davis and his Social Media Cafe/”Tuttle” (now spread from London to cities such as Birmingham and Oxford).

The Tuttle concept is simple.  As Lloyd puts it, the club is

a loose group of people who come together to talk and work around social media. 

This is so right for Reading.  The town and its environs is chock-full of digital talent.  Workhouse Coffee, suggested by Drew (who originally alerted me to its existence and indeed to Twitter) feels right for the Social Media Cafe (offering first-class coffee, scrabble tiles for entertainment, a giant world map for inspiration and local newspapers).  

For more information, and to register your interest, visit the Thames Valley Social Media Cafe wiki, set up by Benjamin.

The following other announcements have been posted recently:

• Launching the Reading arm of Social Media Cafe next week (Drew)
• Thames Valley Social Media Cafe – Reading (Benjamin)