End of the line for train fare rip-off as ministers plan pricing shake-up?
MINISTERS plan a shake-up of rip-off rail fares in a bid to head off anger about today’s latest round of price hikes.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will announce plans to trial a system of ‘flexible’ season tickets offering discounts to part-time workers travelling only three or four days a week.
A separate trial on routes between Edinburgh, northern England and London will today seek to sort out the controversial pricing system which means an off-peak single can cost almost as much as a return. A ‘root and branch’ review of the entire rail system by Royal Mail chairman Keith Williams is also due to report within weeks.
The moves come as ministers brace for a backlash over fare hikes averaging
.7 per cent ( .4 per cent in Scotland) which come into force today. These will raise the cost of annual season tickets between Glasgow and Edinburgh by £116 to £4, 00, with other routes also facing increases of more than £100.
Bruce Williamson, of pressure group Railfuture, claimed fares are ‘outstripping people’s incomes’.
Last night the Department for Transport confirmed plans for a ‘fares trial’ on some services run by Govia Thameslink Railway in the South East.
At present, buying a ticket at the station from London to Edinburgh costs £150.50 for a Super Off-Peak single but £151.50 for a Super Off-Peak return. From today, a Super Off-Peak single will be just £75.75.
Last night Mr Shapps insisted ministers were ‘committed to putting passengers first’ while adding that ‘significant change will take time’.
AREN’T we supposed to be trying to cut carbon emissions by encouraging more people to get out of their cars and on to public transport?
Then why are the rail companies being allowed to charge even more extortionate ticket prices for what is, for many, a poorly-managed, unreliable, strikebound service?
A ‘root and branch’ review of the whole system is due to report in the coming weeks. Let’s hope it has some radical ideas to get long-suffering passengers some value for money.
They certainly aren’t getting any today.