15.08.17
Passengers facing 3.6% rail fare hike from next year
Passengers are set to see an unprecedented rise of 3.6% on regulated rail fares from January 2018, government statistics have today revealed – the largest hike since 2011 and significantly over this year’s 2.3% figure.
The Office for National Statistics today released its updated Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure for July 2017, which sets the rate at which TOCs can increase fares on rail services.
Consumer watchdogs have warned that commuters will be hit hardest by the change, with anytime, off-peak and season tickets in England and Wales all likely to increase.
“Yet again, passengers, now majority funders of the railway, face fare rises next January,” David Sidebottom, director of Transport Focus, said. “Commuters do not give value for money on their railways a high satisfaction score – just one-third according to our latest survey.
“So while performance remains patchy and with pay and wages not keeping pace with inflation, they will feel rightly aggrieved if they are paying much higher rises next January.”
Sidebottom also questioned why the RPI was being used as the measure of inflation and not the Consumer Price Index, which is used to determine wages and pension increases.
Another influential transport body, London TravelWatch, agreed that many passengers will be angry that they will be paying more for a service that is “nowhere near good enough”.
“Over the past year passengers on some lines we have seen performance and overcrowding deteriorate lines to an unacceptable level,” said the organisation’s chair, Stephen Locke. “Meanwhile, for many the wait for the much-promised 15-minute compensation policy continues.
“There is also a lot to be done to improve the fairness and transparency of the system. There continue to be large and confusing variations in commuter fares, especially in and around the edge of London – for example, passengers travelling from Redhill are sometimes paying more to travel into London than those travelling from Gatwick Airport Station, despite Gatwick being over five miles further out.”
General secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Frances O’Grady, also claimed today’s announcement was “grim news” for commuters who face yet another year of rail hikes.
“Overcrowded and understaffed trains are costing them more and more,” she commented. “Meanwhile it’s pay day for private rail companies, whose owners gifted themselves nearly a quarter billion in dividends last year.
“Enough is enough. It’s time for rail services to be publicly owned, saving money for passengers and taxpayers alike.”
DfT praises government investment
Despite widespread criticisms, a spokesperson for the DfT argued that the government was investing in the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century to improve services for passengers and providing faster and better trains with more seats.
“Regulated rail fares are capped in line with inflation for next year,” they said. “In the five years to 2019, Network Rail is spending more than £40bn to maintain and improve the network. On average, 97% of every £1 of a passenger's fare goes back into the railway.”
And Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, stated: “Money from fares pays to run and improve the railway, making journeys better, boosting the economy, creating skilled jobs and supporting communities across Britain, and politicians set increases to season tickets.
“It’s also the case that many major rail industry costs rise directly in line with RPI. Rail companies are working together to improve performance now, adding thousands more seats over the next 18 months and, longer term, simplifying fares and ticket buying so that the country has the railway it needs to prosper.”
Top Image: Torsten Dettlaff
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