'Commuters feel like they are being pickpocketed by the government,' says Campaign for Better Transport
Rail commuters are facing more �5,000 season tickets on popular routes into London from next week as higher-than-expected fare increases are imposed.
Campaigners said the emergence of the �5,000 annual fare meant some tickets are now costing a fifth of the average UK wage. Commuters on less expensive routes are also in for a surprise thanks to the restoration of a loophole that allows some season tickets to rise higher than the official fare cap, with some going up by almost 8%.
The Campaign for Better Transport lobbying group said millions of rail users were not getting value for money. "Commuters feel like they are being pickpocketed by the government, expected to pay more year on year for the same poor quality service," said Stephen Joseph, CBT's chief executive. "Even with the promised extra investment, many passengers will see no actual improvement to their daily commute. Politicians need to start living in the real world and understand that people simply cannot afford to pay a fifth of their income just to do a day's work."
More season tickets will breach the �5,000 level next week, with an annual fare on Southeastern's high-speed rail service between Tonbridge and London costing �5,192 (up 12.7%), while an identical increase in the fare between Hastings and Rye and London will be introduced to pay for the investment in the ultra-fast journeys. A season ticket between Bournemouth and London, on the South West Trains franchise, is increasing by 6.8% to �5,424, while a 12-month fare from Peterborough to London will rise by 6.4% from �5,000 to �5,320.
The rail user watchdog, Passenger Focus, warned that many passengers already braced for inflation-busting hikes from Sunday, when fare increases kick in, are still in for a surprise when they see prices on key routes.
The restoration of a clause in the government's ticketing policy means that regulated fares, such as season tickets, will have higher than expected increases on some lines ? rail firms can pick and choose which lines to increase regulated fares on, as long as they average out at 5.8% across the franchise. As a result an annual ticket between Hove and London will rise by 7.8% to �3,832, while a season ticket between Portsmouth and London will increase by 7.2% to �4,224.
Anthony Smith, of Passenger Focus, said the figures are much higher than the average fare increase advertised by the Association of Train Operating Companies, which claims that the average rise across the entire network will be 6.2%, including unregulated tickets. "Many passengers returning to work in the New Year will be baffled about why they are paying much higher figures than the 'averages' published by the train companies. For many passengers, this flexibility won't appear fair," he said.
Smith urged ministers to restrict the so-called "flex" system that allows train operators to beat the fare cap. "We want the flexibility to be restricted. It should be kept to plus 1% or plus 2% so we can avoid these increases. People will be surprised by how much fares are going up on their route. It is not transparent. The government is delegating a whole raft of fares regulation to the train companies."
The Labour government removed the "flex" system last year but it has been reinstated by the coalition government. Maria Eagle, Shadow Transport secretary, said: "The Tory-led government has ripped up Labour's fair deal for passengers. Train companies have been given back the freedom to fiddle the fares by averaging out the cap on prices across their tickets."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The scale of the deficit means the government has had to take tough decisions on future rail fares. Revenue from fares [helps] deliver much-needed improvements on the rail network, improving conditions for passengers and helping strengthen economic growth."
Boxing Wildlife Biffy Clyro Tottenham Hotspur Energy efficiency Japan
No comments:
Post a Comment