The Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport says he welcomes the news that the Government is reconsidering the annual Retail Prices Index (RPI)-linked fare rise.
In previous years increases are usually linked to the previous July’s RPI measure of inflation. This was confirmed as 3.8 per cent for July 2021 by the Office for National Statistics. Last year ticket prices rose by 2.6 per cent in March, which was RPI for July 2020 plus on per cent.
Should that be the case this year then prices would rise by an average of 4.8 per cent – the largest increase in a decade.
Responding to the news that rail passengers will now have to wait until later in the year to find out if fares will rise in January, Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said:
“We welcome the news that the Government is reconsidering the annual RPI-linked fare rise to help encourage more people back to public transport. The railway is crucial to the economy and will play a key role in a green economic recovery, so we want to see rail passengers given the same break as drivers have had with the fuel duty freeze. We’re urging the Government to freeze fares for next year to help increase passenger numbers and boost the economy, as well as reducing carbon emissions, air pollution and congestion.
“Capping rail fares at their current level would just be the first step in a rail recovery plan, with the Government needing to go a whole lot further to encourage people out of their cars and onto public transport at the rate we need to tackle climate change. We want to see fares reform expediated, investment to ensure all communities have access to the rail network and a shift in the balance of transport funding away from roads and driving and towards public transport.”
Should there be a 4.8 per cent increase, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Mike Cherry believes it would hold employers and sole traders back.
He said: “A reliable and fairly-priced public transport network is fundamental to the success of the small business community. An RPI-linked hike in rail fares would mean yet another soaring cost holding our employers and sole traders back. Environmentally, small firms very much want to play their part in working towards the Government’s net zero emissions target. A fares hike of this size means for both businesses and consumers that taking the train becomes a strain.”
