Rail commuters face a 3.8 per cent fare rise from today, with commuters in the capital hit by a double whammy as bus and tube journeys in the capital go up 4.8 per cent.
Making the announcement in December, the government said it had capped rail fare increases in 2022 and delayed the rise in prices until March to allow passengers more time to buy cheaper flexible and season tickets at the existing rate.
On today’s increase, Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Today’s fare rise will do nothing to ease the cost-of-living crisis, it will do nothing help to the economy, and it will do nothing to tackle climate change.
“If this government is serious about shrinking transport’s carbon footprint and growing the economy, it must do more to address the high cost of public transport by prioritising fares reform, introducing more contactless and PAYG ticketing and providing a better value flexible commuter ticket to cater to the millions of new hybrid workers.”
Campaign for Better Transport has calculated that from today (1 March), the average full-time worker commuting from Brighton into London will have to work until 19 April (seven weeks) just to pay for their annual season ticket. A commuter travelling from York into Leeds will have to work over a month until 5 April (five weeks), while a commuter travelling from Burton on Trent into Birmingham will have to work until 12 April (six weeks).
However, on making the rail fare increase announcement in December, the government highlighted that the 3.8 per cent is below the current retail price inflation (RPI) of 7.1 per cent and that it will not increase fares by the RPI rate plus 1 per cent, as it did in 2021.
At the time it said that taxpayers had already invested more than £14 billion to keep services running during the pandemic. It said the rise will help meet some of these costs and will also help pay for the service increases and improvements on many lines, which began this week.
To further support those returning to the railways, the Book with Confidence scheme was extended, meaning that until 31 March 2022, passengers can change their travel plans up until the evening before departure without being charged a fee, or cancel their trains completely and receive refunds in the form of rail vouchers.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Capping rail fares in line with inflation while tying it to the July RPI strikes a fair balance, ensuring we can continue to invest records amounts into a more modern, reliable railway, ease the burden on taxpayers and protect passengers from the highest RPI in years.
“Delaying the changes until March 2022 offers people the chance to save money by renewing their fares at last year’s price. That includes the 100,000 people who are already making savings with cheaper and more convenient flexible season tickets.
“We’re driving ahead with the reforms in our Plan for Rail, creating a more passenger-focused railway that delivers a truly first-class service for everyone.”
Last week, a report from Clean Cities Campaign found that UK cities were the most expensive in Europe when it came to public transport. London, Greater Manchester and Birmingham came bottom out of 36 European cities on affordability of public transport with residents being asked to fork out 8-10 per cent of their household budget on monthly travel costs. By contrast, in Oslo, which came top overall in the report, passengers spend just two per cent of their household budget on public transport fares.
Bruce Williamson of the campaign group Railfuture said: “Ordinary working people are feeling the squeeze like never before, yet the government is stoking the fire of the cost of living crisis with these eye-watering fare increases. How does this help get the country back to work?
“Few people are getting an income increase of 3.8 per cent this year. People are struggling to heat their homes, yet the government wants to take even more money off them for the privilege of taking the train to earn a living.”
Photo credit: Rail Delivery Group
