17 August 2011
Unfair price hikes send all the wrong signals to travellers
Transform Scotland director Colin Howden said:
“These unfair price hikes send all the wrong signals to travellers. Frankly, we’re at a loss to understand why the Government has chosen to increase rail fares when it claims that it wants to encourage people to use public transport and to discourage them from using cars.”
Article as contributed to The Herald:
"People want affordable, reliable public transport. Instead, commuters will find that they’re going to pay on average 8% more for their train tickets next year. The decision to increase rail fares will drive people off trains and back on to the roads.
"It is well-known that the price of using trains that is the key deterrent to greater use of rail travel. Passenger Focus, the independent passenger watchdog, consistently finds in its ‘National Passenger Survey’ that value for money remains the key concern of rail passengers.
"The UK transport minister Phillip Hammond said after last year's General Election that the reputed "war on the motorist" was over -- but today's decision to hike up rail fares represents a genuine war on rail travellers.
"The price of motoring continues to fall while the price of rail travel continues to rise. The UK Government’s own figures show that between 1997 and 2009 the real cost of motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle, declined by 14%, bus and coach fares increased by 24% and rail fares increased by 13% in real terms. Therefore it’s indefensible that the the Coalition has decided to hit rail users rather than tackle car use.
"The announcement also represents a major u-turn by the Liberal Democrats as they promised a reduction in rail fares in their manifesto for last year’s General Election. The Lib Dems were elected on a promise of cutting regulated fares by 1% behind inflation each year -- which would represent a real-terms cut in rail fares.
"The Fair Fares Now campaign has calculated that if these rail fare increases are carried through that fares will be 28% higher in 2015 than they are now. We would encourage everyone to sign the Fair Fares Now petition to support the campaign to keep rail fares affordable."