RAIL FARES

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Passengers are to be hit by above-inflation rate fare increases. Season tickets and saver and standard day returns will rise by 4.8% on average, says the Association of Train Operating Companies. Others, such as cheap day returns and long-distance open and advance fares will go up by 5.4%. The increases will come into effect in the New Year. George Muir, Atoc director general, said, "We need the revenue from fares to pay for investment in the railway for the benefit of passengers. We are providing a higher-performing railway with new, refurbished and more punctual trains and better stations."

In a statement, Atoc said the "small increase" in average rail fares partly reflects the fact that more than half of tickets sold are price-regulated by the government. It added that many passengers are choosing to use discounted fares such as advance tickets, rather than pay for full-price tickets. "The relatively low increase in average rail fares has been a factor in the enormous growth in rail travel seen over the past 10 years, with 42% more passengers using the rail network," it said. (Source: BBC News, Nov/07)

Rail passengers face fare rises of at least 30% above inflation under a series of deals between the Government and train companies. Ministers were accused of orchestrating the increases but leaving the operators to take the blame. Three companies signing contracts in the past fortnight have announced almost identical fare increases. Stagecoach and Arriva are planning fare rises in the East Midlands and Cross Country franchises of 3.4% a year in real terms.

Go-Ahead intends to raise fares by 3% a year on the London to Northampton route By the end of the eight-year franchises, fares will have risen by 30%. However, the companies can impose the full increase much sooner if they choose. A standard open return from London to Nottingham costs £109 now and is expected to rise to at least £164 by 2015, given the Treasury’s modest inflation target of 2% per year over the period. The increases affect “unregulated fares”, which account for 60% of total fare revenue.

The Government regulates the price of season tickets and saver tickets and all other fares are supposedly set by the train companies. Department for Transport made clear to all the companies bidding for the latest franchises that they could only win if they planned sharp rises in unregulated fares. Arriva, which was awarded the Cross Country franchise and will replace Virgin, has had to agree to a huge reduction in subsidies.

Unregulated fares have risen by 18% above inflation since privatisation a decade ago. On long-distance services, they have risen by 31%. The total amount paid in fares by rail passengers has doubled since privatisation to more than £5 billion a year but the total subsidy has risen even faster, reaching £6.3 billion last year, four times what British Rail received in a typical year. The rail network is carrying 50% more passengers than in BR’s last year but the cost of running it is three times as high.

A DfT spokesman said the similarity in the increases announced by different companies was “just a coincidence”. He added, “We have no role in setting unregulated fares. We are trying to find the right balance between the farepayer and the taxpayer in covering the cost of the railways.” (Source: Times Online, Jul/07)

A former school head girl who was prosecuted for unwittingly underpaying a rail fare by 10p has been cleared after a costly court case. Jennifer Burton was caught in an operation against fare-dodgers on her way to the first day of a new job as an administration assistant. She had been unable to buy a ticket at Headingley station near where she lives before making the journey into Leeds city centre. Miss Burton told Dewsbury magistrates the train was "jam-packed" and she could not pay the conductor so she bought a ticket at the barrier when she arrived at Leeds.

She admitted that instead of saying she had got on at Headingley she told the attendant she got on at the closest station at Burley Park where she had lived until the previous month. It meant Miss Burton paid £1.10 instead of the £1.20 full fare. The Northern Rail company took her to court charged with "travelling on the railway without having previously paid the fare of 10p and with the intention of avoiding the payment thereof". The magistrates accepted, however, that she did not deliberately deceive the rail company and cleared her of both offences.

Rail passengers are being ripped off by train operators and are being driven off the railways thanks to the "exorbitant" fares charged by train operators. Figures released by the cross-party House of Commons Transport Committee showed that some fares for passengers using train services through the county had risen by twice the rate of inflation. The committee quoted "average unregulated fares" rises of 6% on Midland Mainline's routes and 6.4% on some Central Trains services.

The committee, in a report called How Fair Are the Fairs?, laid the blame on the Government for what it called "exorbitant" fares increases, saying it had lost control of the companies running trains, allowing them to set fares at inflation-busting levels. The committee also accused the Government of "complacency" for failing to ensure value for money for the £87m-a-week of taxpayers' money pouring into the rail network. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, May/06