SMART

Fares going up for the second time this year. It’s a bit naughty for the government to claim the credit for removing the “fares flex”, when they introduced it in the first place, but SMART welcomes the fact that they have now done the right thing.

It’s also a bit naughty to acknowledge passengers’ concern about the complexity of the fares structure shortly after the government has forced Northern Rail to introduce some onerous and complex restrictions on off-peak fares. If they were serious about removing complexity and unfairness, then they would review the off-peak restrictions which we are given to understand are not achieving the stated aim of raising more revenue.

[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 6th December 2014]

Commuters will see rail fares rise by an average of 2.2% from January 2.

It is the lowest rise for five years after above-inflation rises in recent years, and cynics have already pointed out it comes ahead of May’s General Election.

But rail experts say that passengers will be unhappy in having to pay more for the same service.

Although the fare increase for all types of ticket averages 2.2%, season tickets are going up by 2.5% – not only well above the CPI inflation figure but also in excess of most annual pay rises.

A 12 month season ticket from Huddersfield to Leeds is currently £1,304.00 per year and it will rise to £1,316.00.

A monthly season ticket is £125.20 and it will rise to £126.40.

However, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which makes the decision, said the money from fares helped maintain the railways, which benefits passengers and the economy.

Peter Marshall, chairman of the Huddersfield-Sheffield-Penistone Rail Users’ Association, said:

“It is always difficult to pass on fare increases when 50% of them are government policy and 50% are from rail companies.

“Clearly the government wants to keep rail fares low and it is noticeable there is an election coming and I think from that point of view they want to keep the passengers sweet.

“Quite clearly we are going to see the increase in season ticket and passengers will feel penalised.

“We’ve had promises of all sorts of wonderful improvements for the rail network, but fare increases have been over the odds for years and passengers are still waiting for the improvements while having to get on old trains.”

The January rise will see some season tickets in the north of England are going up by less than 2%.

Mr Marshall added: “Rail fares in the north haven’t been as high because people have the option to drive to work.

“In the south, where the train is the only option because of congestion on roads and parking in the capital, public transport is really the only option.”

The announcement comes the day after it was revealed there had been a 10% rise in rail passenger numbers in the Huddersfield area, with more than 8.5 million journeys in a year.

Mr Marshall says the hike won’t put people off, adding:

“The advantages of rail travel are apparent and I think for the Penistone line it will grow.”

Rail Minister Claire Perry said:

“Passengers are rightly concerned about the cost and complexity of fares. That is why last year we announced a real-terms freeze on regulated fares for the first time in a decade and this continues into 2015.

“Significantly we have also removed the fares flex for 2015. As a further measure we have asked operators to improve the information passengers receive when buying a ticket.”

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/number-rail-passengers-goes-up-8235363?ICID=FB-Examiner-main