Rail Privatisation In Action - Yet More Fare Increases

Rail fares six times higher than in Europe

Commuters being ‘fleeced’ as service worsens

Transport Focus, the passenger watchdog, called for travellers using Southern Rail, which has been beset by strikes and delays over the past year, to be exempt from today’s rise in fares

Rail commuters are paying up to six times as much as their counterparts in Europe after the latest round of inflation-busting fare increases.

Regular passengers are spending as much as 14 per cent of their salary travelling by train to work every day, research being published today by a union-backed campaign shows.

By comparison, the daily commute in countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain costs only 2 to 4 per cent of workers’ salaries, it is claimed.

A separate study reveals that commuters returning to work today could pay 27p a minute to travel by train — as much as a premium-rate phone call — after a 56 per cent increase in prices over the past decade.

More than 230,000 commuters claim to have given up their jobs during the past three years as a result of rising train fares, with another 80,000 considering this over the next 12 months, according to further research for Sainsbury’s Bank.

The conclusions were reached after rail companies imposed an average 2.3 per cent rise in fares, which is almost twice the rate of inflation and three times higher than last year’s increase.

Some fares that are not regulated by the government have risen much further. The price of an off-peak return between Swansea and Cardiff on Arriva Trains Wales will increase by 20 per cent to £11.20, and an anytime return between Bristol and Edinburgh on CrossCountry will rise by 3.9 per cent to £376.

Railways in Germany, France, Italy and Spain all receive far higher levels of state subsidy than those in Britain, which are becoming increasingly reliant on passenger income. Funding from the government has been cut by £1.1 billion, or 24 per cent, over the past five years. The level of funding from passenger fares has increased by £1.2 billion, or 17 per cent, according to the Office of Rail and Road.

Passenger groups said that regular travellers were being “fleeced” just as delays and overcrowding on the national rail network had worsened.

Transport Focus, the passenger watchdog, called for travellers using Southern Rail, which has been thrown into chaos by strikes and delays over the past year, to be exempt from today’s rise. Anthony Smith, its chief executive, said: “Many commuters, in London and the southeast in particular, have suffered poor performance and will feel anger at paying more and getting less. A fares freeze for Southern passengers would help to start rebuild trust.”

Lianna Etkind, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Wages remain stagnant and trains continue to be hopelessly overcrowded, so commuters are rightly angry at annual fare rises when they see little or no improvement in the service they receive.

“Many commuters are now being charged at a similar level to a premium-rate phone number for their season tickets and are left feeling equally as fleeced.”

The government, which sets regulated rail fare increases, announced last summer that they would be pegged at 1.9 per cent this year. The increase, which covers 40 per cent of fares including most season tickets and standard returns, is in line with the retail prices index rate of inflation for July.

Train operators are free to increase remaining fares at a higher rate, including advance fares and first-class tickets. When these increases are added, the overall average rise stands at 2.3 per cent. The latest consumer prices index rate of inflation is running at 1.2 per cent. Last January, fares increased by an average of 0.7 per cent.

Research by Action for Rail, the TUC-backed campaign, found that a monthly season ticket from Luton to London cost £387, about 14 per cent of average monthly earnings, while a monthly ticket from Liverpool to Manchester cost £292, or 11 per cent. By comparison a similar journey in France would be £61, or 2 per cent of income. In Germany it would cost £85 or 3 per cent, while in Spain it rose to £75, or 4 per cent. Research by the Campaign for Better Transport calculated that rail users travelling from Stevenage to London paid 27p per minute.

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said: “In some places people aren’t getting the service they are paying for. However, increases to season tickets are set by government.”

Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, said that the government was “delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for more than a century”.

Train pain forces 200,000 to quit jobs

More than 200,000 people have given up work as a result of rising rail fares, research suggests.

Pollsters for Sainsbury’s Bank also found that 77,000 commuters were considering quitting their jobs in the next two years and that more than 600,000 people had changed jobs in the past three years to reduce the cost of getting to work.

The figures from a poll of 2,000 commuters come the day after the highest price increases on the rail network since 2014 came into effect.

Two per cent of respondents said that they had given up work completely, which would translate to 231,000 commuters nationally. Another 5 per cent — the equivalent of 590,400 people — said they had moved house so that they could be closer to work; 6 per cent said they worked from home more often; and 5 per cent said that they had to work overtime because of rising fares.

Additionally, 12 per cent said that they had started to walk, run or cycle to work and 3 per cent said they had joined a work car-share scheme. More than 60 per cent of those surveyed said that they were considering taking some kind of action over the next two years because of increased travel costs.

Analysis of Sainsbury’s Bank’s credit card data revealed a large rise in expenditure on train travel over the past five years. The average transaction on train travel last year was 3 per cent higher than in 2011.

In response to yesterday’s increase in fares, Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers will be disappointed that fares will rise by 2.3 per cent, higher than the last two years. In return passengers will now want to see the industry’s investment deliver a more reliable railway.

“Many commuters, in London and the southeast in particular, have suffered poor performance and will feel anger at paying more and getting less. A fares freeze for Southern passengers would help to rebuild trust following the months of misery they have experienced.”

Conductors on Southern rail began a 72-hour walkout on New Year’s Eve with drivers planning a six-day strike from January 9. The dispute centres on the introduction of driver-operated trains, taking responsibility for managing carriage doors away from conductors. Southern says that the plans would not cost any jobs but would lead to fewer cancellations because trains would no longer require drivers and conductors.

Fare fight
231,026 Number of commuters who have given up work because of fare rises

590,399 Commuters have moved home to be closer to work

1.3 million Say the cost of train travel inspired them to walk, jog or cycle more

487,721 Have worked overtime to pay for rising fares
Source: Sainsbury’s Bank survey