[News] Rail fares in England and Wales to increase by up to 5.9% in March

BBassic · Dec 22, 2022

Government says it has made its biggest ever intervention to keep rise below inflation, but Labour condemns ‘sick joke’

Rail fares in England and Wales to increase by up to 5.9% in March

Government says it has made its biggest ever intervention to keep rise below inflation, but Labour condemns ‘sick joke’

www.theguardian.com

Brilliant.

Cheeky Monkey · Dec 22, 2022

My Southern train cancelled again at the last minute this morning due to a ‘shortage & train crew.’ I will be applying for a journey refund, even though I got a train half an hour later than planned, because it totally screwed up my day. Sick of it.

bluenitsuj · Dec 22, 2022

They should be frozen due to the shambolic service. The government trying to get praise for capping it. f***ing ridiculous

BN41Albion · Dec 22, 2022

Was looking at booking trains for a weekend at the end of Jan up to Manchester. £124 return for a joke of a Sunday service for the return leg.

Doesn't seem that long ago that if you booked in advance you could pick up trains up north for 20 odd quid each way if you picked specific trains. Used to use the trains loads when travelling up. Now seldom do as there's never any cheaper advance ticket options, the service is total shyte, and add the obvious at the moment - threat of strikes. Shame as I used to much prefer an excuse to sit on a train and relax rather than drive.

Wtf has happened to our train system that it's got so bad?! Yet prices still go up. Soon no-one will bother using them.

Not to mention the drive to become a greener country and encouraging people to use public transport rather than cars.

Springal · Dec 22, 2022

Cheeky Monkey said:
My Southern train cancelled again at the last minute this morning due to a ‘shortage & train crew.’ I will be applying for a journey refund, even though I got a train half an hour later than planned, because it totally screwed up my day. Sick of it.

Hopefully your ticket hasn’t been through a barrier

Tom Hark Preston Park · Dec 22, 2022

It's actually cheaper to fly in many cases

clapham_gull · Dec 22, 2022

Purely ideological. Only people who use the trains should pay for them irrespective of their positive effect on the economy.

Ok - can you pay back the portion of my taxes that pay for the roads please, because I don't own a car.

Cheeky Monkey · Dec 22, 2022

Tom Hark Preston Park said:
It's actually cheaper to fly in many cases

And better for the planet. A no-brainer.

Guinness Boy · Dec 22, 2022

With so many of them on strike or suffering from mystery sniffles there won't be many trains to buy an overpriced ticket for anyway.

Swansman · Dec 22, 2022

All public transport should be free.

Similar to free education, there is no backside to providing it, and it would fund itself.

maresfield seagull · Dec 22, 2022

Cheeky Monkey said:
My Southern train cancelled again at the last minute this morning due to a ‘shortage & train crew.’ I will be applying for a journey refund, even though I got a train half an hour later than planned, because it totally screwed up my day. Sick of it.

Delay repay is applicable after 15 minutes delay

pure_white · Dec 22, 2022

Swansman said:
All public transport should be free.

Similar to free education, there is no backside to providing it, and it would fund itself.

how does it fund itself? In principle its a great idea and creates freedom and choice.

Rookie · Dec 23, 2022

Encouraged to use public transport but unless you are one of the lucky few to get a cheap ticket on the day they are released the price of trains is disgusting

Swansman · Dec 23, 2022

pure_white said:
how does it fund itself? In principle its a great idea and creates freedom and choice.

Different kinds of increased economic activity. People are more interested in taking a job (even a poorly paid one) if transportation to that job doesn't eat a substantial part of your income every month. Money saved on tickets, parking and petrol (because far less will take the car if public transport is free) will be spent elsewhere and boost restaurants, entertainment venues, stores etc. If 30% more people leave their car at home (or just get rid of it), money would also be saved on road maintainance, policing traffic and otherwise necessary expensive infrastructure projects for drivers. Obviously the govt costs for public transport would increase but in most places where it has been introduced, there's been little if any increase in overall costs.

beorhthelm · Dec 23, 2022

Swansman said:
Different kinds of increased economic activity. People are more interested in taking a job (even a poorly paid one) if transportation to that job doesn't eat a substantial part of your income every month. Money saved on tickets, parking and petrol (because far less will take the car if public transport is free) will be spent elsewhere and boost restaurants, entertainment venues, stores etc. If 30% more people leave their car at home (or just get rid of it), money would also be saved on road maintainance, policing traffic and otherwise necessary expensive infrastructure projects for drivers. Obviously the govt costs for public transport would increase but in most places where it has been introduced, there's been little if any increase in overall costs.

or, money gets taken as taxes to fund the free service. it may be the burden falls to smaller number of individuals, more benefiting from free travel, the net effect is less money available for spending elsewhere.

Swansman · Dec 23, 2022

beorhthelm said:
or, money gets taken as taxes to fund the free service. it may be the burden falls to smaller number of individuals, more benefiting from free travel, the net effect is less money available for spending elsewhere.

Of course it will be funded by taxes. More economic activity = more tax income, unless someone or something is eating the money on the way.

Barnet Seagull · Dec 23, 2022

dazzer6666 · Dec 23, 2022

Was interested to read that passenger numbers are back to pre-Covid levels. Struggling to see how this can be true - literally everyone I’ve ever worked with is travelling to work far less than they were pre-Covid.

UK rail passenger numbers reach 99% of pre-covid heights | Rail Technology Magazine

After slow but continuous growth since the easing of pandemic lockdown restrictions, the dwindling passenger numbers within the r

www.railtechnologymagazine.com

vegster · Dec 23, 2022

Cheeky Monkey said:
My Southern train cancelled again at the last minute this morning due to a ‘shortage & train crew.’ I will be applying for a journey refund, even though I got a train half an hour later than planned, because it totally screwed up my day. Sick of it.

Are you sure its worth attempting to get a refund ? I recall that it costs about £25 to process a refund ? just another little way we all get screwed.

As for the fare increase, I was wondering how the Gov. would play this, would be quite hypocritical to deny the RMT an 11% increase then insist a fare rise of inflation +2% ( 13% ) was necessary. So, they are cynically reducing the increase in the hope of making the RMT look greedy.

vegster · Dec 23, 2022

Barnet Seagull said:

Wait till the rail companies get their wish to " reassign " ticket office staff. Currently they are the only people who can work the complicated and expensive ticketing system to get cheaper tickets. Once they are gone we will be stuck with online or ticket machine prices which will inevitably lead to increased fares....

.but hey, why would a Tory government want to encourage the public to be using greener transport for the environment ? Do Green lobby groups or think tanks fund Tory MP'S? ...Probably not.

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[News] Rail fares in England and Wales to increase by up to 5.9% in March

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