Unfair fares are up

This week (January 4) rail fares increased to the anger of commuters, who have been left to pick up the cost of rail privatisation.

The increase of one per cent increase to season tickets and other regulated fares means the cost to commuters has risen by 25 per cent over the last five years.

The government has announced plans to cap annual increases in regulated rail fares at the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation for this parliament. But the public will end up shelling out for this fare cap through paying their taxes.

And that cost is not small fry. The cap will cost taxpayers around ÂŁ700m over the next five years, according to department for transport figures.

Unions and campaigners Action for Rail believe far bigger savings could be passed onto passengers if services were run by the public sector. Research commissioned by Action for Rail shows that ÂŁ1.5bn could be saved over the next five years if the routes up for renewal were returned to the public sector.

“People across the UK have once again been hit by a rise in rail fares,” said Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary.

“This year’s increase shows how privatisation means higher fares for commuters while private train companies continue to rake in the cash,” she added.

Unite acting national officer for rail transport Hugh Roberts agreed. He said, “David Cameron makes the claim that he is on the side of ‘the strivers’, but, yet again, he kicks commuters in the teeth in allowing rail increases.

Profit bonanza

“Privatisation has meant a profit bonanza for private rail companies and continuing financial pain for rail travellers.”

And according to Action for Rail, which Unite is part of, UK commuters spend up to six times as much of their salary on rail fares as other European passengers.

The analysis looked at a UK worker on an average salary who is now spending 13 per cent of their monthly wages on a ÂŁ357.90 monthly season ticket from Chelmsford to London.

By contrast, the average amount of salary going on a monthly season ticket for a similar journey is just 2 per cent in Italy, 3 per cent in Spain and 4 per cent in Germany.

Even in France, the closest to the UK for cost, commuters still spend nearly a third (30 per cent) less on season tickets than their counterparts in the UK:

The comparably high costs of the UK’s privatised railways are reflected by public opinion. A separate new poll for Action for Rail of 1,719 British adults by YouGov found that:

• 61 per cent say train services in the UK are bad value for money
• 62 per cent think that fares would be cheaper if train companies weren’t trying to make a profit
• 62 per cent support public ownership of train operating companies

The findings come as rail campaigners and workers protested at over 60 stations around the country against fare rises and in support of public ownership.

 

The government points to regulated rail fare rises being capped at the rate of inflation. But Action for Rail says the public will pay for this cap through taxes amounting to ÂŁ700m over the next five years.

Research shows that more than double this (ÂŁ1.5bn) could be saved over the same period if the rail franchises up for renewal were returned to the public sector.

Researchers at Transport for Quality of Life have estimated that this could fund a 10 per cent reduction in season tickets and other regulated fares from 2017.

“European state-owned rail companies provide excellent services and cheaper fares as part of coherent national economic strategies,” said Hugh Roberts.

Ideological reliance

“The UK government’s ideological reliance on the profit-hungry private sector has been a disaster – and the majority of the public wants the railways taken back into public ownership.”

“It’s hardly surprising that UK passengers think rail travel is bad value for money. They are shelling out far more of their income on rail fares than their counterparts in Europe,” added Frances O’Grady.

“Years of failed privatisation have left us with exorbitant ticket prices, overcrowded trains and ageing infrastructure. It would be nice if ministers woke-up to this reality instead of allowing train companies to milk the system at taxpayers’ and commuters’ expense.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined the protest at King’s Cross station in London yesterday (January 4).

Speaking to LBC radio Jeremy Corbyn said the UK’s railways were becoming increasingly unaffordable for commuters.

“Many that have bought property or moved to either suburbs of London or further away, or the suburbs of any of our major cities [and] moved further out, are then stuck with very high fares to get in and out of work,” he said.

“If it goes on like this then people go back to road transport, we go back to greater congestion. The railways are a sustainable, good form of transport and they should be affordable for all.”

He agreed with Action for Rail in that the UK had the most expensive railways in Europe and pointed out that a number of British rail lines are run by companies that are owned by foreign governments.

“What we want is the train operating companies brought into public ownership as their franchises expire. But in the meantime we want the department for transport to get hold of the fare structure so that commuting is affordable, so that railways are affordable.”