Rail fare rise: Campaign for Better Transport responds

Reacting to the announcement that regulated rail fares will rise by 3.8 per cent in March, Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said:

“This fare rise is far from fair. Rail fares should have been frozen to match the fuel duty freeze for car drivers. If the Government is serious about shrinking transport’s carbon footprint it should make rail the affordable choice. Instead, it is asking some commuters to pay hundreds of pounds more for their season tickets, which risks driving people off rail and onto roads instead.”

After the fare rise, the average full-time worker commuting from Brighton into London will have to work for seven weeks just to pay for their annual season ticket. A commuter from York into Leeds will have to work for five weeks, while a commuter from Burton on Trent into Birmingham will have to work for six weeks [6].

Transport is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector [4]. While rail fares have risen at or above inflation, fuel duty for drivers has been frozen for more than a decade, despite the fact that driving produces more than four times as much greenhouse gas as travelling by rail [5]. Campaign for Better Transport has called for a rail fare freeze to match the fuel duty freeze, to encourage more people to choose rail and to tackle climate change.