Commuters were warned they face being battered by an 8 per cent rise in rail fares next year in the latest blow during the cost of living crisis.
If the Government uses the same formula as this year to calculate the 2024 increase in train fares in England, then passengers are set for an eye-watering hike.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics revealed Britain’s average earnings growth for July was 8 per cent.
This was the measure to which the Department for Transport aligned this year’s cap on fare increases after average earnings growth for July 2022 stood at 5.9 per cent.
Ministers have confirmed next year’s fare increases will be below the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation for July, which was 9 per cent but have not revealed what formula they will use.
If they do push forward with an 8 per cent increase, it will be the highest rise in train fares in England since the privatisation of the rail networks was completed in the 1990s.
An 8 per cent increase in rail fares would see annual season tickets from Woking to London rise by £310 to £4,190.
An off-peak return from Manchester to London would cost £112.20 following an £8.30 hike.
Norman Baker, a former Liberal Democrat transport minister and director of external affairs at pressure group Campaign for Better Transport, said that the Government has yet to confirm next year’s rail increase, but if it follows the same formula as last year and uses today’s average earnings growth rate, passengers would face eye-watering increases.
He said, rather than hammer rail passengers yet again, the Government should freeze rail fares, as they have done with fuel duty until the long-promised ticketing reform takes place.
A Department for Transport spokeswoman said that following last year’s biggest ever Government intervention to cap rail far increases well below inflation, they would continue to protect passengers from cost of living pressures and they wouldn’t increase next year’s rail fares by as much as the July RPI figure.
The spokeswoman also said that any increase would also be delayed until March 2024, temporarily freezing fares for passengers to travel at a lower price for the entirety of January and February as the Government continues with its plan to halve inflation.
About 45 per cent of fares on Britain’s railways are regulated by the Westminster, Scottish and Welsh Governments.
These increases are absurd and yet the Government want fewer emissions on the roads, and they try to facilitate this green policy for all to abide by, yet they want to increase travel – who are they kidding, themselves or us?
If people can’t afford the train anymore, then they will simply travel by car if they have a car, or if their car is Ulez exempt.
If people don’t drive or their car isn’t Ulez exempt, and they can’t afford the train to get to work. What we will see is more people having to give up their careers, or look for work closer to home. If they have to give up their job, there will be more people claiming Universal Credit, which the taxpayer pays for, but if nobody is working and nobody is paying their taxes, who’s going to pay for their Universal Credit? They will then tell you that they can’t afford to pay people on Universal Credit and people will end up living in a dystopian society, under a dystopian Government.
Our entire rail network system is an absolute disgrace, and one seldom gets the service they pay for in advance.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 