Member Article

Ed Miliband warns hard-pressed commuters they could be facing fare rises of 5.6%

Ed Miliband has warned that commuters could face fare rises of up to 5.6% next year, on top of inflation busting fare rises of nearly 20% since the Conservative Party came into power.

He has called on the Government to adopt the policy of capping annual fare rises on every route to take the pressure off commuters next year.

As it stands, the rail fares system in particular affects those taking urgent inter-city trains and commuters who need to travel during rush hour.

The rail companies are set to announce ticket price rises in the coming weeks, which are based on RPI rather than CPI, which is the figure reported by the Office of National Statistics.

The train companies use the RPI figure each July to set the following January’s increases. As it was at 2.6% in June, figures can be expected to go up by around 3.6%, or double the current rate of wage growth in the UK.

At a Q&A in St Mary in the Castle in Hastings, Ed Miliband said: “David Cameron has failed hard-pressed commuters – who are already struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis – by allowing fares to rise by 20% since he came to power.

“Commuters here in Hastings travelling into London could see their fares rise by up to £265 to almost £5,000 next year.

“A Labour government would cap annual fares on every route and drive through the biggest reforms of the railways since privatisation.”

Labour plans to reform the railways to get a better deal for taxpayers and passengers by reviewing the Government’s failed franchising process as a priority, after the chaos of recent years, to safeguard taxpayer and passenger interests and legislating to allow a public sector operator to be able to take on lines and challenge the train operators on a genuine level playing field to secure value for money for passengers and taxpayers;

They also say they want to ease the pressure on fare payers by passing savings from reforms on, capping annual fare rises on every route, simplifying fare structures and creating a new legal right to the cheapest ticket.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .