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Passengers ‘kicked in the teeth’ with fare hikes
Commuters face fare hikes today, with the average passenger being hit with an average 3.9% price increase.
As people get ready for the first day back to work, the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) says that some passengers could see a price hike of up to 10%.
Campaigners at the TUC’s Action for Rail campaign are warning that the average train fares have risen nearly three times faster than average wages since the beginning of the recession in 2008.
Frances O’Grady,TUC General Secretary and chair of Action for Rail, said: “I understand the frustration felt by many commuters going back to work today.
“At a time when real wages are falling and household budgets are being squeezed, rail travellers are being forced to endure yet another year of inflation-busting fare increases.
“As well as having to shell out record amounts of money for their tickets, passengers also face the prospect of travelling on trains with fewer staff and having less access to ticket offices. They are being asked to pay much more for less.”
Passengers also face the prospect of ticket office closures and fewer staff on trains and stations.
According to the union, there is a huge disparity between fare and wage increases which means that a family of four (two adults and two children) looking to travel to London on an anytime ticket from Swansea, Plymouth, Leeds, Manchester or Newcastle in 2013 would have to pay than the average weekly wage of £481.
Train operators are also expected to make significant cuts to jobs in 2013 in an attempt to find £3.5bn savings across the rail industry by 2018/19 – a target set by the government in response to the McNulty Review published last year.
Earlier this month, Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, called on the government to scrap the regulations that currently require passengers to be consulted over ticket office opening hours and station closures.
Passenger surveys consistently demonstrate that the travelling public want more staff on trains and at stations and currently over half of the tickets purchased nationally are through face-to-face contact with ticket office or train staff.
