Rail fares are unfair and illogical
Hello
Have you ever tried to buy a train ticket, looked at all the different fares and thought... that just doesn't make sense?!
Perhaps that's not surprising - there are estimated to be 55 million different rail fares available overall. Rail fares and ticketing are so full of complications, bizarre rules and wild inconsistencies, it's hard to know if you're getting a good deal.
That matters, because when fares are expensive and confusing, it discourages people from choosing low-carbon train travel. And that's one reason why transport in our country emits more greenhouse gases than energy supply, business, or any other sector.
We decided it was time to untangle rail fares. The result was our new report, A fare future for rail.
We found some mind-boggling inconsistencies. Like the fact that the cost per mile for travelling with an 'anytime day return' ticket varies wildly, from 15p to 62p.
And the fact that for some journeys, peak-time travel costs 6% more than off-peak travel, while for other journeys, it costs 132% more!
But we also found solutions. Our report identifies clear steps that the Government and rail industry can take to make rail fares sensible and affordable. Here are four of them:
- Guarantee that regulated rail fares do not rise faster than the cost of running a car
- Commit to a Best Price Guarantee, so that the best-value fare is prominently offered wherever you buy your ticket
- Make it possible to book train tickets more than 12 weeks in advance
- Run regional trials of low-cost public transport passes, inspired by Germany's 49-euro-a-month Deutschland-Ticket
This is a big subject, and there's loads more in our report, so please do read it and - if you like it - share it. Thank you.
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