allticketsplease.com
The
long-awaited McNulty value for money study of the rail industry has in
my opinion fundamentally failed to put passengers’ needs at its centre.
Although
the headlines for rail users appear to be fairness and tackling the
complex fare structure, there are a lot of caveats buried in the detail
of the report which could lead to a lower-quality, more expensive
railway for passengers.
There
is some good news, such as proposals for three-day season tickets that
will provide benefits for part-time workers and also greater local
control of the railways. The overall theme of the report is towards
cutting the government’s subsidy and granting more flexibility to Train
Operating Companies, while passengers’ needs – and a wider understanding
of the social and environmental benefits of the railway are at serious
risk of being sidelined.
Transport
Minister Philip Hammond maintains that passengers will benefit
eventually. But in reality, these rewards will happen beyond the life of
the current government, and only if the rail industry as a whole rises
to the challenge. Meanwhile rail users are struggling with fare
increases that far outstrip pay rises within the rail industry.
Media
coverage seems to have focused on what will happen to off-peak fares.
Current fares are resulting in serious overcrowding just at the end of
the rush hour period, when, unsurprisingly, regular rail users will wait
to travel on a more affordable ticket. The McNulty report is proposing
to change the current structure around the peak/off fares to make
services less crowded by adjusting times and fares according to areas of
heavy usage. There are also fears being voiced that off-peak fares
will be eroded by Train Operating Companies looking to make the most
revenue from their services to cut subsidies from the Government.
Essentially,
the majority of proposals regarding ticket prices boil down to avoiding
costs associated with providing extra capacity, rather than making the
option of rail more attractive to potential and existing users. There
are also suggestions within the report that ticket prices could increase
in areas where rail competes with other transport modes, which can only
been seen as a backward step in encouraging more people to use rail as a
greener mode of transport.
The
other obvious concerns of the report include possible reduction of
services on regional lines, the potential for frontline staff cuts
meaning more unstaffed stations and the proposals to provide larger car
parks which could create larger traffic problems around stations and
risk turning passengers away, rather than encouraging more passengers
and thus increasing revenue.people away from the train rather than
increasing revenue.
Overall,
the report leaves unanswered questions. Namely, what are the railways
for? Is the railway a public service, run for the benefit of passengers,
Or are we moving towards a more commercial railway that suits the
convenience of Train Operating Companies?
There
is some good news as a result of the report. Transport Minister Philip
Hammond has committed to a fundamental review of fare structure. This
needs to be structured to provide an easy to understand system that
removes a lot of complex fares and is also fair to both commuters and
occasional travellers alike. The current fare structure is complicated
to the point that even railway staff members cannot understand it and
therefore cannot advise passengers properly. The other opportunity of
the fares review is that it gives the Government a chance to ensure
that the views, needs and importance of passengers are heard loud and
clear.
- above infaltion fare rises could stop
- only 12% of population uses trains
- cutting £1bn a year from costs by 2020
- main cause of inefficiency was a system that divided responsibility between gov backed Network rail owning tracks and stattions and 17 franchises operating services under gov contracts.
- 5.2bn-a-year state subsidy for the "relatively small" and "better off" proportion of the population that use trains is unsustainable at current levels.
- Hammond said lower costs could be good news for passengers from 2014, the last of three successive years of steep fare rises.
- more
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