Rail Fares facing a near 4% hike in January 2018

[jon0844]

Like the roads, I can't imagine what things would be like if many more people that don't use trains or drive decided to!

 

[northwichcat]

I'm not sure if it's already been asked but does anyone know the date the 2018 fare changes will go live?

 

[Paul Kelly]

ATOC kept changing it but the official date is now tomorrow (5th December), exactly 28 days before the fares come into force as is traditional.

 

[Hadders]

I went to my local GTR operated ticket office this evening to purchase some tickets for travel in February while they're still at the lower price.

The first ticket I wanted was a Stevenage - London Zones 1-6 Travelcard. 'Sorry, I can't sell that ticket more than 7 days in advance.', was the reply.

I then asked for a Stevenage - London Terminals ticket for the same day. 'I can't sell you that as it'd be an invalid price on the day of travel'.

I left empty handed and speechless.

Such a shame the excellent VTEC ticket office next door doesn't open longer hours.

 

[thedbdiboy]

The first rule is true due to restriction in the Travelcard agreement; the second one seems to have been made up by the ticket seller.....

 

[Hadders]

The first rule is true due to restriction in the Travelcard agreement; the second one seems to have been made up by the ticket seller.....

Interesting, I never knew that yet I can quite happily purchase the travelcard online....

 

[mikeg]

I notice that the nre.co.uk season ticket calculator has been disabled due to high demand.

Incidentally tpexpress.co.uk WebTIS is still giving the old prices, tried with a few different flows and no change noticed.

 

[KashmireHawker]

As if we aren't paying enough already...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-...ng&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

 

[embers25]

only site showing new fares I can find is NatRail.

 

[gavin]

3.4% rise announced

Train fares in Britain will go up by an average of 3.4% from 2 January, the rail industry has announced. The increase, the biggest since 2013, covers regulated fares, which includes season tickets, and unregulated fares, such as off-peak leisure tickets. The rise in regulated fares had already been capped at July's Retail Prices Index inflation rate of 3.6%.

Passenger watchdog Transport Focus compared the news to "a chill wind" for customers. Chief executive Anthony Smith said: "While substantial, welcome investment in new trains and improved track and signals is continuing, passengers are still seeing the basic promises made by the rail industry broken on too many days." One in nine trains (12%) have arrived late at their destinations in the past 12 months.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42234488

 

[1e10]

General secretary Mick Cash said: "For public sector workers and many others in our communities who have had their pay and benefits capped or frozen by this government, these fare increases are another twist of the economic knife.
​

That’s rich!

 

[al78]

Will we get a 3.4% improvement in service?

 

[DarloRich]

General secretary Mick Cash said: "For public sector workers and many others in our communities who have had their pay and benefits capped or frozen by this government, these fare increases are another twist of the economic knife.
​

That’s rich!

It is also true.

 

[northwichcat]

only site showing new fares I can find is NatRail.

If you can find a ticket selling site showing old fares then you can still buy tickets for next year at 2017 prices.

 

[northwichcat]

Almost a 7% increase in the Knutsford to Manchester Off-Peak Day Return and an increase of over 10% for Knutsford to Altrincham and Lostock Gralam to Northwich, despite Northern postponing the planned December 2017 improvements!

 

[scrapy]

Almost a 7% increase in the Knutsford to Manchester Off-Peak Day Return and an increase of over 10% for Knutsford to Altrincham and Lostock Gralam to Northwich, despite Northern postponing the planned December 2017 improvements!

The off peak fares within Greater Manchester see we above average increases again. Fares generally rise by 30p or 40p. Fares that are under £3 therefore see an increase well over 10%. Woodsmoor to Davenport off peak day return rises from £1.80 to £2.20 that's 22.2% if my maths is correct. Is there a higher percentage increase anywhere else in the country?
To add insult to injury under Northerns draft proposals these stations will actually see a worse service than at present as the 2 trains per hour won't be evenly split and they will lose direct services to Buxton and anywhere beyond Manchester Piccadilly.

 

[Merseysider]

That’s at least the fourth such increase since September 2014.

First it was the introduction of an afternoon peak, then an increase of 50p to Off Peak fares, then another increase of 50p, and now this.

I’ve long stopped getting the train for journeys within Greater Manchester

 

[northwichcat]

Woodsmoor to Davenport off peak day return rises from £1.80 to £2.20 that's 22.2% if my maths is correct. Is there a higher percentage increase anywhere else in the country?

Fares under a couple of pounds are always worse hit. They never seem to be frozen and fares only ever increase in multiples of 10p so even if it's just a 10p increase on a £2 fare it comes to a 5% increase.

Northern appear to have closed down a split ticketing option (saving 50p) but at the same time as doing that opened up another one (saving 40p.)

 

[Bantamzen]

Whilst obviously not welcome, it is little surprise that fares will be on the march again. The initial impact post-referendum drove the pound down and whilst it recovered a little bit it is still far lower than prior to June 16. This will be impacting on various import costs which sooner or later are always passed onto the consumer. And if the government continues to flail about the way it currently is with negotiations with the EU, the Pound's stability will be further undermined and could risk further devaluation, which will lead to further increases in inflation and thus more costs to the passengers. Its a shame that so many people still don't attribute rising costs to the uncertainty caused by the result and the ongoing problems.

One thing occurs to me though, with so many orders for new units from the EU and beyond on the books, will they have been costed at pre-referendum Euro rates, or will the cost be based on the current rates?

 

[Kite159]

Looks like I will be doing a lot more splits at Basingstoke as it appears it will be saving £3.50 on a super-off peak travelcard at weekends, & 80p during the week.

Isn't the distance between Woodsmoor & Davenport less than a mile? For that sort of money I would be walking

 

[northwichcat]

Isn't the distance between Woodsmoor & Davenport less than a mile? For that sort of money I would be walking

0.7 miles by foot according to Google Maps and while Woodsmoor is near Steeping Hill Hospital, I imagine anyone going there from Davenport will take the 372 bus, rather than taking the train and walking from the station.

 

[infobleep]

Will this help towards brining in things like Crossrail 2 and Northern projects sooner?

 

[Moonshot]

General secretary Mick Cash said: "For public sector workers and many others in our communities who have had their pay and benefits capped or frozen by this government, these fare increases are another twist of the economic knife.
​

That’s rich!

Indeed......coveniently forgetting that us train crew have our T and Cs determined by the private sector.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

What kind of fares increase would people expect a Labour government to allow?
The formula of RPI+1% was invented by them.
The policy for many years with all governments has been for passengers to pay a gradually greater share of fares than the taxpayer.

 

[northwichcat]

What kind of fares increase would people expect a Labour government to allow?
The formula of RPI+1% was invented by them.
The policy for many years with all governments has been for passengers to pay a gradually greater share of fares than the taxpayer.

Did they say anything in the 2017 manifesto? I recall in 2015 Miliband was promising a single year fare freeze while they would work on a 'better system.'

 

[squizzler]

Will we get a 3.4% improvement in service?

Crossrail, Thameslink, TPE stock, GWR IET's, etc, etc, I feel there will be much more than 3.4% improvement over the course of the year. Of course fares were too high to start with...

 

[yorksrob]

That’s at least the fourth such increase since September 2014.

First it was the introduction of an afternoon peak, then an increase of 50p to Off Peak fares, then another increase of 50p, and now this.

I’ve long stopped getting the train for journeys within Greater Manchester

Yes, the increases in Greater Manchester off-peak fares over the past few years have been disgusting.

 

[Starmill]

My fare goes up by 10.3%. This produces a total rise (over two years admittedly) of 180%. It'd be great to have 3.9% increases here.

 

[A Challenge]

My fare has goes up by 10.3%. This produces a total rise (over two years admittedly) of 180%. It'd be great to have 3.9% increases here.

What caused that?

 

[Tetchytyke]

Pay today for jam tomorrow, then pay again tomorrow for jam tomorrow. This must be about the 10th massive rise that is justified by the vague promise of some new trains at some undefined point in the future.

Still, the tax-avoiding fat cats (Hi Richard!) and the friends of Tories get their cream (sorry, "reward for their investment" in new trains they've neither specified nor paid for), so who cares, eh? Trebles all round!

Up here it's even worse. Apparently Northern (annual profit, £30m+) is "too expensive", so we've had years of inflation-busting rises. But the Pacers have new seat covers, so we should be grateful to our Dutch and German overlords.