Does anyone know why railcard prices haven't increased since 2013? As it seems odd to me, that in the post-covid environment they haven't increased the prices of railcards as it would be a quick way to generate tens of millions of pounds. This may be odd question to ask and odd wanting to have a price increase but I prefer the railway to be in a healthy financial position
Whilst of course everyone is free to their own opinions, this post is really smacks of privilege and shows a real lack of understanding for poorer rail users, for whom such an increase would be detrimental.
And im not being hyperbolic when i say a £10 increase could be detrimental; i know of university students who due to the size (or lack thereof) of their maintenance loan, in combination with high rents can barely afford to survive even despite having part time jobs on the side of their studies. One such student friend told me she had £15 to last her a whole month for all daily living costs once rent had been paid.
No doubt there will be other groups, including pensioners, who are living on the edge of destitution for whom a £10 increase even if its just a once a year payment increase, is a week worth of skipped meals. So perhaps rather than overly worrying about the finances of the railway, you might do well to consider the needs of railcard users, many of whom are living well below the breadline. For a poor uni student that £10 increase could be the difference between coming home for Christmas and not at all.
And thats before we consider that british rail fares are often far higher than the continental equivalent, where in many cases there is an automatic discount given to young adults, students and pensioners. Whilst in the UK these groups need to pay upfront £30 to even acess discounted fares that would be free on many parts of mainland Europe, whilst also on average paying higher fares as well. So i'd question whether the lack of increase in the railcard price is a good deal or whether rail users in the UK are just getting fleeced a bit less than usual. Remember also that poorer groups often dont have the privillege and luxury of a car so the train is the only option for travel, certainly in areas with non existant buses.
So yes feel free to ask questions as you wish but do be aware that this can come across as quite insensitive to those in precarious financial circumstances.
There are at least 242,770 Disabled Persons Railcards which is the only one that gets regularly tracked data released by the ORR. I remember seeing 1 million figure several years ago for senior railcards and there are likely hundreds of thousands for each time. If i had to guess about 2 million? So a £10 increase would generate about £20 million, while this is still a small sum, it isn't one that can be overlooked. Now whether all those railcard owners use them or not is different. For those that use the card, I doubt you will anything more than minimal decrease in travel if the price increased due to the large savings which have increased every year since 2013.
The question mainly seeing a quick way to generate revenue with minimal impact upon rail usage as long as price rise is kept to inflation or slightly above so up to £15.
Disabled people are amongst the most vulnerable people in society and you want to increase their already higher than the normal persons living costs, bearing in mind that many disabled people will not be able to drive, the train is the only feasible option for them to be able to get around. And lets not forget that there are thousands of disabled people wrongfully denied PIP who really are struggling to get by. Just because you could afford such an increase doesnt mean others could. Please actually take a moment to consider the effect of your ideas on those who aren't as privilleged as you.
