Has anyone else noticed that First Great Western has raised the Glos-Paddington fare from ^47 to ^56 two weeks ago?  Also, on Monday it raised the price of parking from ^2.50 to ^3.50 if you pay by card^ or from ^2.70 to ^7.50 if you pay by cash.  The car park increase is to dissuade non rail travellers from parking, but I am loathe to believe this entirely.

The double-whammy is a whopping  19% for the train fare and 20% for the parking by credit card or more than 270% if you have to pay cash! (Have I done my sums correctly?)

I travel to London up to twice a week and have to do a particular journey time so I am hit for an extra ^20 per week travel costs... or put it another way, up to an extra ^1500 per year (based on the number of journeys I did last year).   I also have staff that travel to London, so we predict our corporate rail bill will increase by a minimum of ^2k in the next 12 months. 

The smiley nice ticket man at Glos said that fare banding given to off peak travel has been altered^ the increase affects me personally on the 0846 from Glos^ and my return from Paddington at 1848.  I was advised to travel an hour later in the morning, and travel back an hour later in the evening if I wanted the cheaper fare. Thanks... write off any morning meetings and get home at 10pm. 

At a time when all budgets are under pressure how can the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) justify this?  I've written to my local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) who is hosting a business breakfast locally in Gloucestershire this Thursday with Peter Luff MP, Chairman of the Business and Enterprise Select Committee. He says he'll address this... Hmmmmmmmmmm

I can't help feeling I am stuffed.  Anyone out there experiencing/feeling the same pain?