Rail fare prices - the basis of increases (merged ongoing discussion)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

And, not unsurprisingly, the 'go live' date for the new fares information to be uploaded to retail systems has been pushed back until December 19th.

The date at which the new fares become applicable for travel remains 2nd January 2012

From ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here):

NFM^▸ (National Fares Manual) 11 (effective from 2 January to 19 May 2012)

Due to the recent announcement by the Secretary of State that requires a major last minute revision to rail fares, NFM 11 will now not publish until Monday 19 December (and not Monday 5 December 2011 as originally planned).

[Brucey]

I wonder how many NFM11 CD^▸ (Capital Delivery)-ROMs will be destined for the bin?

[woody]

THE GOVERNMENT has confirmed that rail fare rises at the start of 2013 and 2014 are to stay at RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context))+3 per cent. The rise at the start of this month was kept to RPI+1 per cent, after a policy u-turn announced by the Chancellor at the end of November, but nothing was said at the time about what would happen in future years.
http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2012/01/20-rail-fare-rises-in-2013.html

[JayMac]

No surprise to see Commie Bob wading in again.

Along with him speaking on behalf of 'sister unions' on another matter, we can now add 'passenger champion'. 

[EBrown]

No surprise to see Commie Bob wading in again.

[Sidenote]
He even waded in on the RBS boss (Stephen Hester) bonus. Saying "The Royal Bank of Scotland is owned by the country. To give someone ^1m and then to give them a massive bonus on top, while public sector workers get a pay freeze and their pension contributions go up, I have got to say that is a complete disgrace.

What a kick in the face to those people who deliver a public service for our people in this country."
[/Sidenote]

I suppose it was expected to be +3% again, but that's just going to drop the level of fare dissatisfaction again. BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page).

Passenger Focus found 46% of rail users were satisfied their ticket was value for money compared with 49% a year ago.

[TerminalJunkie]

No surprise to see Commie Bob wading in again.

http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Scratch-on-a-Vinyl-Record

Edit: Just seen the 'Bob Crow thread. Bother. 

[grahame]

Announcement tomorrow - 3% + RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) rise in rail fares, (?) in January.   Just rumour at the moment - could be press release on embargo?   Anyone got more details overnight?  Please follow up or send me a PM.   Thanks

[grahame]

OK .. think I may have the story

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rail-season-tickets-up-nearly-11-8038529.html
http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/london-transport/mps-and-unions-call-on-government-to-halt-11-fare-increases/3180.article?

[JayMac]

From the guardian:

Protests may herald U-turn on coalition's rail fare rises

Government hints it may back down over planned increases in the face of mounting opposition

Passenger groups and unions are stepping up pressure over train fares with a day of action, as the government hinted it may back down over planned rises that would result in some season tickets costing ^1,000 more in 2015 than in 2011.

Fares will rise in January by three percentage points above the July RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) figure, which will be announced on Tuesday. That is expected to leave fares between 5% and 6% higher. Passenger groups said train fares were going up three times faster than salaries. With train operators allowed to raise some fares by an additional 5%, some commuters could see double-digit price rises on their tickets next year.

The transport secretary, Justine Greening, said she would ask for government money to keep fares down.

The Campaign for Better Transport's chief executive, Stephen Joseph, said: "The government knows they can't continue to hit [car] commuters ^ that's why they've postponed the fuel duty increase. Now they need to give the same help to rail users." He said commuters in the south-east routinely spent up to 15% of their salary getting to work in London, and warned that the price of an annual season ticket from many towns ^ including Brighton, Oxford, Luton and Reading ^ would rise by more than ^1,000 between 2011 and 2015.

Demonstrations are expected on Tuesday at London's Waterloo and dozens of other stations around the country, organised by the TUC-backed Action for Rail campaign. Elsewhere, a season ticket for rail travel between Liverpool and Manchester would see an annual increase of over ^160, and between Leicester and Derby would go up nearly ^120, at current rates.

Frances O'Grady, the TUC's deputy general secretary, said: "These fare rises will add even more pressure to passengers feeling a massive squeeze on their incomes. At the same time the government is asking the train operators to make cuts to staff on trains and stations and in ticket offices. Passengers are being asked to pay more to get less. We want cuts to rail fares, not rail staff."

A similar rise planned for January 2012 was modified to one percentage point above inflation in George Osborne's autumn statement, but at the time he restated increases scheduled for 2013.

But Greening said there could be a similar U-turn by the Treasury this autumn if there was "spare money". She added: "I am keen to see what we can do to keep fares down to something affordable." While reducing the deficit by cutting subsidy was important, the government needed to "strike a balance" with continued investment in the network and affordable fares. She said she was hopeful money would be made available. "If you don't ask, you don't get, so I'll make sure I'll ask."

Greening pledged in March to "end the era of inflation-busting fare rises". However, the government has also called for the taxpayer subsidy to be cut, which means more funding has to come from ticket revenue. The McNulty report on value for money in the rail industry concluded that substantial efficiency savings could be made, and Greening has demanded spending cuts of ^3.5bn a year by 2019. The current subsidy is around ^4bn a year.

Train operating companies maintain that they do not benefit directly from the additional rise in regulated fares, as payments they make or receive under the terms of their franchises are adjusted. Michael Roberts, the chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: "The government decides the average increase of commuter ticket prices and other regulated fares which train companies will be required to introduce. Any flexibility train companies have within the rules is to maximise revenue for the government."

Unions say the proposals in the McNulty report mean train operators are likely to shed thousands of station staff, guards, catering staff and ticket offices to cut costs ^ putting up to 20,000 jobs at risk.

The Department for Transport is expected to announce on Tuesday morning which firm will run services on the West Coast mainline between London and Glasgow for the next 15 years, which could see the end of Richard Branson's Virgin Trains. First Group, which runs Thameslink and the Great Western route, is tipped to take the franchise, as first reported in the Guardian. Both Branson and the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union claim that First Group's bid for the service can only be profitable if staff and onboard services are drastically cut.

First Group did not take up the option to run its Great Western franchise to term, saving an estimated ^800m in payments to the government, although it is now bidding to win the contract again.

The shadow transport secretary, Maria Eagle, said: "Passengers are set to lose out no matter which companies win these new longer franchises because ministers have promised successful bidders they can hike fares, cut services and close ticket offices. Instead of the strict 1%- above inflation cap proposed by Labour, the government has told train companies they can levy fare rises of 8% above inflation in 2013 and 2014 and 6% above inflation for the rest of the franchise." Eagle said ministers should consider how bidders have "treated the spirit of previous contracts, for example not gaming the system to evade payments to the taxpayer", before awarding new franchises.

The RMT said it was considering a ballot for industrial action adding that First Group's bid was "based on the same kind of over-geared financial projections that led to the collapse of the GNER^▸ (Great North Eastern Railways) and National Express contracts on the East Coast ^ forcing the government to renationalise the service". The union said the winning West Coast bidder was likely to remove onboard shops and catering with a potential loss of 800 train crew jobs.

[EBrown]

From BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Rail fares rises set to be revealed
The amount by which rail fares could rise from January is to be revealed, with some commuters set to see rises of more than double the rate of inflation.

The latest Retail Price Index inflation figure - expected to remain at 2.8% - will be used to calculate the increase.

In England fares will rise by inflation plus 3%, while in Scotland they will go up by inflation plus 1%. Wales has yet to set a figure for its increase.

The extra money is helping to fund huge investment across the network.

BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says passengers and taxpayers used to split the cost of running the railways, with both sides paying about half each, but successive ministers have cut the amount of government funding and that has resulted in regular fare rises.

The latest rise will mean fares in England will have gone up by more than inflation for 10 successive years, resulting in some of the most expensive train journeys in Europe, our correspondent adds.

The planned rise for fares in England is only an average. Train companies are allowed to raise some fares by as much as 11%, as long as they cut ticket prices elsewhere.

Stephen Joseph, from passengers' group the Campaign for Better Transport, said rail fares could rise three times faster than salaries if the government sticks to its policy.

"With the economy flatlining, this is untenable. The government knows they can't continue to hit commuters - that's why they've postponed the fuel duty increase," he said.

"Now they need to give the same help to rail users."

The group said commuters across the country routinely spend between 5% and 10% of their salary getting to work. In some towns in south-east England, it said they spent up to 15%.

Olympics bounce?
Forecasts for July's Retail Price Index (RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context))) inflation measure suggest it will remain unchanged from 2.8%, or dip slightly.

The rate of inflation has fallen sharply from September last year, when the RPI stood at 5.6%.

This is partly due to falling petrol prices, but also a slowdown in the increase in the price of clothes and food.

The slowing of inflation means it is heading back towards the Bank of England's target rate of 2%. This means the Bank has more leeway when considering further stimulus measures to boost economic growth.

Last month, the Bank said it would pump a further ^50bn into the economy over the next four months through quantitative easing (QE), taking the total size of the programme to ^375bn.

But earlier this month, the Bank decided not to pump more money into the economy, despite figures released at the end of July showing that the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) economy contracted by 0.7% between April and June.

Some economists expect the economy to bounce back in the current quarter, helped in part by a short-term boost from the Olympic Games.

This, they say, could come from a small uplift in consumer spending and from ticket sales, which will be recorded in the third quarter.

[EBrown]

Up to 11.2% increases. (Yay)

Rail fare rises: Commuters face ^100-a-week prices as tickets rise by up to 11%
Tens of thousands of Home Counties commuters will find themselves paying at least ^100 a week to get to work thanks to the latest round of fare rises.

Tens of thousands of Home Counties commuters will find themselves paying at least ^100 a week to get to work thanks to the latest round of fare rises announced this morning, which will see the cost of season tickets rising by up to 11.2 per cent in January
The cost of commuting will go up by an average of 6.2 per cent, rather more than expected, with some commuters facing increase up to five per cent above that figure.
The increase, which will come into effect in January, is pegged to July's retail price index, which saw inflation unexpectly rise to 3.2 per cent from 2.8 per cent.
Even with the smallest increase commuters from towns such as King^s Lynn, Battle and Biggleswade will become reluctant new members of the ^100 a week club.
^Justine Greening seems determined to prove her predecessor Philip Hammond right and turn the railways into a rich man's toy," said union general secretary Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport and Salaried Staffs Association.

[Btline]

Why are prices of everything going UP in a recession?
I was in Greece and Turkey last week, where the economy is doing very badly. But prices were cheap. Drinks, public transport, everything. Apparently prices have fallen hugely since the recession, as obvioulsy people have less spening power.

RIP OFF Britain must be the only place on Earth where prices go up during a recession - think about it, it doesn't add up.

We need HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) and Crossrail 2 NOW to create more capacity to get fares down.

[EBrown]

I'll leave this here for discussion...

[JaminBob]

Absolutely disgusting seen in the context of the services most us put with everyday and the suspended fuel duty rise. Its the hyper-inflated costs which means are railways are expensive to run, not that passenger's aren't paying their 'fare share'.

 ... but what can any of us really do, not much really

[mjones]

An article on ticket splitting on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19217111

And apparently there's a new Apple 'app' to help people do it. Will be interesting to see what the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) do to try to stop it...