Introduction
SENRUG, The South East Northumberland Rail User Group, is campaigning for a Simpler Fares system, particularly on the intercity section (that is, long distance trains) of the national rail network, because we believe the current complexity of rail fares is a major barrier to increased rail travel. We think people are put off by from travelling by rail because they often believe rail travel is much dearer than it actually is, or could be, if they had bought the best ticket.
We also believe there is no justification for a system in which it can cost 10 times as much to buy a ticket on the day than to purchase it in advance. We believe that if the rail companies know a train will be lightly loaded with many empty seats, then cheaper fares should be available on that train even on the day of travel, without an advance purchase requirement.
Not all leisure travellers can plan their journeys in advance. The current system acts like a tax on misery and distress with those people responding to an unexpected family crisis or bereavement who then have the added anxiety of feeling robbed by having to buy full-priced fares, when the person sitting next to them is paying only one tenth of the price.
Some intercity leisure journeys particularly along scenic lines or to and from outdoor tourist events are weather dependant; the inability to buy the cheaper advanced purchase tickets for such journeys on the day makes rail a prohibitively expensive option and suppresses growth of the leisure market.
It’s also a nonsense that in some cases, it can be cheaper to buy two separate tickets for a journey on a single train, or buy a ticket for a station further than your intended destination and to then get off the train early.
We believe a simpler, straightforward fares system would make travelling by train less stressful as many people fear the risk of being caught with the wrong type of ticket having made a simple mistake. Many intercity journeys commence with a 5 minute announcement as to what type of tickets are not valid which causes great concern for occasional travellers who don’t understand the system. We believe that if the fare system was easier to understand and manifestly fairer, the rail companies, and travelling by rail as a preference, would enjoy greater public support.
Examples of Fare Anomalies
| Morpeth to Aberdeen single on direct train, depart Morpeth 08.55 | |
|---|---|
| Cheapest Advance purchase ticket | £9.0 |
| Cheapest price if bought on the day | £84.20 |
| Morpeth to London single | |
| Cheapest advance purchase ticket | £12.60 |
| Cheapest price if bought on the day | £111.40 |
| Morpeth to York return; travel on direct train from Morpeth | |
| Cheapest price if bought on a single ticket | £42.00 |
| Bought on the day as two separate tickets1 | £31.00 |
1 Morpeth to Newcastle £5.60; Newcastle to York £25.40
Fares obtained from www.eastcoast.co.uk on 31st Aug 2011 and include East Coast discount for web purchases where appropriate
How Should The System Be Simplified?
We believe that for any rail journey, there should be 3, and only 3 fares for each class of travel. We propose these should be called Red, Amber and Green, with Red being the cheapest but severely restricted tickets, Amber being mid price range but with some restrictions, and Green being fully flexible but more expensive tickets.
| Type of Ticket | Restriction |
|---|---|
| Red | Booked train only |
| Amber | Limited range of trains, limited operators, limited range of dates |
| Green | Any train, any operator, any date* |
* within validity period of ticket
Fare Guarantees
To support the simplification of the fares system outlined above, we believe a number of fare guarantees should also be introduced. If a rail company breaks one of these guarantees then they should be obliged to issue an instant cash refund of the fare paid to the customer.
- All tickets to be sold as singles, which should be 50% of the return fare
- It should never be cheaper to buy 2 tickets for a journey on a single train (eg Morpeth to York)
- It should never be cheaper to buy a ticket for beyond the station you are travelling to and get off at an earlier stop
- Maximum of 3 fares only per class for any journey (RED, AMBER, GREEN)
- Railcard discounts must be available on all fares subject only to minimum ticket price
How Does This Fit With Better Transport’s “Fair Fares Now” Campaign
Better Transport, a national pro-public transport campaign organisation (formerly known as Transport 2000) is currently running it’s own Fair Fares Now campaign which we support. See bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/fair-fares-now. However this campaign mainly reflects concerns over the high cost of regulated, walk-on fares and of season tickets for commuters which are also based on the regulated fares.
Whilst we fully support Better Transport’s campaign, our own activity is focussed on simplification of the inter-city fares structure and removal of anomalies particular for the more occasional traveller, so that passengers buying a ticket have confidence they have got the best deal available and understand the flexibility or restrictions of their ticket. Our fair anomaly examples are based on typical journeys to and from South East Northumberland, which is the area we represent.
How Can You Support Our Campaign?
You can write to your MP and ask him or her whether he / she supports this campaign, and request he / she alerts appropriate government Ministers to the example fare anomalies we quote and to ask for clarification as to why the system is so complex. Find details of your MP at theyworkforyou.com. You can either contact your MP via this website or write to them at House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. It’s best if you write in your own words but if necessary you could send a copy of this document or refer to our website. If you get a meaningful reply please copy it to enquiries@senrug.co.uk.
If you support our campaign, we also invite you to join SENRUG. The more people we speak for, the louder our voice will be heard. Our membership fee is only £5.00 per year individual or couple, £2.50 for concessions, or £10.00 for corporate body or statutory authority. The other issues we campaign for are shown on our website, and a Membership Application Form is also available here. The website is www.senrug.co.uk.
