Rail fares are set to rise by 1.6% in January 2021. This increase is the last thing that passengers need, with many suffering as a result of the economic crisis brought about by COVID-19. As usual, the increase is based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation. This discredited metric, disowned by the Office for National Statistics, continues to be used for annual fare rises. Any increase should be based on the lower and more reliable Consumer Price Index (CPI). If this was the case, the rise in January would be just 1.0%.
More fundamentally, traditional season tickets suit fewer and fewer of today’s commuters. Even before COVID-19 struck many people were tending to work at least part of the time at home. COVID-19 led to full-time home working for many, but many companies are now re-opening their offices to allow staff to go in one or two days a week. Face to face contact with colleagues and clients is often part of a productive working environment, and increasingly both employees and management see the benefits of a mix of office and home working.
Sadly, the railway has not caught up with this new reality. The only ticket options tend to be full time season tickets or expensive daily fares. This is a system which makes part-time commuting prohibitively expensive, with travelling three days a week often costing about as much as five days a week. People who would prefer to commute part time often end up buying season tickets and travelling every day to get their money’s worth. This hardly helps with social distancing, or maintaining a work-life balance.
Tonbridge Line Commuters is urgently calling for good value and flexible fares for part time commuters. Our preferred option is a system of carnet tickets. A carnet is a “book” of pre-bought tickets which can be used to travel on different days. Like a season ticket, carnets represent an upfront payment for future travel. The difference is the tickets can be used as required, with the passenger only using the “credit” purchased when they need to travel. For example, 10 tickets might be bought and be valid for 10 single journeys within two months.
To work, carnets must be good value. South Western Railway currently has a carnet option but it offers a mere 5% discount on standard fares. Instead, the discount needs to be around 25% to 30% compared to daily fares – in other words, similar to a weekly season ticket. Carnets should also be available in both peak and off-peaks versions. Increasingly, and especially in the age of COVID-19, commuters wish to stagger their hours and commute at less busy times but are discouraged from doing so because there is no such thing as an off-peak season ticket. Last and not least, carnet tickets should be valid for a reasonable time. We believe that tickets should be valid for at least two months.
Other and more technologically advanced possibilities exist, including pay-as-you-go fares with reductions for more frequent travel. However, such technology dependent solutions take time. We need an immediate solution, not one which will take months or years to implement. That’s why we’re calling for carnet tickets now.
We’re glad to say that Tom Tugendhat MP is supporting our campaign for better value fares for part-time commuters, alongside other MPs in Kent. The mood music in the rail industry is that something must be done, but we need to ensure it’s the right thing for passengers and that it’s done without delay.
One thought on “TLC calls for affordable fares for today’s commuters”
We need these tickets now. It’s 5 months since lock down started, let’s be generous and say the Dept of Transport have had 3 months to sort this. People will not travel if they have to buy daily peak tickets. £39 from TW plus a little bit of breakfast, coffee and lunch makes it a £50 day in the office. It simply won’t happen.