In a move aimed at aiding individuals grappling with the surging cost of living, the UK government has announced that regulated train fares in England will once again witness an increase below the rate of inflation in the upcoming year.
This decision mirrors a similar intervention undertaken in 2023 and is aimed at alleviating the financial burden on the populace. To this end, any fare hikes will be postponed until March 2024, diverging from the usual practice of implementation in January, which prevailed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite this initiative, a campaign group has voiced the opinion that fares should be frozen “as a recognition of the weighty load that high fares impose on rail passengers.”
Regulated fares encompass roughly 45% of all fares, encompassing season tickets for most commuter routes, select off-peak return tickets for long-distance travel, and anytime tickets for major city travel.
Prior to the pandemic, these fares experienced annual increments in January, contingent upon the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation from the preceding July. The customary formula entailed RPI plus 1%.
As of July, the RPI figure stood at 9%, as disclosed by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. While the exact increase for next year remains undisclosed, the government augmented national rail fares by 5.9% this year, a figure notably lower than the July 2022 RPI of 12.3%.
Even so, this year’s increase marked the highest since 2012, according to the regulatory body, the Office of Rail and Road. This elevation in fares was criticized by the Labour Party, which referred to it as a “sick joke for millions reliant on crumbling services.”
This governmental intervention arrives at a juncture when UK inflation, the pace at which prices ascend, persists at an elevated level albeit beginning to moderate. Amidst this landscape, millions continue to grapple with elevated prices for essential goods and services, compounded by the concurrent increase in interest rates aimed at tackling the issue. Consequently, borrowing money is becoming more expensive.
A spokesperson from the Department for Transport (DfT) affirmed the government’s commitment to “shield passengers from the financial strains of the cost of living.”
