1,000 signatures reached
To: UK Transport Secretary, Mark Harper and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt
The Campaign for Fair Trains
The current costs of trains are out of control. We need to reform ticketing UK-wide to make train travel genuinely affordable.
The current fares and ticketing structure is overly-confusing and complicated. We need to simplfy the system to make it fairer.
We are currently charged extortionate amounts for peak travel and open ticketing. More flexible ticketing opens must be available to encourage more train travel and not penalise workers.
The current fares and ticketing structure is overly-confusing and complicated. We need to simplfy the system to make it fairer.
We are currently charged extortionate amounts for peak travel and open ticketing. More flexible ticketing opens must be available to encourage more train travel and not penalise workers.
Why is this important?
Rail is one of the greenest ways to travel, yet spiraling costs mean it's not an option for many people in the UK.
Roads are becoming increasingly congested, yet many more people are turning to car use for transport because it's cheaper: the cost of taking the train has risen twice as much as the cost of motoring since 1997.
And whilst we should be encouraging and incentivising train travel as it's one of the greenest ways to travel, a complicated franchise model has resulted in runaway fares, which are often quadruple the price of other travel options. For example, the cheapest flight from Bristol to Edinburgh or Glasgow starts at £23 with easyJet, while a CrossCountry train starts at £108.50. The plane carries 169 passengers and emits 33 tonnes of CO2e whereas the train has 284 seats and emits 0.3 tonnes of CO2e.
What's more, 18 million UK adults do not drive a car, they are becoming increasingly isolated and financially crippled in their need to use train travel to work or to see friends and family.
It's time to reform the train system and introduce models such as in Germany, where a hugely successful €49 a month public transport ticket has been introduced, to tackle both the cost of living crisis and reduce emissions.
Roads are becoming increasingly congested, yet many more people are turning to car use for transport because it's cheaper: the cost of taking the train has risen twice as much as the cost of motoring since 1997.
And whilst we should be encouraging and incentivising train travel as it's one of the greenest ways to travel, a complicated franchise model has resulted in runaway fares, which are often quadruple the price of other travel options. For example, the cheapest flight from Bristol to Edinburgh or Glasgow starts at £23 with easyJet, while a CrossCountry train starts at £108.50. The plane carries 169 passengers and emits 33 tonnes of CO2e whereas the train has 284 seats and emits 0.3 tonnes of CO2e.
What's more, 18 million UK adults do not drive a car, they are becoming increasingly isolated and financially crippled in their need to use train travel to work or to see friends and family.
It's time to reform the train system and introduce models such as in Germany, where a hugely successful €49 a month public transport ticket has been introduced, to tackle both the cost of living crisis and reduce emissions.
