Angry about today's rail fare increases?

sam_s_4

Fed up with astronomical rail fares and overcrowded trains? Then fight back by joining the Fair Fares Now campaign to demand cheaper, simpler and fairer rail ticketing.

From today commuters in some parts of the country are being asked to pay £5,192, or 20% of the average UK salary, for their annual season ticket. It’s outrageous – and if it is to change, you need to show how you feel about it.

The worst of the fare increases won’t come into effect until January 2012, so we have a one year to influence the Government. Millions of us want cheaper train fares – and together we can make it happen.

There are lots of ways you can get involved in the campaign. Find out more by googling "fair fares now".

newfoundglory

The government can start by taxing rail staff who get free travel on the railway and underground. After all, airline staff have to pay tax to use their free travel I don't see why rail staff should be any different. The government could make millions!

wealdroam

Just picking out one of your paragraphs...

sam_s wrote: »

From today commuters in some parts of the country are being asked to pay £5,192, or 20% of the average UK salary, for their annual season ticket. It’s outrageous – and if it is to change, you need to show how you feel about it.

From today is it?
I thought the increases started on Tuesday.

Why do people pay £5192 to get to work?
Why don't they get a job nearer home?
Both those questions can be answered by saying that they travel such a distance because they are paid good money.
I can almost guarantee that no workers who pay £5192 (is that yearly, meaningless figure without stating the term of the ticket?) earn significantly more than average UK salary.

What's wrong with paying 20% of salary to travel to/from work anyway?

There, I've shown how I feel about it.
Is that ok?

Strider590

sam_s wrote: »

From today commuters in some parts of the country are being asked to pay £5,192, or 20% of the average UK salary, for their annual season ticket. It’s outrageous – and if it is to change, you need to show how you feel about it..

What was it before?

Where? London?

Mankysteve

Forget about this increase they its nothing they want prices to go up 25% BY 2012.

To the poster who said why not just move atlas as if only life was that simple. What about people on low paid jobs in central london where in the centre will they find a house. It's like that in many other places as well. While many choose to live a distance from work, many also don't and HAVE to travel to get to work.

This current government goes on about how it wants to see people travel further to get jobs so less people on the JSA. Most people on JSA will be low paid jobs so an increase of 2.5% is a significant extra cost to them and more likely for then to stay in JSA.

Most of the rail system in Europe is private owned and yet fares are cheaper. Just because this conservative government don't have the balls to admit they made a mess of privatisation. I'm not necessary anti Privatisation its just typical British mismanagement.

johnfarquhar74

newfoundglory wrote: »

The government can start by taxing rail staff who get free travel on the railway and underground. After all, airline staff have to pay tax to use their free travel I don't see why rail staff should be any different. The government could make millions!

They already do! The 'benefit in kind' has a value and their tax code is adjusted so ultimately they do pay for it.
In addition, all staff entitled to a 'free' travel card pay for it whether they use it or not, a fair percentage of serving and retired staff with this entitlement make no use of it whatsoever.

Inactive

Rail fares are subsidised by all of us taxpayers, so it is good news that are increasing, as far as I am concerned.

diable

I remember complaining to a work about stamp duty going up and his reasoning was that if you can afford to buy a house you can afford the extra, he works in London and lives in Kent so I suppose the cheaper price of property and cheaper tax make up for the fares.

epz_2

I never really got the point of trains, the basic problem is you have a track that needs to be maintained at vast cost, bespoke vehicles that need highly paid staff to run them.

Over long distances they make sense because on a modern track they can replace short flights so a really fast line between the major citys would be a huge benefit, all these short trunk routes barely get up to speed.

It seems the rail policy involves throwing ever larger sums of cash at a problem that will never get solved, we really need to invest in a better system that places incentives on passenger throughput, at the moment you are pretty much get the licence and told how much cash you can make with the gov paying you a large chunk of that.

C_Mababejive

The British mugs will take it like they take everything else....lying down.

They will whinge and whine..tv reporters will talk endlessly about it for a couple of days, and then we will all bed down to another day of austerity and enslavement,the only comfort being some empty promises about the money being spent on extra rolling stock and more efficient services.

But let us be clear about this.

This rise is about inflation,it isnt about generating extra income.

Thats why everything is going up.

We are in a period of prolonged inflation,artificially created to take more money out of your pockets AND to make sovereign debt seem smaller.

Why is it that we have a privatised rail service and yet the taxpayer is shovelling millions of tax dollars into this black hole?

The whole thing is a shambles.

If it MUST remain privatised then let someone who knows how to run a train set take over it.

My vote is for the Germans,French or Japanese..not these clowns.

The perfect solution is to return to the proud days of British Rail..a national,integrated rail transport service.

Of course until then,what can Brits do?

Well what is needed is a national campaign of civil disobedience..for example,,days when everyone gets on the train and refuses to pay,days when no one gets on the train,days when everyone gets on the train,days when stations are blockaded.

The French know how to do it.

Whats the line in Rule Britannia?

Britons never never never shall be slaves...!

ROTFL..We are all slaves..we are just modern day slaves and we dont know it.

Freedom is just an illusion.

Rise up and smite the oppressors..!

Or cant you be bothered about a bit of smiting?

passatrider

I looked at getting rid of my car being on a limited budget. When I factored in the costs of using public transport up against running my car I found it was cheaper to keep the car. This was both trains and buses.