Commuters ‘Fiddled’ as 9% Fare Rises are Hidden in the Small Print

TRAIN passengers face a “fares fiddle” in the new year, as ticket price rises of up to nine per cent have been hidden by the government.

That’s the view of opposition politicians who have picked up on the government’s reluctance to publish the full range of fare rises that are to come in from 2 January 2012.

Instead, the government has tried to focus attention on average fare increases of ‘only’ 6%. Its trains department – Atoc – would only refer journalists to a website when quizzed about ticket price rises of nine per cent.

“It’s clear that many commuters are facing a fares fiddle thanks to the Government’s decision to allow train companies to average out the revised fare cap across a range of tickets, meaning many tickets will rise by a shocking 9% in the new year,” said Maria Eagle, Labour’s shadow transport secretary.

As it’s up to the train companies which tickets are hit with above-average or below-par hikes, the suspicion is that the more popular routes will bear the brunt as they are the most lucrative.

“The Government approach is to cut the contribution from taxpayers and increase the share paid for by passengers,” said Michael Roberts, Atoc chief executive.