“Britain has the highest rail fares in Europe." Or Does It?

Following all the brouhaha about Britain’s rail fares being Europe’s most expensive , here’s a fascinating post by The Man in Seat 61, Mark Smith, who’s the go-to guy for information about European rail journeys. Warning: contains surprising conclusions. Helpful hint: behavioural economics can help explain why we so often get it wrong on things like prices. (see post of 17th August 2012).

Not Fare

Of course, you can get cheap train tickets (see previous posts). But this is what it can feel like if you are a turn-up-and-go passenger buying a walk-up ticket. (Private Eye, 24.8.12).

“It’s Cheaper By Train”: Do The Math(s)

Hove to Cardiff for a weekend conference. According to Google maps, that’s 190 miles each way, or 380 miles there and back. Using HM Revenue and Customs approved rate for going by car, that’s 45p a mile. Total costs of going by car: £171. Plus parking. Hassle. Etc. Advance purchase rail ticket, with a railcard: Hove to Cardiff £9.55 outbound; £10.25 back. Total: £19.80. Difference between car travel and rail travel: £151.20. Which buys a lot of taxis, meals and, if you time it right, overnight accommodation. It’s Cheaper By Train. QED.

The Great Rail Fares Robbery

Splendid poster featuring Prime Minister David Cameron, deputy Nick Clegg and Chancellor George Osborne, “Wanted” for the Great Rail Fares Robbery. It’s part of a protest against big increases in train fares being run by rail union the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, backed by the Campaign for Better Transport and Climate Rush which warns that fares will jump by 25% over the next four years unless the current formula for above-inflation increases is changed. The increases begin in January 2012, with rises expected to average 8%. The TSSA has given examples of how annual season tickets will increase by 2015 under the current formula, including Swindon to London, from £7,024 now to £9,009 (a rise of almost £2,000; Norwich to London, £6,540 to £8,388 (£1,848); Canterbury to London, £4,328 to £5,551 (£1,223); Guildford to London, £2,916 to £3,740 (£824) and Manchester to Liverpool, £2,536 to £3,253 (£717). None of which is an argument for owning a car, which still works out more expensive if you do the maths properly. But it definitely adds to the general view that “owning and running a car is cheaper than public transport,” when, often, it isn’t.

Unfair Rail Fares

Those of us living in Brighton and Hove who need to take a combined bus and rail trip can use a couple of helpful tickets: you buy the ticket on your first bus journey of the day, and it’s then valid for all Brighton and Hove buses, together with a return rail journey anywhere on either of the two main train companies which serve the city. There’s a First Capital Connect Saver and a Southern Saver. The former costs £15, the latter £12.50. But not for long. From 2 January 2011, train fares across the UK will increase by inflation-busting percentages. But the price increases for these two Savers are record breakers: the FCC Saver increases to £18, the Southern Saver to £14. In each case, an increase of a staggering 20%. So much for encouraging sustainable transport and “fair pricing for rail travel.”