Transport Fares Rise

As West Midlands commuters head back to work after the Christmas break, they are once again being faced with above inflation rail fare rises.

The average cost of a season ticket has increased by 4.2%. Campaigners are calling it a tax on going to work.

As commuters head back to work after the Christmas break, they are once again being faced with above inflation rail fare rises.

The average cost of a season ticket has increased by 4.2%. Campaigners are calling it a tax on going to work.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) has defended the way rail companies apply the fare rises that Government policy allows them. While rail fares can only go up by inflation plus 1% that is the average figure which is why some fares have risen by much more today.

Edward Welsh, ATOC spokesman told ITV News: "Just as they might increase them above 4.2% they have to de-crease them elsewhere.

"It's like a traditional pair of kitchen scales. The Government ensures that all the fares come back to 4.2%."

The Transport Minister, Norman Baker MP has described how the above-inflation increase is 'not desirable'.

TUC chief Frances O'Grady has told Daybreak that "if we bring the railways back under public control, there would be more money to invest for the future."

Transport Minister Norman Baker told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the current fare structure was "not ideal", adding that the Government wanted to end above-inflation fare rises as soon as possible:

The New Year commute to work will be bleaker for rail passengers in the Midlands as the 10th above-inflation rail fare rise soars by an average of 4.2%.

In the Midlands, a Ludlow to Hereford season tickets will rise by more than five percent.