Commuters around Britain were left angered this week when it was announced that rail fares will increase by 8% in January. The move, which was fought against by the “Fair Fares Now” Campaign (@FairFaresNow), will leave thousands of people paying what can only be seen as ridiculous prices to get around.
Thousands of people will be left out of pocket, and it also poses the question – “how is this encouraging people to be greener?”
Using public transport, as we all know, emits far less pollution than taking a car, but in an age where it’s cheaper to fly to Spain that go to London by train, how exactly are we going to try and combat climate change?
It is completely unfair on students, soon to feel the effects of the new tuition fees, and hard-working commuters, who will feel the effects of the increase more than anyone else. Imogen Cole, a student, had this to say- “as a student, the fares are way too high. For your fare you get to go on busy trains that aren’t always on time.”
Many commuters have agreed that although there have been assurances that the money will be invested in “improvements”, they simply can’t see where the changes are taking place. Service is often shoddy, and trains delayed with no real reason given as to why.
Recent pay freezes and an increase in the cost of living means that these fare increases couldn’t have come at a worse time. The best we can do is hope that there are no more fare increases for the time being.
To sign the petition for better and fairer transport go to http://www.bettertransport.org.uk
Written by Abi Polding
Find her on Twitter: @Abi_VLP