Our regional mayor Dan Norris has been looking at how much Bath commuters are going to have to pay to travel by rail next year.
He says they’ll face an unwelcome price hike as season ticket fares are set to rocket by biggest increase in a decade, next year.
Passengers on average were hit with a 2.6 per cent increase on the cost of train travel from March 1 2021. But new Retail Price Index (RPI) figures released today show the already eye-watering cost could rise by another 4.8 per cent next January.
In Bath that will mean a Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads season ticket will have doubled since 2010. A season ticket from Bath Spa to London Paddington could rise by a whopping £630 at the turn of the year.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “If we are going to meet our ambitious net zero targets we need to be encouraging people onto trains not putting obstacles in the way. Passengers in Bath have been hit again and again by eye-watering rail fare rises. A season ticket between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads has doubled in cost since the Tories came to power; this is a hike much greater than the average increase in people’s wages.
“For many people in Bath, travelling by train isn’t a luxury, it’s how they get to work. I want investment in a 21st century railway and more decisions made here rather than in London. My long term aim is to build “West of England Transport” an integrated, affordable transport system.”
Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “Rail travel has long been unaffordable for many people, thanks to the Conservatives prioritising the profits of private companies over passengers.
“This would be yet another eye-watering hike hot on the heels of the failure of the Government’s so-called money saving flexi ticket scheme.”
For your further information.
| 2010 | 2021 actual | 2022 at 4.8% (RPI +1) | £ increase 2010 – 2022 under the Tories | % increase 2010 – 2022 under the Tories | |
| Bristol Temple Meads – Cardiff Central | £2,288 | £3,328 | £3,488 | £1,200 | 52% |
| Bristol Temple Meads – Bath Spa | £1,228 | £1,780 | £1,865 | £637 | 52% |
| Keynsham – Bristol Temple Meads | £680 | £984 | £1,031 | £351 | 52% |
The new Retail Price Index (RPI) figures released today show the already eye-watering cost could rise by another 4.8% next January, if the Government continues to use RPI plus 1% as its basis for ticket price increases.
The average commuter will be paying £3,295 for their season ticket in 2022, £1,101 more than in 2010.
The average 2017 annual season ticket reportedly costs £2,788. Regulated rail fares rose by 27.1% between 2010 and 2017, which means that the average season ticket in 2010 would have cost £2,194. A 50% (from 2010-2022) increase on £2,194 is £3,295.
Regulated rail fares, which include season tickets and most other commuter tickets, will have risen by 50% on average between 2010 and 2022.
