Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538

In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>
>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538

Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
slipped through the cracks?

But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
11% (which is of course "below inflation").
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
> 2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>> Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>>
>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538
>
> Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
> decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
> slipped through the cracks?
>
> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
> stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
> 11% (which is of course "below inflation").

They're just promising a repeat of what happened this year, so I guess that
doesn't count as a policy change:

"A government source said Shapps would negotiate with the Treasury for
below-inflation increases and wanted to soften the blow further by ensuring
that, for the third year in a row, the price rises came into effect in
March instead of January. Last year’s settlement was 3.8 per cent, below
the RPI figure of 7.1 per cent."

The bad news: rail fares are going to rise. The good news: it won’t be in
double figures

<https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/86b46c20-1b3d-11ed-98b9-ae8775f5f43c?shareToken=8e312d2ec308e54cc8b0a378f6b1c38a>

On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
> 2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>> Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>>
>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538
>
> Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
> decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
> slipped through the cracks?
>
> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
> stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
> 11% (which is of course "below inflation").

I don't think commuters are the sort of people owning pitchforks. Quite
what they would use instead I'm not sure. Sharpened umbrellas?

On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:

> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
> stormed by commuters with pitchforks.

Except they would have to make a special trip, because they are all
working from home...

--
Arthur Figgis

On 16/08/2022 18:00, Arthur Figgis wrote:
> On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:
>
>> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
>> stormed by commuters with pitchforks.
>
>
> Except they would have to make a special trip, because they are all
> working from home...
>

And have you seen the price of pitchforks these days?

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:
> In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
> 2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>> Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>>
>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538
>
> Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
> decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
> slipped through the cracks?
>
> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
> stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
> 11% (which is of course "below inflation").

They should try reducing fares for a change, it may encourage more
passengers to travel by rail!

Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:
>> In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
>> 2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>>> Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>>>
>>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538
>>
>> Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
>> decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
>> slipped through the cracks?
>>
>> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
>> stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
>> 11% (which is of course "below inflation").
>
> They should try reducing fares for a change, it may encourage more
> passengers to travel by rail!
>

Fewer passengers might just suit HMG.

In message <tdlpap$13no4$1@dont-email.me>, at 16:28:09 on Thu, 18 Aug
2022, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>> On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:
>>> In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
>>> 2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>>>> Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538
>>>
>>> Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
>>> decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
>>> slipped through the cracks?
>>>
>>> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
>>> stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
>>> 11% (which is of course "below inflation").
>>
>> They should try reducing fares for a change, it may encourage more
>> passengers to travel by rail!
>
>Fewer passengers might just suit HMG.

It's definitely the case that (in any industry) more customers at a
lower price won't necessarily cover the operating costs better than
fewer customers at a higher price.

What slightly more agile industries than the UK Railways seek to do, is
find the sweet spot in the middle.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <tdlpap$13no4$1@dont-email.me>, at 16:28:09 on Thu, 18 Aug
> 2022, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>> Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On 15/08/2022 16:23, Roland Perry wrote:
>>>> In message <tdctv5$3hohb$1@dont-email.me>, at 08:52:00 on Mon, 15 Aug
>>>> 2022, Jack Harry Teesdale <noreply492000-medic@yahoo.co.uk> remarked:
>>>>> Rail fares in England are to rise next March by less than inflation rate.
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62542538
>>>>
>>>> Crikey, with Boris asleep at the wheel, and Number Ten saying no
>>>> decisions can be made until a new PM has been appointed, how has this
>>>> slipped through the cracks?
>>>>
>>>> But I agree that a 12.8% rise would probably cause Westminster to be
>>>> stormed by commuters with pitchforks. Maybe they are thinking about only
>>>> 11% (which is of course "below inflation").
>>>
>>> They should try reducing fares for a change, it may encourage more
>>> passengers to travel by rail!
>>
>> Fewer passengers might just suit HMG.
>
> It's definitely the case that (in any industry) more customers at a
> lower price won't necessarily cover the operating costs better than
> fewer customers at a higher price.
>
> What slightly more agile industries than the UK Railways seek to do, is
> find the sweet spot in the middle.

Part of the problem is that the politicians have never really worked out
what purpose the UK railways serve. At one extreme we have Swiss railways,
where it is clear that the priority is to get people out of their cars, to
serve rural communities and to reduce road freight. Subsidy and ticketing
(eg annual rail cards to go anywhere) is set accordingly. At the other
extreme we have the USA where it basically comes down to if it doesn’t make
money forget about it. (With exceptions so don’t nit pick) we seem to have
a confusing mess, with subsidy and service levels varying greatly by
geography with little consistency.