UK: Split journey fares farce fleeces train passengers

[John Ashworth]

Split journey fares farce fleeces train passengers

ScotRail has admitted more than 100 anomalies remain to be rectified

By ALASTAIR DALTON and SUNNAH KHAN
Published on Sunday 23 September 2012 00:03
Scotsman

RAIL passengers are being overcharged for journeys throughout Scotland because of a failure to scrap long-established anomalies in the fares structure.

Travellers could save up to one third of the price by buying two or more tickets for the same journey – a practice called split-ticketing – but there is no obligation on staff to tell them. Passengers at some stations are also paying similar or higher fares than others further away from the same destination.

Now rail watchdogs have called for the urgent removal of the anomalies at a time when train travel in Scotland is booming. With split-ticketing, passengers can buy all the tickets at one time and do not have to leave the train at connecting stations.

The impetus for faster action follows new UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin pledging to tackle the issue south of the Border – and 
also examine anomalies in Scotland.

It also comes at a time of soaring ScotRail passenger numbers, which have increased by nearly one-third to more than 81 million a year since 2004, meaning more passengers than before are being affected by the current system.


ScotRail, Scotland’s main train operator, which is currently run by Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, has admitted more than 100 anomalies remain to be rectified. Some anomalies are believed to have remained unchanged for decades since British Rail raised prices to deal with overcrowding rather than buy new trains.

Research by Scotland on Sunday showed they include journeys into Edinburgh and travel between the former Strathclyde region and other parts of Scotland.

Examples include an off- peak return between Glasgow and Dundee costing £36 while buying separate off-peak day returns from Glasgow-Stirling, Stirling-Perth and Perth-Dundee total £23.60 – a saving of 34 per cent.

Other anomalies have arisen because rail fares in Strathclyde were set by the former Strathclyde Passenger Transport until 2005, when they increased slower than those elsewhere.

This means that for journeys between Strathclyde and other parts of Scotland split ticketing is also often cheaper than buying one ticket to cover the whole journey.

New anomalies have also been introduced within the last two years, such as on the re-opened Airdrie-Bathgate line, which has created a new east-west link across the Central Belt. While passengers travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh pay £12.10 for an off-peak day return, those in Airdrie, one third of the way to the capital, pay £11.80 – just 30p less.

Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland, which is responsible for the ScotRail franchise, pledged last year to remove remaining anomalies before the contract was re-let in 2014.

However, the agency has now said anomalies will only be identified as part of a fares review “to inform proposals for the next franchise”.

Passenger Focus, the official watchdog, demanded prompt action. Mike Hewitson, its head of passenger issues, said: “We have argued that operators should be required to ensure that the walk-up through fare should never cost more than walk-up fares for individual legs of the journey.

“We don’t underestimate the complexity of the task facing the industry in tackling fare anomalies, but it’s crucial this work is completed quickly to ensure passengers have faith in the system.”

Robert Ritchie, a Stirling-based passenger who has campaigned against anomalies, said: “It is entirely wrong that passengers have to acquire knowledge of the structure and peculiarities of the ticketing system and then spend time researching on the internet, trying to find the cheapest fare, which there is no guarantee will be readily available and offered to you from any ticketing website, ticket office, phone enquiry line or ticket machine.”

Rail fares expert Barry Doe said a complete overhaul of tickets was required. He said: “It really needs a totally fresh start to a new fares system.

“The whole system is locked into these silly historic anomalies that an organisation like British Rail could have changed at any time, but a franchised system can’t
without compensation.

“In some cases, the original policy was deliberate. BR used to price up profitable routes so that main journeys like Glasgow to Dundee would cost more per mile than shorter ones in between. In those days there was no internet and people didn’t know and couldn’t buy the combinations of tickets to get round it.”

A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “We want to see a ticket pricing system on Scotland’s trains that is fair to all passengers and easy to understand. We are aware there are some fares anomalies. Since 2007, we have worked together with ScotRail to resolve fares issues which have arisen when new routes and stations have been introduced.

“We are undertaking a review of fares to inform proposals for the next franchise and as part of that work we are identifying, together with ScotRail, existing anomalies.”

A ScotRail spokesman said: “We have already rectified many anomalies, and this has been done within what fares regulation permits, the franchise model, and without unduly impacting local markets and without creating new split ticketing opportunities.”