The largest rise in rail fares in nearly a decade - adding more than £100 to the cost of many season tickets - has been branded ‘disappointing and ridiculous' by passengers and campaigners.
The price hike of up to 3.8pc in England and Wales will mean, for example, that a Liverpool to Manchester season ticket will go up by £104, to £2,864.
It comes as rail operators try to persuade people back on to public transport following the crippling years of the pandemic, and amid an urgent need to tackle congestion and air pollution on the roads.
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John Moorhouse from Travel Watch North West, told the Manchester Evening News : “We are disappointed that we are seeing this increase at a time when rail needs every incentive it can to encourage passengers back after the long couple of years of the pandemic.
“It’s not a good message to send out at a time when we also need to be encouraging people to be more environmentally friendly.
“It’s very regrettable.”
Katie Macdonald from Bromley Cross in Bolton, commutes into the city centre for her job as a facilities manager.
Her reaction to the price hike?
“It’s ridiculous."
“It’s unfair that people are trying to return to work and get back to normal and yet again there is no improvement to services and we’re being penalises. There’s just no rationale.
“What really winds you up is the level of service.
“If it was a fantastic service like you have in Germany you might not mind paying a bit more. But in Germany it’s £1.50 to get anywhere regionally on a basic train.
“Now I have to pay £15.60 just to get a train and tram to Wythenshawe.”
Demand for rail travel is around a third below pre-coronavirus levels and the Department for Transport (DfT) has said the increase is necessary to claw back cash spent on emergency funding during the pandemic.
It comes as operators work nationally to restore all the services cut in December and January amid huge staff shortages due to the Omicron variant.
In Greater Manchester, reduced timetables are expected to continue - and potentially worsen due to funding gaps - as the schedule proposed for 2023 sees just one train an hour on the £85m Ordsall Chord and no fast service between Wigan and Manchester as planners continue to grapple with the Castlefield bottleneck.
Paul Tuohy, chief executive of pressure group Campaign for Better Transport (CBT), claimed the fare rise 'will do nothing' to ease the cost-of-living crisis, help the economy or tackle climate change.
He said: “If this Government is serious about shrinking transport’s carbon footprint and growing the economy, it must do more to address the high cost of public transport by prioritising fares reform, introducing more contactless and pay as you go ticketing, and providing a better value flexible commuter ticket to cater to the millions of new hybrid workers.”
The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments set the cap on rises in regulated fares, which are around half of tickets such as season tickets and off-peak returns on long-distance journeys.
They decided to match this year’s figure with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation for July 2021, which was 3.8pc.
This is the steepest increase since January 2013, according to figures from industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
Train operators traditionally controlled increases in unregulated fares, but governments have much more influence on their decisions after spending billions of pounds to take on their financial liabilities during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesman said it has 'protected passengers' by delaying the fares rise until two months later than normal, and setting a cap which is 'well below current inflation rates'.
Latest figures show RPI in January was 7.8pc
The DfT spokesman added: “We must now look to recoup some of the £14 billion which was spent to keep vital services running throughout the pandemic in a way that is fair for all taxpayers.
“By striking this balance, we will be able to encourage people back on to trains whilst funding the necessary improvements and unprecedented investment that will benefit all those who use our railways.”
Operators are still working nationally to restore all the services cut in December and January amid huge staff shortages due to the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of passenger watchdog Transport Focus, said it was crucial the rail industry delivers a punctual and reliable service.
