Londoners in UK Who travel ?

[Doom_trooper]

I got this from facebook, please , Its getting ridiculous to Pay for Large amounts of expensive Cash just for traveling to a location or to and from Home isn't it ?


Please Spread The Word !


Common Interest - Beliefs & Causes
Description:
Its about time we Londoners made it clear to the train companies that we will no longer accept these above inflation price rises which pay for "improvements" that we never see. Complaining about it but accepting them will not change anything. We need to get as many people as possible to join this group in solidarity. The aim is to organise a protest day where everyone travels without a ticket. Don't think it can't be done - this happened in Sydney and was a success and we CAN do it here as well. Please let everyone know about this group.

Passengers face above-inflation price hikes for rail tickets from January, train companies have announced.
Unregulated fares, which companies are able to set themselves and cover tickets such as cheap day returns, will increase by between 3% and 7%.

The Association of Train Operating Companies said the money was needed to pay for ongoing service improvements.

Passenger groups have criticised the price increases and said rail users are already paying high fares.

Regulated fares, which include season tickets and saver tickets, are determined by the Department for Transport and account for 40% of tickets sold.

Most train companies will raise fares by 4.3% - 1% above inflation - when the new prices are introduced.

Merseyrail is to increase its regulated fares by 3.2%, while the Southeastern trains service between Kent and London will go up by 6.3% under the terms of its new franchise.

See the full list of train company fare rises

Island Line prices will go up by 5.3% while there will be no increase for Hull Trains and Heathrow Express passengers.

Unregulated fares, which account for 60% of tickets sold, will go up by varying amounts depending on train operator, with an average rise of 4.7%.

There are also big increases planned for the two dedicated airport services, the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express, which will both see rises of 7.3%.

Passenger Focus, the independent rail consumer watchdog, said the new fares would hit those who were unable to book tickets in advance.

'Off-putting prices'

Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, said: "Inflation-busting price hikes on top of already high fares will make for an unhappy passenger New Year.

"If you now want to travel longer-distance in the peak and don't know exactly when you are coming back you will pay very, very dearly.

"If passengers want flexibility or have no choice about when to travel they now face off-putting prices.

'Improvements'

Brian Cooke, chairman of passenger group London Travel Watch, said: "While we accept fares have to rise sometimes, any price rise above inflation is regrettable and will seem a lot to passengers in and around London who are increasingly faced with crowded platforms and trains."

Shadow transport secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is very unwelcome news for passengers and will only underline the fact that things are really not right on our railways."

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: "Passengers will be exasperated by these fare increases, whilst levels of overcrowding on their trains continue to get worse."

Atoc director general George Muir said: "While no-one likes to pay more for their travel, we need the revenue to pay for the ongoing improvements to the railways that passengers expect - and overall satisfaction levels are now at an all time high of 80%.

"Train operators will continue to raise their game, delivering further improvements to the railway and enhancing the travel experience of passengers."

COMMUTER train fares will rocket by up to 11 per cent next year despite an eleventh hour plea by Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon to limit the rises.

Turning a deaf ear to the Cabinet minister's demand for restraint, rail operators announced that increases far outstripping inflation will come into effect on 2 January.

Rail chiefs confirmed commuters in the South-East will bear the brunt of rises — up an average of eight per cent for peak time and six per cent off peak.

The worst-hit passengers will be on Southeastern, which will be allowed to put up fares by an average of eight per cent to fund commuter trains on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

The increases mean hundreds of pounds will be added to some annual tickets sparking fears that passengers could be priced off the railways.

Every year train companies are allowed to increase regulated commuter fares by the Retail Price Index based on the July figure — which was 5.3 per cent — plus one per cent. Regulated fares include season tickets. The exception is Southeastern, which serves Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Victoria.

It has been given government permission to incr

[kitty_b]

Slightly off point but i got a cheap day return from Victoria to Brighton last Saturday. It was like a 50 minute journey and cost £19.00?!?!?!?!?! Madness.