This blog will be supporting the Campaign for Better Transport Fare's Fair campaign which is independent of party affiliation.
The campaign blames the current Coalition Government for these fare hikes.
It is clear that Medway Conservatives are simply unwilling to accept the responsibility for their own government's actions. They have been unable to lobby Ministers effectively and Medway commuters are now some of the worst impacted across the entire United Kingdom.
The facts are clear and they are stark
Phillip Hammond, the Conservative Transport Secretary, has decided to change the formula used to calculate the rail subsidy.
Under Labour, the proportion split between the tax payer and the fare-payer was 50:50. As Labour increased its direct grant in real terms it expected an equal increase in the fare payer. As a result, post the Connex franchise failure in 2006, the government announced a massive programme of investment. This investment did see improvements in punctuality, improvements in rolling stock and station security and cleanliness.
The Kent and Medway Conservatives decided in 2008 to oppose the rail fare increases. They sought to alienate the public to the principle of public transport by highlighting the difference between SouthEastern increases in fares with that of other operators. The Conservatives conveniently ignored the fact that it was the Major Government which established the structure of the franchise arrangement with Connex and which allowed the cheapest and worst operator to win a 10 year lease, which then subsequently failed.
The campaign by Conservatives has now back-fired as many of those who commuted in 2009 remember Conservative PPCs on the platforms and outside the stations campaigning against fares. The same political party has now undertaken a massive u-turn and is now not only advocating increased fares but has arguably positioned itself in a worse position than the previous Labour administration.
As this blogger has argued time and time again, there is a principled argument for saying that as government increases its grant contribution that fare payers do as well. If both parties want to see an improvement in rail services, stock, facilities or punctuality.
This argument was the position of the previous Labour Government. It is an argument which lost in May 2010 with the election of Conservative MPs
The Conservative however position is more unfair. Hammond has now changed the formula of rail funding from 50:50 Government Frant: Fare Payer to a less equitable 40:60.
This means that as passengers pay more in fares, government contributes less. Net funding is therefore not increased. The public only get a static service and indeed it prices many off the railways including hard pressed middle class families.
The Tories have also removed FLEX which is why Medway rate increases are 9% when compared with other areas like Faversham and Sittingbourne which are less.
The Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the Government’s promise of ‘fair pricing for trail travel’ when it came to power last May but has correctly highlighted the resulting hypocrisy.
There is no hypocrisy in Labour opposing these fare rises because the circumstances are not the same. There is no investment argument.
Many thousands of commuters want to know why we are paying hundreds of pounds more for a season ticket, whilst now expecting only few if any improvements to their daily service?
New figures show that some commuters are now being forced to fork out a fifth of the average UK salary on their season tickets. They’ll be even more outraged to learn that the Coalition is planning even higher rises from January 2012, with prices set to increase by 25% over the next four years.
Fair Fares campaigners today mocked up pictures of Clegg and Cameron to highlight where the blame for these fares now lie. All the major tabloids and papers are blaming the Conservatives. And rightly so.
The Conservative-led Government is getting the blame and given their policy position they deserve to.
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