| network railcard changes |
| The issue: |
Hello Sir George Young
I have a "Network Railcard" which provides a 1/3 discount on most off-peak railway journeys; I bought my current card in January, at which time the T+Cs said that there was a minimum discounted fare of £10.
This month (on 17-May) they changed the T+C's so that the minimum discounted fare is now £13. This is quite a large percentage increase, and means that for quite a lot of short journeys, the railcard isn't worth having any more. And for longer ones too: as a concrete example, a cheap-day from Basingstoke to Waterloo used to be £11.80 with a railcard; now it's £13.00.
I found out about this a week or so ago when a friend told me he'd bought a railcard and the station staff mentioned that the paperwork included with it would soon be out of date because it mentioned the old minimum fare. I'd had no prior notice of any change.
I think it's really important to try and encourage people to use public transport, but this sort of thing doesn't help at all - it just adds to the impression that train travel is an expensive alternative to using the car.
I understand that the original conditions are subject to change and so that allows them to vary the minimum fare, but I'd like to know what agency might be involved in policing this: i.e. is there someone who is responsible for regulating this sort of thing and how much they are able to constrain the price rises and T+C changes. Is it possible for individuals to lobby them on matters like this? Or are the rail companies permitted to make changes without consulting an independent regulator?
Thanks for any suggestions
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| Date Issue Raised: |
24 May 2009 |
| My response: |
Many thanks for the email via my website. Like you, I have a Railcard which I use to reduce the cost of travel; and like you I agree that we should be promoting public transport as against private transport.
In the first instance, I would like to contact South West Trains to find out what is going on. I suspect that minimum fares may not be subject to regulatory control, but I am surprised that they can be varied within the lifetime of a one year railcard.
I will let you know how I get on.
Best wishes, George Young
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website 