Planned rail fare increases “wrong and unnecessary” says Green Party leader

6 December 2010

The Green Party has reacted strongly to today's reports that huge numbers of Britons are thinking of switching from rail to other transport modes in response to imminent rises in rail fares.

A report published today by jobs website www.reed.co.uk suggests that more than one person in four will consider a switch in transport modes from January 2011, with rail fares set to rise by 6.2% on average and some commuters facing increases twice that high.

The survey, involving some 3,000 visitors to the Reed jobs website, predicts that the number of car trips to work is set to rise by 6% in the country as a whole and by more than 50% in London.

 

Fare increases are "bad for economy, bad for environment - and unnecessary"

The Green Party strongly opposes increases in rail fares and has argued for greater investment to improve services and cut fares. Party leader Caroline Lucas MP commented yesterday:

"This is supposed to be the greenest government ever, yet its policies are effectively forcing people into the least green travel options.

"It's wrong for both economic and environmental reasons, and it's also unnecessary. We could find billions of pounds to improve public transport and help reduce fares if we switched funding from pointless roadbuilding schemes."

Britain's first Green MP, who won the Brighton Pavilion seat in this year's general election, added:

"Under the Tories, then Labour, now the coalition, we've seen public transport fares increase in real terms while services have deteriorated. The problem is a political one, and the solution will be political - people who want to rescue and revitalise Britain's public transport network need to vote for the only political party committed to doing that.

"It's a long-term political problem, so we need a long-term political solution - support the political party that's committed to massive investment in better public transport including lower fares."

 

 

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