2010 Rail Fares Changes

2010 RAIL FARES CHANGES

Monday 16 November 2009

ScotRail today announced that the majority of its fares will be cut or frozen from January 2.

All its regulated fares including season tickets and off peak returns will be reduced by 0.4%.

A number of unregulated fares will also be cut by 0.4% - and 10-journey Flexipasses will be held at current prices.

The train operator stressed that all regulated fares will have the 0.4% reduction applied. However, the actual regulated fare changes will vary according to rounding. Many will fall and others remain unchanged. None will increase.

Regulated fares include Off Peak Returns, Standard Class season tickets, Standard Class Day Returns on short distance flows, Anytime Singles in the Edinburgh commuter area - and all fares within the Strathclyde area.

Some unregulated fares will however rise by 3.0%.  Exceptions to this include:
• Anytime Singles – reduced by 0.4%
• 10 Journey Flexipasses – frozen at current prices
• Anytime Returns on Highland routes – reduced by 0.4%

Given the fares cuts or freeze, ScotRail’s average fare rise is below the 1.1% average across the UK as indicated today by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC).

Kenny McPhail, ScotRail’s finance director, said: “We have been able to reduce or freeze some unregulated fares as well as cut regulated fares by 0.4%.

“The pressures of the current economic situation mean that we have had to increase some unregulated fares by 3%. We have held these at the same level as regulated fares in recent times but this is not feasible this year.

“This action, coupled with some significant cost savings within the business, will help us meet the challenges of the current economic climate and sustain improvements to services and punctuality.”

Media enquiries
Iain Wilson: 0141 335 4565/iain.wilson@firstgroup.com
Clare Meikle: 0141 335 5152/clare.meikle@firstgroup.com

Notes to Editors

Rail fares will rise by an average of 1.1% across the UK in January, well below the expected rate of inflation next year and the lowest increase since privatisation, according to analysis released today by the Association of Train Operation Companies.

The equivalent figure for ScotRail, when taking into account both regulated and unregulated fares, would be lower at 0.26%. In January 70% of ScotRail’s fares will be cut or frozen.

Franchise Agreement
First ScotRail’s franchise agreement states that regulated fares are permitted to rise by Retail Price Index +1% in any given year. The relevant RPI for 2010 fares is from July 2009 - minus 1.4%. This is the first time since the start of our franchise that we have seen a negative RPI impact on regulated fares.

Strathclyde
All fares in Strathclyde – including season tickets, off peak day returns, anytime singles and day returns - are regulated and will be reduced by 0.4%. It should be noted that rounding rules within the fares system will round to 5p (10p for season tickets) and in Strathclyde the reduction is applied to the unrounded fare, as opposed to the public fare. 

Unregulated fares
Unregulated fares are set at the train operator’s discretion. All are outside the Strathclyde area and include First Class fares, Anytime Returns, Anytime Singles (outwith the Edinburgh commuter area), Off Peak Day Returns, Flexipasses, and Advance fares.

Rounding
All fare changes quoted above will be applied to the fares which are currently held within the industry fares system. The resulting fares will then be subject to the established industry rounding - 5p roundings in Strathclyde (10p for season tickets) and 10p roundings outwith Strathclyde. For some fares, a 0.4% reduction will result in the fare remaining unchanged while some fares will reduce by more than 0.4%.