Review of Season Ticket Increases on the South Eastern Trains region 2011

Transcription

1 Review of Season Ticket Increases on the South Eastern Trains region 2011

2 1 Introduction The annual season ticket for travel between Tonbridge and London Terminals increased from GBP3048 to GBP3408 at the start of January This is an increase of 11.8%. Such a large increase seems strange when the (TLC) were of the understanding that average fare increases should be 7.8%. TLC have therefore undertaken some research into season ticket fare price increase over the whole South Eastern Trains (SET) network. This paper is structured as follows. Section 2 reviews the rules and regulations for fare increases. Section 3 looks at season ticket fare increases from over 30 South Eastern Train stations to London. Section 4 then looks at season ticket increases to various destinations from Tonbridge. Section 5 then provides conclusions. 2 Rules for fare increases Season Tickets to London are regulated by government. Under the franchise agreement South Eastern Trains (SET) are allowed to increase regulated fares by an average of RPI of the previous July + 3%. Since in July 2010 the RPI was 4.8%, this means that in 2011 SET can increase fares by 7.8%. It should be noted that the South Eastern Trains franchise can increase fares by 2% more than other franchises. This additional increase is to pay for the new High Speed 1 services even though the majority of travellers in the SET region have no benefit from this line and in notable cases have received a far poorer service because of its introduction. However the pricing formula is slightly more complicated than the RPI + 1 or RPI + 3 formula. All Train Operating Companies (TOC) are allowed to increase individual regulated fares by 5% above this figure, so long as it decreases another fare. This is described in a House of Commons note written by Louise Butcher in November 2010 which can be found at the following URL: Fares are regulated through a fares basket where a limit or cap is applied to a weighted average of the relevant fares for each TOC. Because fares regulation works by applying a cap on the total value of fares baskets, there can be increases in individual fares that are greater (or less) than the permitted increase in the basket as a whole. However, individual fares within fares baskets are limited to a rise of no more than five per cent above the basic policy in any one year. 3 Season ticket increases to London Section 2 suggests that if SET have increased season tickets to 11.8% for Tonbridge (i.e. 7.8% + 4.0%, then there must be some stations served by SET whose season ticket has been far less than 7.8%. This research tests this assumption. Season ticket cost information was obtained from the National Rail website here:

3 Research on the following Season Ticket types was undertaken: standard class non HS1 standard class with HS1 1 st class non HS1 London Travel Cards 3.1 Season Ticket increases: standard class non HS1 The first study examines the standard class non High-Speed 1 London season ticket fare increases for 32 stations served by SET. All major stations served by SET have been examined with the notable exception of Chatham. 1 Ashford 2 no Bromley South 2 no Canterbury West 2 no Charlton 2 no Chartham 2 no Chelsfield 2 no Chilham 2 no Dartford 2 no Dover Priory 2 no Dunton Green 2 no Folkestone Central 2 no Gillingham 2 no Grove Park 2 no Hastings 2 no Headcorn 2 no High Brooms 2 no Hildenborough 2 no Knockholt 2 no Lewisham 2 no Maidstone East 2 no Maidstone West 2 no Marden 2 no Orpington 2 no

4 24 Paddock Wood 2 no Pluckley 2 no Ramsgate 2 no Sevenoaks 2 no Staplehurst 2 no Strood 2 no Tonbridge 2 no Tunbridge Wells 2 no Wye 2 no Table 1 London season ticket increases for 32 SET stations: standard class not valid on HS1 The average fare increase of this comprehensive basket of fares is 11.8%. Indeed the minimum rise was 8.1%. There is no evidence of a weighted basket of fares averaging 7.8% when looking at this data. 3.2 Season Ticket increases: standard class with HS1 The standard study examines the standard class with High-Speed 1 London season ticket fare increases for 5 stations served by SET that were also in the first study. 1 Ashford 2 yes Canterbury West 2 yes Dover Priory 2 yes Folkestone Central 2 yes Ramsgate 2 yes Table 2 London season ticket increases for 5 SET stations: standard class with HS1 The average fare increase of this basket of fares is 12.7%. The increases for standard class with HS1 season tickets are also the same as those for standard class non-hs1 season tickets from the same locations.

5 3.3 Season Ticket increases: 1 st class The 3 rd study examines the 1 st class London season ticket fare increases for 5 stations around Tonbridge. 1 Dunton Green 1 no Hildenborough 1 no Paddock Wood 1 no Sevenoaks 1 no Tonbridge 1 no Table 3 London season ticket increases for 5 SET stations: standard class with HS1 The average fare increase of this basket of fares is 11.8%. The increases for 1 st class season tickets are also the same as those for standard class season tickets from the same locations. 3.4 Season Ticket increases: Outside London Travel Cards The 4 th study examines the Travel Card season ticket increases for 3 stations near Tonbridge outside of London that includes a zone 6 London travel card. The Travel Card includes a standard class season ticket from the station to London. 1 Dunton Green TC6 NL no Sevenoaks TC6 NL no Tonbridge TC6 NL no Table 4 London Travel Card season ticket increases for 3 SET stations outside London. The average fare increase of this basket of fares is 11.7%. The increases for these travel card season tickets are therefore the same as those for standard class season tickets from the same locations. 3.5 Season Ticket increases: London Travel Cards The last study examines the Travel Card season ticket increases for 7 stations within zone 6 49 Bromley South TC5 no Charlton TC3 no Chelsfield TC6 no

6 52 Grove Park TC4 no Knockholt TC6 no Lewisham TC2 no Orpington TC6 no Table 5 London Travel Card season ticket increases for 3 SET stations inside London. The average fare increase of this basket of fares is 6.4%. This is significantly lower than the equivalent train only fare increases from the same destinations. 4 Season ticket increases from Tonbridge Further research was undertaken to check whether these vast increases were applied only to season tickets between London and Kent stations. Therefore research was undertaken on a variety of season ticket fares from Tonbridge. In all cases the standard class non HS1 option was chosen. Number From To Cost 2010 Cost 2011 Increase, % 1 Tonbridge London Terminals Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells Tonbridge Hastings Tonbridge Ashford Tonbridge Paddock Wood Tonbridge Maidstone West Tonbridge Canterbury West Tonbridge Sevenoaks Tonbridge Orpington Table 6 Tonbridge season ticket increases for 9 SET stations: standard class not valid on HS1 The average fare increase of this basket of fares is 9.7%. Notably the fare increase to central London is the highest.

7 5 Conclusions This small study suggests that South Eastern Trains might have increased season ticket prices higher than the permissible 7.8%. Only annual Travel Card season tickets from locations within London had an increase less than this. Of course funds from these Travel Cards are shared between Transport for London and SET. Many commuters and passengers who take South Eastern Trains have no other option than to use their services. It is therefore important that the government ensures that Train Operating Companies do not abuse their monopolies granted by the Department for Transport. This is especially so during this recession when many SET customers are not receiving any pay rises whilst their travel costs into work are increasing by more than 10%. would therefore like to see full transparency in how the fare increases are managed. Since this research suggests that SET might have increased 2011 season ticket prices higher than allowed, we would like to see a fully transparent audit of these fare increases. This would include: Clear and concise guidance on the methodology used to calculate fare increases Full disclosure of what the basket of fares is. Full disclosure on how fares from different locations are weighted. All raw data used for the fare increases must be made fully available for perusal by the general public. TLC will reject any claim of Commercial Confidentiality over this data as: The franchise is effectively a government licensed monopoly granted to a TOC. It is in the public interest to ensure that this monopoly position is not being abused by the TOC. Billions of pounds of public money are used to subsidise the railway network each year and it is in the public interest to ensure that the tax payer is receiving value for money and good corporate governance from the whole rail industry. In the medium to long term would like to see a full review of the fare structure used for tickets to and from the Tonbridge area.