Rail passengers have been hit with eye-watering fare hikes that could price some people out of train travel altogether, an MP has warned.
Contactless pay-as-you-go – where travellers tap their bank card or mobile without needing a physical ticket – has been rolled out at dozens of stations in southeast England.
This has meant, however, that some services which used to be classified as off-peak are now a pricier on-peak journey.
This is to align with Transport for London’s contactless structure and was rolled out at 30 more stations on December 14.
Rebecca Paul, the Conservative MP for Reigate, warned the shake-up could leave travellers unable to afford the train at all.
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She said the revised rules risk ‘pricing passengers out of rail altogether’.
But the train operator Govia Thameslink Railway said that more people will save money.
The first weekday Southern service from Reigate to London that can be used with an off-peak day travelcard now leaves at 9.28am.
Previously, passengers could board from 8.58am.
Confusingly, the same 8.58am train can still be used with an off-peak ticket if boarded five minutes later at Redhill.
One passenger said the changes were ‘ridiculous’ and vowed to cycle to Redhill instead of paying the hiked fee.
An anytime day travelcard costs £37.10, while the off-peak version is £20.60.
The cheapest super off-peak tickets have also been removed from some stations as a result of the changes.
Ms Paul said: ‘This change should make rail travel easier, not more expensive or confusing.
‘Reigate passengers deserve the benefits of modern ticketing, but I will not stand by while my constituents face higher fares and fewer affordable travel options.
‘Many people rely on off-peak travel to keep costs down and quietly narrowing the definition of what counts as off-peak risks pricing passengers out of rail altogether.’
Lobby group Railfuture claims contactless can cost up to twice as much as paper tickets on certain journeys, as railcard and child discounts cannot be applied.
A family travelling from Luton to central London could pay £84 using contactless, compared with £41.70 using discounted paper tickets.
Steve Trigg, an organiser of the Reigate, Redhill and District Rail Users’ Association, said the situation is ‘complex’ and has caused ‘massive problems because the DfT won’t talk with ordinary people using the services’.
A spokesperson for GTR said: ‘To introduce pay as you go with contactless, we have to align the way fares are structured with those of the wider TfL contactless system.
‘Peak and off-peak timing has to match with the TfL system as well.
‘We understand how, for some people, this means fares will rise, but for many others they will fall.
‘Overall, these changes are not designed to increase the amount of money generated from ticket sales.’
It added the example of a passenger travelling from Reigate, making a journey at on a weekday off-peak. They would pay £7.50 compared to £14.60.
A DfT spokesperson said: ‘Contactless ticketing means passengers are benefiting from simpler, more flexible travel and the majority of single tickets will be the same price or even lower.
‘We have brought ticketing in line with London’s ‘best price promise’ to make it easier for passengers, so they can be confident they have the best fare on the day of travel.’
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