Teresa has today condemned the announcement that rail fares will rise again in January 2016, meaning that passengers in Erith and Thamesmead have been hit by a cost increase of 33% since 2010.
The new fare rises will come into effect on 2 January 2016. Figures released yesterday show that the cost of an annual season ticket from Abbey Wood to Central London has risen by £329 or 33% since 2010 and that rail fares have risen nearly three times faster than wages in the UK over the past five years.
Teresa said:
“Overall passenger satisfaction has declined since 2010, and commuters are paying more and more each year to travel on increasingly overcrowded and unreliable trains.
“For many commuters it is getting more and more difficult to make ends meet, with falling wages in real terms unable to match a rising cost of living.
“It is wrong to raise fares again when fares have risen so dramatically in recent years, and while the train service has not improved, and given the disruption to journeys caused by the long-term work at London Bridge, commuters deserve a fare reduction – not an increase.”
