BACK

Ministers must not delay plan to reduce rail fares: Labour

Pa
Sunday, Apr 14, 2024

EDINBURGH: Scottish Labour has urged ministers to lay out a plan to cut rail fares before a pilot scheme scrapping peak prices comes to an end.

The much-praised proposal was due to end in March, but the Scottish Government extended it to the end of June.

A separate fair fares review, which was published last month, committed ministers to wait until after the pilot was complete to make a decision on “medium to longer term rail fares reform”.

But Scottish Labour transport spokesman Alex Rowley pushed for more urgent action. “Peak fares are a tax on workers and scrapping them was absolutely the right thing to do, offering much-needed relief to commuters during the cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “The move has been welcomed across the board: from trade unions, environmental campaigners and the general public, as well as having cross-party support across the Parliament. “It is short-sighted to bring this to an end before the results have even been evaluated.”