Labour will prioritise keeping public transport affordable, says beleaguered minister
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has not dismissed the possibility of future rail fare increases, despite stating her commitment to keeping public transport costs down.
Addressing MPs in the Commons on Thursday, Ms Haigh acknowledged that Labour had taken over a "mess" in the railway sector.
She said: "It is this Government’s priority to keep public transport affordable, but our priority absolutely is fixing the mess of the railways that we inherited after 14 years of underinvestment, decline and putting passengers last in a broken system."
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The issue of fair access to concessionary travel for children and young people across England was also raised, with calls to end the existing "postcode lottery".
Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Paul Kohler highlighted the importance of affordability in public transport use, criticising the Chancellor's decision to raise bus fares by 50% and noting an above-inflation rail fare increase buried in the Budget document.
He said: "Affordability is also critical to increasing use of public transport. Along with hiking bus fares by 50%, the Chancellor buried on page 97 of the Budget an above-inflation rail fare increase of 4.6%.
"This kicks in from March 2025, just when we expect the rail’s road to public ownership to begin."
Mr. Kohler then pressed Ms Haigh for assurances that this would be the last above-inflation increase seen in this Parliament. The Budget papers confirm that the 4.6% hike in regulated ticket prices will exceed RPI inflation by one percentage point.
He also asked about her department’s experience with Northern Rail and her plans to improve the rail network.
In response, Ms Haigh acknowledged the issues, stating: "I’ve made clear to Northern Rail that their performance isn’t acceptable. We’re addressing that through new rest-day working agreements to drive down cancellations and crucially through integrating their operations with Network Rail to deliver savings but also deliver better performance."
Meanwhile, Green Party MP Ellie Chowns brought attention to unequal travel concessions, contending that young people face a "postcode lottery" which older passengers are exempt from due to the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS).
"On Monday in the debate on bus services, I asked the Secretary of State about extending concessionary travel to children and young people," she said.
"The Secretary of State’s response was to suggest that MPs should talk to their individual local authorities about this, but this is not the approach we take to concessionary travel for pensioners."
"I’ve just had contact from somebody who can’t afford to go to college aged over 16 because it would cost £1,500 per year, and her family just can’t pay that. So is it not the case that concessionary bus travel for children and young people should be extended on a national basis, rather than a postcode lottery?".
Transport Minister Mike Kane replied: "As a former school teacher, I know how important education is, and children getting to education; those bus services provide vital lines.
"That is why we have put £1 billion into our bus services network, and I really do suggest that local services, as mine in the bee network in Greater Manchester have, use their resource to improve access to education for young people."
Conservative Shadow Transport Secretary Gareth Bacon discussed changes to the bus funding formula, which Ms Haigh had supported.
Mr Bacon told MPs: "She said, and I quote, ‘the formula will allocate funding based on local need, population, the distance buses travel, and the level of deprivation. This formula and the funding allocated is a fair arrangement, ensuring that every area of the country gets the service it needs’.
"The formula, including the weighting given to various factors by (Ms Haigh) has not been published. When will it be?"
In response, the roads minister stated: "We’re very proud of the work that we’ve done to ensure every part of the country is benefiting from additional funding for their buses, and we will publish that later today (Thursday)."