London commuters spend 13 per cent of their wages on daily train travel with some workers paying almost 40p per mile
Passengers in five other major cities are also paying 11 per cent of their salary on rail season tickets and prices are set to rise
LONDON rail commuters spend as much as 13% of their take-home pay on tickets, an investigation has revealed.
Soaring prices mean that some passengers pay almost 40 pence per mile but rail operators insist rail travel is still better value than running a car.
The figures were released as part of a BBC investigation into transport in the UK’s six major cities and are based on a full-time worker using an annual season ticket five times a week.
Commuters travelling from Brighton to London on Southern Rail fork out the highest proportion of their wage on tickets at 13%, despite having to endure weeks of strikes and cancellations.
Meanwhile passengers on services between Harlow Town and London Liverpool Street pay the most per mile at 38 pence.
Outside the capital commuters in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol pay an average of 11% of their earnings on travelling to work.
James MacColl, head of campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport, told the BBC high fares are making up “a big proportion of household expenditure for many commuters”.
He said: “With passengers on some of the most expensive routes also experiencing worsening overcrowding, delays and cancellations, they are often left astonished that they’re being charged even more for the privilege every year.
“Short term, passengers must be assured they’ll get proper compensation for disruptions, and fair ticketing must be introduced nationwide, including the long-promised and long-overdue part-time season tickets.
“Long term, it’s essential that passengers are given a proper say in how rail franchises are secured and managed, and for the link between fare rises and the outdated Retail Price Index to be scrapped once and for all.”
It comes as commuters prepare for an expected 1.9% rise in the cost of rail season tickets in January, in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) of inflation.
The Department for Transport said more flexible tickets for part-time workers would be introduced.
But a spokesman from Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators, argued train travel was still “extremely good value compared, for example, with buying, insuring and filling up a car”.
He added: “Part-time season tickets are something that, with the government, we’re looking at.
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“The way people work is changing and we understand that. Some train companies already offer deals that are suitable for part-time workers.
“As we modernise and move to smarter types of ticketing it will be easier to offer part-time season tickets.”
A spokesman for Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Southern Rail, said: “We know that our passengers are rightly frustrated by the effects of the current industrial dispute.
“Our priority to deliver them a better level of service as soon as possible.”