Boris Johnson's abortive journey on a zip line aside, the Olympics have so far buffered the Government against the leftfield excesses of the silly season. Unlike most silly season-ness, this week's publication of July's Retail Price Index (RPI) figure will have been in the diary for some time. July's RPI plus an additional 3% is the Government's formula for calculating how much regulated rail fares will rise by on average from next year. This year - like every year for the last 10 - the announcement signals an inflation-busting rail fare rise. Our Fair Fares Now campaign made sure that, as in previous years, there were protests - this time focused on "train toffs" - something highly visible right across the media.
Government policy is palpably unfair to those who travel by train. Salaries are barely rising and economy is flat-lining, but rail fares are leaping ahead by over 6%. Those who use the train to get to their job routinely pay up to 10% of their wages just to get to and from work. If you commute to London, you might well be paying 15%. In real terms, a number of popular London commuter routes from places such as Canterbury, Cambridge and Brighton will see season tickets rises of over £1000 from 2011-2015.
The Government's defence rests on two points. That the increases are needed to pay for investment in the network, and that they are committed to ending above inflation increases at some point in the future. There are good reasons why the Government should show more commitment to the railways. For people, railways make for good towns and cities. Development around railways tends to be higher density and less car dependent. This uses less land and supports existing communities. If public transport is too expensive - 'a rich man's toy' as former transport Secretary Phillip Hammond dubbed the railways - then poorer households are either less able to travel or become completely reliant on the car, with all the attendant impacts on congestion and social isolation.
For the economy, higher rail fares make travel more difficult and reduce people's employment options. They also take money out of people's pockets which cannot then be spent elsewhere in the economy. For the environment, a well-used train network can be highly efficient and produces significantly less carbon emissions than transport based only around roads.
In our Fair Fares Now campaign, we have been highlighting the steps the Government needs to take now. To get out of the hole successive Governments have dug for themselves, they should immediately do two things. Before the fare rises kick in at the beginning of January, the Government needs to match the support it showed to road users in postponing the planned rise in road fuel duty. It should call a halt to RPI plus 3% - just as it did last year. Second, we need to have a firm timetable for the pledge to end above inflation increases. That at least should ensure a marginally easier few days over New Year when the fare increase bite.