Rail Fares (Hansard, 20 July 1977)

§ 2. Mr. Rhodes James
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy on future increases in rail passenger fares.

25. Mr. Wells
asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy on future increases in commuter fares levels.

§ The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. William Rodgers)
It is set out in the White Paper on transport policy.

§ Mr. Rhodes James
What is the attitude of the Government towards the decision of British Rail to withdraw concessionary fares for schoolchildren aged between 14 and 17? Is the Secretary of State aware that this will have a considerable impact upon a large number of my 1573 constituents? What is Government policy on this matter?

§ Mr. Rodgers
This is a matter for the discretion of the British Railways Board within the whole framework of its fares policy. I realise that the decision has caused some disturbance, but the Board first put its proposals to the local authorities last October to give everyone a reasonable chance to adjust to special circumstances. This is properly a matter for the Board, which must examine those services where it reasonably believes that it can make a little more money.

Mr. Wells
Is the Secretary of State aware that this impinges particularly unfairly on parents whose children are attending places of education other than those provided by the State, because there is no other subsidy available to those parents? Will the right hon. Gentleman therefore consider whether it is likely that more children will enter State schools as a result?
Is the right hon. Gentleman further aware that unless he can give some assurances there will be widespread anxiety among the commuting public?

§ Mr. Rodgers
On the hon. Member's first conclusion, some people might read the situation in a different way. However, people must make adjustments as between the costs of activities in which they are engaged. I am sorry if it turns out that the increased fares mean that some children will not be able to go to their present schools, but this is the sort of weighing up that all parents must do in deciding whether to pay for their children's education.
As for commuter fares, I hope that the hon. Gentleman has read the White Paper, because he will see that we have given the Board wide discretion in this matter in the period ahead.

§ Mr. Norman Fowler
On passenger fares generally and commuter fares in particular, is it not a fact that during the past three years rail passengers have faced the biggest fare increases in the history of the railways and that this has been due predominantly to inflation? Will not new inflationary pay awards leading to a further pay explosion drive passengers in their thousands off the railways?

§ Mr. Rodgers
I should not draw that conclusion in the first instance. The large increases during the past three years have been due to the policies of the hon. Gentleman's party when it was in Government. There is no point in Opposition Members shaking their heads. It is a plain fact that under the then Chancellor of the Exchequer public sector prices were kept down and that there has had to be a catching-up process. However, I entirely agree that if it turned out that there were wage settlements on the railways that were out of line with the rate of inflation, there would be very serious consequences for fares, the number of passengers, and jobs.