The government said it had limited the increase to the lowest rate it could afford. The new prices will be introduced next week
In the past, fares have increased in line with the inflation rate. But this year, the Welsh government has capped the increase at 5.9%, the same as England.
Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters said, “We understand this is a significant increase for passengers in the current cost-of-living crisis, but we have tried to keep the increase as low as possible.” He also said that because of the disappointing budget settlement from the UK Government, they could not afford to increase lower or adopt a “wholescale freeze” of rail fares in Wales.
The Minister also mentioned reduced income post-pandemic as one of the reasons to why the government faces some difficult choices to maintain the current level of provision of rail services in Wales.
Rail Passengers across different age groups and occupations have been unhappy about the decision. Some people say they are fine with paying extra, but the service remains sub-standard. Jeff Owen, a retired man says, “It is expensive and at the same time service is unreliable. You have to pay a lot more for something that is not good as it was.”
Another passenger, a music therapist, Tim Lewis says, “The service is bad, it is always late and expensive. It is cheaper to fly to Italy than it is to Manchester”
Plaid Cymru spokeswoman for transport, Delyth Jewell, said: “The Scottish government is piloting a six-month scheme to suspend peak fares. It is time that the Welsh government tried something similar rather than following the English example.”
