The majority of U.K. commuters will benefit from cheaper tickets from Saturday as most regulated rail fares drop in price.

The majority of rail journey fares are regulated by the Government. Increases to most fares are capped at 1% above inflation with the changes implemented in January, based on the previous July’s RPI figure. Last July’s RPI figure was  -1.4%, so most regulated fares will now fall.

In August the Government also announced it had taken away the flexibility for operators to raise individual regulated fares by up to 5% above the national fare change, protecting passengers from unduly steep rises in future regulated fares.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said:

“The majority of rail journeys in this country are made on regulated fares and most of those rail fares will fall from Saturday. Passengers will welcome these reductions – regulated fares include the weekly, monthly and annual season tickets used by commuters as well as many day singles and returns and long distance off-peak fares.

“This is good news for many passengers, for the first time in a generation they will see the cost of their tickets fall. I hope that this will encourage more people to travel by train, which is also good news for the economy and the environment.”

Also from Saturday 2 January travelers will be able to use their Oyster ‘Pay As You Go’ cards on London’s rail network. The change means the majority of underground and overground services will be fully integrated for commuters traveling from railway stations in London.

Source: Department for Transport

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