A CONSULTAION on how the future of rail fares will look has been launched, and railway users are urged to voice their opinions.

The consultation follows a survey of rail customers carried out by KPMG on behalf of the rail industry. The report finds that in the South East and East of England only 36 per cent of customers are very confident that they have the best value rail ticket. 

Fare regulations have remained largely unchanged since they were first introduced in 1995 and assume that all customers will buy their ticket by visiting a ticket office. Further layers of requirements have been added through individual franchise agreements, with little or nothing taken away.

This means that long-standing anomalies are becoming locked in, resulting in bigger problems for customers, and there are now around 55 million different fares.  Regulations have also failed to keep pace with the rise of smartphone technology or how people work and travel today, with part-time working and self-employment having increased by over a third in 22 years.

The announcement of the petition has been welcomed by Basingstoke MP Maria Miller who hopes the consultation will bring clarity to “confusing” rail fares.

She said: ““With 55 million different fares options, buying rail tickets can be a confusing process often leaving my constituents wondering if they’ve got value for money. It is great to see the rail industry grasping the nettle and tackling this issue head on.

“We need to ensure that customers have confidence that they are buying the tickets that are right for them, which is why I am encouraging my constituents to have their say in reforming the fares and ticketing system.”

The consultation was launch by Britain’s rail companies, working with independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus, for customers, businesses, passenger groups, employees and the public to have their say about what the fares system should look like.

To comment on the consultation visit britainrunsonrail.co.uk/fares.