More Price Rises, especially to London
Date: August 2009First Great Western are increasing the price of 'off peak return' travel from Bristol to London by £10 to £59 (more than a 20% rise), and introducing a new ‘super off peak return’ at the old price but with much stricter restrictions.
By making 'off peak returns' an unregulated fare, they are able to change the price with no restrictions. Advance fares, also unregulated, are also set to rise by an average of 11%.
Until 5th September:
| Ticket: | Off Peak Return (regulated) |
| Price: | £49.00 |
| Valid from Temple Meads from: | 0845 train |
| - Earliest London arrival: | 1039 |
| Valid from Parkway from: | 0932 train |
| - Earliest London arrival: | 1102 |
| Return not valid between: | 1630 and 1845 trains |
From 6th September:
| Ticket: | Super Off Peak Return (regulated) |
| Price: | £49.00 |
| Valid from Temple Meads from: | 1000 train |
| - Earliest London arrival: | 1140 (61 mins later) |
| Valid from Parkway from: | 1032 train |
| - Earliest London arrival: | 1200 (58 mins later) |
| Return not valid between: | 1445 and 1900 trains (2 hours longer) |
| Ticket: | Off Peak Return (unregulated) |
| Price | £59.00 |
| Valid from Temple Meads from: | 0830 train |
| - Earliest London arrival: | 1014 |
| Valid from Parkway from: | 0902 train |
| - Earliest London arrival: | 1032 |
| Return not valid between: | 1630 and 1830 trains |
The BBC reports:
'Legalised mugging'
Chris Irwin, the chairman of TravelWatch SouthWest, said: "We welcome the cut in the price of off-peak single tickets. But we deplore FirstGroup's decision to restrict the availability of the cheapest turn-up-and-go return tickets.
"Hard-pressed passengers will be priced off the trains. This is legalised mugging: the government must change its rules."
Under the changes which are due to come into effect in September, passengers travelling from Bristol to London who currently use the 0900 BST train at a return cost of £49 will have to pay £59.
Ashwin Kumar, Passenger Focus director, said: "Passengers who have to travel at these times will find it hard to believe they are being asked to pay such increases when inflation is so low.
"This comes on top of First Great Western increasing their car-parking charges by 25%."
FGW spokesman Dan Panes said the price rises were needed to achieve a more even spread of passengers throughout the day. "One of our challenges is to balance the need to encourage more customers to use our services while generating more income and managing capacity on our busy trains," he said.
Passenger Focus: Many face 20% Off-Peak fare rises on First Great Western
This is Bristol (Evening Post): First's off-peak Bristol to London rip-off