Merseyrail fares to rise by up to 30p a single trip
The local train operator has given details of its New Year fare increases, with single and return tickets to go up by an average of 2.2%.
The cost of a family ticket, which provides off-peak travel for five family members, will stay at £10 for the fourth year running. The off-peak daysaver will go up by between 5p and 10p. Single tickets will increase by no more than 30p, despite assurances from Merseyrail in September that the rise would be 20p.
Single and return tickets, which make up around half of all ticket sales, will rise on average by 2.2%, in line with the national average. These changes will take effect on 2 January 2015. Fare increases comply with the RPI+0% inflation-capping stipulation set out in the concession agreement that Merseyrail has with transport authority, Merseytravel.
An anytime day return from Liverpool South Parkway to Liverpool Central, which takes 14 minutes, currently costs £3.65. An anytime day single from Lime Street to West Kirby, Wirral, is £4.50, taking 34 minutes.
Merseyrail said that in the last National Rail Passenger Survey in spring 2014, 70% of people polled believed that they got value for money for the price of a ticket.
ation published monthly by the Office for National Statistics, which measures the change in the cost of a basket of retail goods and services. 2015's figure, taken in July 2014, is 2.5 per cent.
Merseyrail carries 110,000 passengers per weekday on 800 trains. Merseyrail is a 50:50 joint venture between Serco and Abellio.
