Reform the Pricing of Transport Season Tickets
Season ticket prices should be reduced for people that work part time or from home
Season tickets make daily commuting much cheaper for people who use the train 5 days a week or more. For example, a monthly train season ticket from Glasgow to Edinburgh is £366.80. For a typical person working 4 weeks a month, this is £91.70 a week. The saving over buying day returns at £23.90 is approx 24%. If, however, you work part time or from home one day a week and buy carnets, the saving for a carney ticket over the single ticket price is only 4%. It’s still the same price for the seaon ticket, even though you might have one less days pay to pay for it if you work 4 days a week. This pricing structure penalises people who work one day a week from home as they are paying for transport they don’t need. It also penalises people who make 10 journeys a week using the carnet system. We need a flexible ticketing system which rewards regular users of public transport but does not cause a disporportionate cost for people who have a 4 day week or who work one day a week from home, thus helping the environment. Also, the carnet system should be revisited so that these can be bought electronically and people can enjoy the same 24% savings that 5 day a week commuters enjoy. After all, working from home or 4 day weeks have tremendous benefits for families and the environment