Publicly owned ScotRail could scrap peak fares, says minister

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Show, Jenny Gilruth said it was “a real opportunity to deliver a railway which is for the benefit of its users, not for shareholders.”

And she said peak fares were “on the table” as the new company looked at how to get passengers back on the railway.

The minister said that the number of people using trains in Scotland was at around 60 per cent of where it was before the pandemic. 

“Some of that relates to affordability and some of that relates to people still having anxiety in terms of returning to public transport. 

“We have taken action to keep fares down and Scotrail fares are still on average 20 per cent cheaper than those across the rest of Great Britain however, we do I think know need to look at that again, which is why our fair fares review offers us that opportunity to consider affordability on the railways but also I think to incentivize people coming back to rail.”

To mark the first weekend of public ownership, children aged five to 15 were allowed to travel for free. 

Ms Gilruth said that was something that could become permanent as the new company considers “different opportunities to use our fare structure to better incentivise people coming back to rail.” 

She said: “That's a really encouraging move from government to show that we can be flexible in terms of our fare approach, but also, I think that further look into the future with regards to affordability, is something that we absolutely shouldn't rule out, and that's why our fair fares should be we'll consider affordability on the railway in detail.”

Ms Gilruth said “there are a number of challenges here, we've spoken about patronage and we've spoken about affordability now. And one of the things we're also doing is, of course, increasing the timetable allocations so from May there will be 150 extra services. 

“I think that's important to remember, but rail patronage right across the network is sitting around about 60 per cent of what it was before the pandemic. 

“And we also know that more people are choosing to travel at weekends now as opposed to during the week. So we need to look at things like for example peak fares and whether or not that's reflective actually of working practices now with more people deciding to work from home as a result of the pandemic. 

“So these things should all be on the table. But I fundamentally think that it's really important the public have the opportunity to shape the vision for ScotRail as we move forward with public ownership.”

Ms Gilruth also said there was conversation to be had around carriages. 

“Pandemic restrictions obviously necessitated people staying at home, and therefore our railways were not used for a period of time during lockdown, for example, but it's really important now we necessitate that change. 

“We also I think, need to look at carriage provision. So we need to build in the opportunity for people to space out for example, if they want to do so, and we need to make sure that people feel safe fundamentally moving back to rail. 

“I have meetings with British Transport Police this week around about how we can better facilitate that. We'll be working with colleagues of course, in ScotRail and across the Network Rail network to ensure that people do feel safe to return. But also as you mentioned, we consider the fair structure and how we can better incentivise people choosing to return.”

Speaking later on the same programme, Conservative transport spokesman, Graham Simpson said the party weren't against nationalisation.

"It could work, but what we need to hear from the transport minister, and what we certainly didn't hear earlier, is what she actually plans to do."

He added: "She wants to have a conversation. I can tell her, she doesn't need to have a conversation because what people will tell her is they need lower fares." 

"She needs to look at lowering fares, so that they're more affordable. We need a simpler fare system. And also we need that smart card that we've been talking about for years that they managed to give to cop 26 delegates but what about the rest of us?"

Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it was good that ScotRail was in public hands. 

"What we now do with it now is the important part. So we've had the PR of it. What people now want to see is cheaper rail, trains to come on time, more services available, and at the moment what we're seeing is rail fares going up, we're seeing ticket offices closing or reducing their hours, we're seeing routes cut. That's not a better service for people across Scotland. That's a worse service."

He said "better services, services that come on time, more options with your services and lower fairs" would "get more people onto the railways" and increase ScotRail's income and "pay for many of the changes people expect to see."

Abellio has been running the franchise since 2015 but had its contract ended early amid criticism over cancellations and performance levels.

All ScotRail staff will transfer to the new Scottish government-owned entity.

A new company called ScotRail Trains Limited will run services from April 1, overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd, a new public body controlled by the Scottish Government.