The Department for Transport (DfT) announced that ticket prices will rise by 3.8 per cent from 1 March 2022. The confirmation comes just one day after transport secretary Grant Shapps refused to rule out the rumoured 'brutal' increase when challenged by Labour in the House of Commons.
The increase of 3.8 per cent is in line with July’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, below the current inflation rate of 7.1 per cent, the department said.
Even at 3.8 per cent, the price hike will still be the steepest increase since January 2013, according to figures from industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
This year’s rise in fares in England and Wales was based on the previous July’s RPI plus one percentage point. The Scottish government imposed smaller rises for some journeys. It has not announced its plan for 2022.
Increases are normally implemented on the first working day of every year, but have been delayed until March since 2020...