Return of peak fares is costly blow for workers and climate​​​​​​​ - Lorna Slater

Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater

The decision to bring back peak rail fares is a costly blow for commuters and our climate.

For the last 12 months these punitive fares had been removed, after the Scottish Greens secured a 12-month long all-day off-peak trial, which has saved commuters hundreds of pounds.

I was part of the negotiations and saw how much work went into securing the change. It is one of many progressive policies that have been thrown out or discarded by John Swinney’s Government.

It means that across Edinburgh this week, workers and students alike will see their daily commuting cost rising substantially simply because they need to travel during normal business hours.

Someone travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow at peak times will have seen prices soaring from £16.20 to £31.40. Someone travelling from Livingston to Edinburgh is now paying £11.70 rather than £7, and someone travelling from the First Minister’s own Perthshire constituency to our city now has to fork out £34.30, up from £21.60.

It is totally counterproductive at a time when we should be encouraging people to leave their cars at home and switch to public transport.

The Scottish Greens have long championed cutting the cost of rail. Transport is one of the key areas that we urgently need to decarbonise if we are to have any chance of meeting our Net Zero goals.

It is one of the highest polluting areas we have in Scotland and, by making it cheaper to take the train than your own car, we can reduce our reliance on oil production and consumption.

The SNP claims that passenger numbers haven’t met the required 10 per cent increase to make the project self-funding, but how did we ever have a fair chance we have had long periods of upheaval and reduced timetables?

One way to fund the shift to cleaner, greener travel would be via a private jet tax, which research from Oxfam shows would raise more than enough to keep off-peak fares all day for the rest of the year, ensuring that the wealthiest frequent flyers are funding our transition. But that will require action from both the Scottish and UK governments.

With MSPs from all parties, the rail unions and the travelling public united behind this Scottish Green’s policy of off-peak fares all day, I hope that the SNP will rethink this decision, consider alternatives and ensure that we see peak fares removed permanently.