Question reference: S6W-14426
- Date lodged: 27 January 2023
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 February 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a fare cap on Scottish train travel now that ScotRail is under public ownership.
Answer
As a result of the pressures that household budgets are under the Scottish Government confirmed last year that there would be no change to rail fares before March 2023. Any change to rail fares this year will be confirmed in due course but Scottish Ministers are very clear that they will not rise by an amount equivalent to the July Retail Price Index rate of 12.3 per cent.
As part of the Scottish Government’s fair fares review Transport Scotland will take forward the pilot to evaluate the removal of peak rail fares. The pilot will apply to the whole network for the six-month period, commencing in the next financial year. Work on the precise methodology, design and evaluation is ongoing with Transport Scotland officials working closely with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail Trains Ltd to derive maximum benefit for this scheme.
Further details on the peak fares pilot will be confirmed over the coming weeks.