The Debilitating Costs Of Rail Travel

The cost of rent and student life often sees a fair amount of students staying at home while they are studying. Staying at home can help reduce some of these costs but for a lot, it does mean having to commute into your campus in the mornings. For a lot of commuters, the most time-efficient way to get to unis is by rail thus avoiding long bus journeys and morning rush hour traffic. If you are between the ages of 16-25 years old or are a mature student in full-time education you are able to purchase ‘16-25 railcard’. This allows you to get ⅓ off of rail travel however fares during peak times are a minimum £12 return. Peak times are between 4.30 am and 10 am, Monday to Friday. In other terms the times in which students would most likely be travelling. Some of the first trains in the morning are around 6 am meaning even if you get up at the crack of dawn you still can’t even beat these flat rate prices.

This means that even if you own a railcard you could actually end up being able to spend less money on a rail journey if you do not use it. You may think ‘well maybe I could buy a flexipass or a season pass? (Where you purchase multiple journeys at once)’ but alas these types of tickets are not available for purchase in conjunction with railcard discounts. The price of rail travel is insanely high anyway and for those who do need to commute this is a lot of money to be spending daily to attend uni/college and is not always a manageable amount for some meaning this could have a negative impact on their ability to learn.

The railcard in itself is a fantastic idea to help students and young people who in general have less money to spend and are looking to save money any place they can. However, the system is inherently flawed. The 16-25 railcard is targeted towards students and promises them discounted travel but equally punishes them for the times in which they have to travel.

It’s not all doom and gloom and if you use the railcard for longer off-peak journeys this can be a helpful way of saving money and being able to enjoy trips far and wide across the UK.

The question is bigger than just the student issue- why does rail travel cost more during ‘peak’ times? The service which you receive is exactly the same if not worse when travelling during peak times. In a time when we are more environmentally conscious than ever before what are the actual benefits/incentives for you to use rail as a mode of transport. It is not uncommon for people to choose to commute by car as it’s more financially cost-effective. There is a desperate need for change in the way in which public transport is promoted and used.

We as a country need to encourage more people to use public transport and more eco-friendly alternatives of travel but these need to more affordable and accessible for people to use (everyone, not just those who fit into the railcard categories). Why are we making it more expensive for people to access these at the times which the majority of people will need to use these resources?