The Scottish Greens’ transport spokesperson Mark Ruskell said that The Scottish Government should reconsider its decision to bring back peak rail fares.
Mr Ruskell’s comments were made as analysis from The Times shows that more than 10 million additional train journeys were made during the period when ScotRail offered Off Peak fares all day long.
The pilot scheme, which ran from October 2023 for 12 months, was secured by the Scottish Greens during their time in government.
Rail fares are now going to increase by an above-inflation 3.8% on 1 April, and passengers already have to pay much more than they did this time last year.
Off Peak fares have restrictions on the time of day when they can be used – generally after 9.15am and at any time over the weekend and on Scottish bank holidays.
Mark Ruskell MSP said: “When the Scottish Greens introduced the pilot to end peak rail fares we did so knowing that it would support people in a cost of living crisis and increase rail use.
“Public transport has to be accessible and affordable if it is to become the first choice for workers, students and commuters. The 10 million extra journeys during that year shows that removing peak rail fares works in the long-term.
“Peak rail fares are an unfair tax. Why should the same journey cost more before a certain time of day? It does nothing but punish commuters who have no say in the times they travel to work, study or other appointments.
“A lot of people and families are already under pressure and are being forced to stretch their budgets too far to meet their basic needs. Now they are being asked to dig deeper and pay some of Europe’s highest rail fares to get to work – it is simply unfair.
“Rail travel is our most climate friendly transport system here in Scotland and we have to make it budget friendly too if we want to see less cars on our roads.”
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