MID SUSSEX RIP-OFF RAIL FARES HIDDEN BY TICKET MACHINES

Endorsing the call by Passenger Focus for ticket machines to be simplified, Serena Tierney, Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman for Mid Sussex said:

"The ticket machines are hiding a complex web of different charges for the same journey. This means that passengers who only travel occasionally or are using unfamilar routes may well choose a fare from the machine that is more than they need to pay. But it also disguises changes to fares with which people may think that are familiar.

"For example, rail passengers travelling from Haywards Heath to London Victoria in the morning rush hour and returning in the evening may buy a return ticket at £30.80. If they catch the 18.17 back, two single fares would only cost £26.70 but catching the 18.15 or 18.30 would cost £34.00. And a tube travelcard costs an extra £4.30 on alternate morning trains.

" The complacency of the train companies to this issue makes me suspect that they know that they are overcharging people who use the machines. I raised these issues with Southern over a year. Their response was to say that the machines are programmed to show the most popular tickets - rather than the cheapest - on the first screen. Of course these are the most popular tickets - many people are short of time when they use the machine and others will assume that the fares shown are the cheapest. It's time Southern came clean, charged the same price for the same journey regardless of how the ticket is purchased and put the cheapest fares clearly on the first screen of the machines. "