Better Transport

2 September: Thousands have joined us in pressing the Government to make affordable train fares a priority – and our efforts are getting noticed.

Today, Transport Minister Theresa Villiers sent us a letter outlining the Government’s views on rail fares. The Minister asked that we put the letter on our website so that everyone who’d joined our campaign could see her response, so please do have a look.

Initial excitement in the office faded when we saw that the letter contained nothing new: the deficit is the main concern, railway operating costs must come down, and the Government is committed to ‘fairness in rail fares’. Just what this ‘fairness’ entails is not made clear. While we’re pleased that the Government is listening to everyone’s concerns, we would also like to know what it means by fair fares, and how it plans to achieve them.

We are going to keep up the pressure on the Government to make fares truly fair. That means cheaper ticket prices, not 8% hikes. It means getting good value for your money, not being forced to stand on overcrowded trains, or to plan around a reduced service. It means paying an affordable price for your journey, even if you have to travel at peak times, or can’t book months in advance. And it means being clearly offered the cheapest fare available when you go to buy your ticket, not unwittingly paying over the odds due to the complicated range of tickets on sale.

That’s what we think; how about you? What do you think is a fair fare – or an unfair one? Let us know by emailing campaigns@bettertransport.org.uk, and we’ll feed your ideas into our new Fair Fares Charter, launching in the autumn.

16 August: Cries of outrage at the Government’s refusal to rule out 8% train fare rises went out across the airwaves today, and I joined passengers in expressing my disappointment.

This week marks the first test of the Coalition Government’s commitment to fair rail fares, and Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond’s comments ahead of tomorrow’s announcement of the Retail Price Index inflation figure for July (which is used to set fares come January) don’t bode well for passengers or for the environment.

We’re already facing the prospect of even more crowded trains and reduced services due to possible spending cuts, and now we could have to pay even more for a worse service. We need to encourage more people to take the train, not set prices that put rail travel out of reach.

We are working to hold the Liberal Democrats to their pre-election commitment to cut train fares, and we need your help.

If you think 8% fare rises aren’t fair, do something! Write to Lib Dem Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and ask him to keep his party’s promise. Mr Alexander is playing a leading role in the Government’s spending review, and he has a real opportunity to stand up for passengers - let's make sure he does.

10 August: One week today we’ll find out if the Coalition Government meant it when it promised to ‘make fares fair’ – a hazy policy pledge to be sure. But what’s crystal clear is that a 6% increase on the price you currently pay for your ticket is definitely not fair – which is what will happen if the Government sticks to the current system for setting prices.

Next Tuesday, the inflation figure for July will be announced, which will be used to set the rise in most train fares which will come into effect in January. The figure is expected to be 5%, and current policy is to increase train fares 1% above inflation (known as RPI + 1%) – and a whopping 3% on Southeastern trains.

Fares are already sky high – the highest in Europe. In tough economic times, we can’t keep pricing people off public transport. And if the Government wants to have any hope of being taken seriously as the ‘greenest Government ever’, it needs to set fares that get people out of their cars, off planes and onto trains.

The fares announcement will also tell us a little bit more about who’s running the show in the Department for Transport. Before the election, the Lib Dems promised to cut train fares in real terms (by RPI – 1%), and new Transport Minister Norman Baker made great calls to reopen thousands of miles of new railway lines. But the Coalition agreement looked a lot more like Tory rail policy, suggesting that the Lib Dems looked the other way on many key transport issues. They need to stand their ground on train fares – and you can help us make sure that they do.

22 July: The government has today published the consultation on rail franchising that we and many other organsations have been calling for, allowing members of the public to have their say on the way rail services are run. 

The consultation document focuses on 'deliver(ing) improved service for passengers' and 'better value for taxpayers money', but it explicitly states that it won't address the issue of fares, despite the UK having the highest fares in Europe.

By placing the responsibility for rail services so firmly in the hands of the franchise holders, this consultation is arguing that they will have more of an incentive to improve conditions. Whilst allowances have been made for expansion to services in line with changing demand, we're worried that more flexibility in the rules around rail franchising would also allow socially neccessary (but perhaps not profitable) services to be cut to make way for more lucrative routes.

We will be submitting a formal response to the consultation to ensure that the needs of the public are not forgotten in the interests of the franchise companies. The consultation, running until the 18th October 2010, is open to all.

23 June: In 2007, the previous Government promised, and failed, to provide 1,300 extra train carriages to reduce overcrowding on the rail network. Now it's unclear whether the Conservatives will succeed where their predecessors didn't.

Despite past accusations from the Conservatives when they were in opposition that the Labour government were "turn(ing) a blind eye to the overcrowding crisis" and stalling delivery of the extra carriages, new Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has now said he's reviewing the plans so it's not clear whether he'll deliver them either.

The National Audit Office has suggested taking seats out of existing trains so that people can be packed in to stand, rather than providing new carriages. This would be very unfair, particularly on longer journeys and for older people, disabled people and pregnant women.

After figures from the Department for Transport itself brought to light the fact that commuters are allocated less space than EU law allows for livestock, the current UK Minister of State for Transport Theresa Villiers was quoted as saying: "It is appalling that the Government's own guidance forces commuters into levels of overcrowding which would be illegal for chickens, goats and cattle under EU law"

Now that the Conservatives are in power, they seem to be happy to ignore the problem.

Help us to take action and contact Philip Hammond to tell him that this overcrowding is a serious issue, and that he must provide the extra carriages.

17 June: After our objections to proposals on rail franchising policy, which would offer train companies a financial incentive to cut services, the Department of Transport has finally agreed to a consultation.

Along with 50 other organisations, we've been asking the government to hold a formal, public consultation that would allow members of the public to have their say on rail services - not just those of the industry, as the government had previously argued.

We're worried that more flexibility in the rules around rail franchising would allow socially neccessary (but perhaps not profitable) services to be cut to make way for more lucrative routes.

In a statement issued today, the Minister of State for Transport announced that the Department will 'shortly begin a consultation exercise on the future of rail franchising policy'.

That's the first battle won, but we're not stopping yet: we will continue to put pressure on the government through the consultation process to ensure that the needs of the public aren't forgotten.

1 June: We recently objected to a Department for Transport plan to give train companies a financial incentive to cut services, together with 50 other organisations.

The Department has replied to our letter, saying that they'd made a mistake - many train companies already have this incentive! They did not respond to our call for a formal, public consultation on changes to rail franchising policy. (So far, they've only talked informally to train companies.)

We've written back, asking for more information on the incentive and calling for a consultation on any changes being proposed so that passengers can have their say.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is expected to discuss cutting costs with train operators this week, so we'll keep putting the pressure on for passengers' interests to be met. Services must be maintained - and fares must be affordable.

27 May: In opposition, the Conservatives criticised the Government for taking its time about ordering the 1300 extra train carriages it promised in 2007. Now it seems the orders are being delayed altogether.

Passengers - including the Thameslink Tories who helped the Government win the election - are suffering from overcrowding as more and more people take the train.

The Government should be making it easy for people to get to work by providing more carriages. It should be creating new green jobs by getting these built in Britain (cancelling existing contracts). Instead, it seems to be hoping the problem will go away.

20 May: The new Coalition agreement includes a commitment to 'fair pricing for rail travel'. Will the 'greenest Government ever' give us affordable fares?

Under the previous Government, fares rose in real terms by 13%, pricing people off rail and back onto the roads.

Now there is an opportunity for a new policy. The Liberal Democrat manifesto promises train fare cuts and 82 MPs in the new parliament support our call for a review of fares.

But prices won't be fair until fares are lower: please contact the new Transport Secretary and tell him to cut fares.

3 May: We have joined with 50 other organisations to defend passengers from Government plans.

The Department for Transport wants to give train companies a financial incentive to cut services. This could encourage companies to run down or cut services that people need, which would be very bad news for passengers. But the Department is not consulting the public on this proposal!

We say that's out of order, and we've been joined by unions, environmental groups, pensioners and rail user groups from around the country. We've written to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, asking him to stop the Department from going ahead with its proposal and to consult formally on all of its suggestions for rail franchising.

We've copied the letter to the shadow transport secretaries from the other parties, so they're aware of the issue if they get elected.

27 April: We've just told the train companies what we think they should do about fares.

The Association of Train Operating Companies is reviewing train fares policy at the moment. Government action is required to bring fares down, but we also have a few ideas for the train companies.

For example, they could:

• get rid of complicated time restrictions on when you can travel
• tell passengers how many cheap advance fares are available
• reduce or remove first class carriages to increase capacity and focus on providing value for money for everyone
• offer part time workers who can't buy season tickets a better deal
• encourage train travel by providing green miles to frequent train users (we are scandalised that currently train users are encouraged to get air miles instead!)

23 April: We've spotted something very worrying. The Government wants to give train companies a financial incentive to cut services, and it's not even giving passengers a chance to have their say.

The Government has published an informal consultation on 'The Future of Rail Franchising' which is said to be only of 'technical interest' to the rail industry. But it includes a proposal for train companies to be financially rewarded when they make 'sensible changes to services that are no longer justified'.

This could encourage companies to run down or cut socially necessary services which don’t make much money, but which people rely on. Passengers could be badly affected by this but the Government isn't providing any opportunity to respond to a formal consultation!

This is a scandal and we need your help: please tell the Government not to go ahead with this plan and to consult formally on these proposals (Note: this action is now closed).

22 April: We've responded to four Government consultations, together with 20 other organisations, calling for rail passengers' interests to be protected in franchises.

The Government is setting up three new contracts with train companies and it's also consulting on the way it runs franchises. We teamed up with local rail user groups and national organisations and told the Government that it must:

- protect passengers rather than giving train companies the flexibility to cut services and facilities that passengers need
- cut fares to encourage more people to take the train
- introduce more train carriages
 - keep the East Coast line in the public sector to see if it provides better value for money

15 April: Train companies are lobbying for more flexible franchises where they have more choice over what they provide. This could be really bad news for passengers. We need your help to stop serious cuts to services (Note: this action is now closed).

At the moment, the Government gives passengers some protection through the franchise system. It makes sure that train companies provide a certain basic timetable, for example. But now the companies are pushing for more flexible contracts. At the same time, the Government is considering giving them an incentive to cut services. Both the companies and the Government want to cut costs, especially because of the economic situation.

The problem is, if the Government stops providing clear specifications in franchises, train companies will be able to simply pick and choose what they want to provide. Local train services, ticket offices, buffets and so on make less money so they are likely to face cuts, while companies focus on the most profitable routes.

Please help us stop rail cuts. The Government is consulting on franchises so we have an opportunity to tell them to protect passengers. The deadline is this Monday 19 April.

7 April: The Lib Dems have announced their plan to reopen lines across the country using money from the roads budget. We've been campaigning for line reopenings - they would give many more people the option of going green by taking the train.

I was surprised to read some of the criticisms of the plan. Yes, rail costs must be brought down and investment in the existing rail network must continue. Yes, more regional control over rail would help to achieve more line reopenings. But the Lib Dems have done something that the other main parties have yet to do. They have set out their vision for local rail expansion, and been honest about the fact that the money should come from roadbuilding. We're now waiting to hear how the other parties would expand our rail network. Our list of lines that should be reopened is one of the most visited pages on our website - a commitment to reopen lines is bound to be popular.

29 March: One down, two to go! The Liberal Democrats have responded to our campaign, promising to cut train fares if elected.

The party says it will regulate fares so that they fall in real terms every year, instead of rising above inflation as they do at the moment.

This is a big victory for the campaign. Now we need to put pressure on the Conservatives and Labour to follow the Lib Dem example.

Tell the other parties to cut train fares, too. [This action is now closed]

25 March: Passengers in Kent suffer more than anywhere else because the Government allows Southeastern to put up regulated fares 3% above inflation every year.

That's why we've been visiting stations in Dartford, Sittingbourne, Rochester and Gravesend to get passengers signed up to our campaign to cut train fares.

We had a great response from passengers, the media and election candidates. Lots of politicians in the area want to see a review of fares regulation and some of them turned up to help promote the campaign.

Watch the videos of us on KentOnline and ITV.

18 March: We've objected to cuts proposed by South West Trains, together with nine other organisations.

Unions, disability groups, pensioners and others have come together to oppose reduced ticket office hours at 24 stations in London and the South East. All passengers want staffed stations and the plans would be particularly bad news for families, older and disabled people.

We've asked the watchdogs Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch to make sure these cuts don't go ahead.

11 March: The Government has failed to prove its high speed rail plan would be green.

The plan suggests that the impact of the new line on carbon emissions will be 'broadly neutral', plus or minus 0.3% of current emissions from transport. Spending billions of pounds on a project that is simply carbon neutral is not good enough.

High speed rail could take away money, time and attention from improving the everyday transport that really matters to people. And if this is the price we pay to allow rich people to travel faster and commute further, it will be a disaster.

High speed rail must only be developed as part of a serious strategy to get people out of planes and cars and onto trains. The discussion has just started today - we'll be working to ensure the plan passes our tests before it gets the stamp of approval.

You can see our response to the plan here.

11 March: The Government is announcing plans for a high speed rail line today - we'll be looking at them closely.

High speed rail only makes sense if it's about replacing plane and car journeys, not just creating more journeys overall. That means if the scheme is to be a success, the Government must cut train fares, make domestic flights more expensive and stop expanding airports and building roads.

Our other major concern is that planning and building the new line could suck billions of pounds from local public transport. The rail network needs investment now. We'll be watching to see whether the money would be better spent on reducing overcrowding, rail reopenings and lower fares.

9 March: South West Trains is planning to cut ticket office opening hours at 24 stations across London and the South East. Help us stop them.

We think the plans would be bad news for passengers. Closed ticket offices mean less staff and closed toilets and waiting rooms. Passengers won't have help with buying their tickets or with wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Say no to the cuts.

5 March: Transition Town Worthing has been getting passengers signed up to our Cut Train Fares campaign. The group has a vision for transport and it's getting people involved to make it happen.

Transition Town groups like the one in Worthing are engaging local communities to respond positively to the challenges of peak oil and climate change. They know that if we're going to meet these challenges, people must have an incentive to choose low carbon public transport instead of driving and flying.

The Worthing group has given out hundreds of postcards - if you or a local group near you could do the same, we could have even more impact.

Order postcards or contact me to find out more about the campaign.

25 February: We've just had a tram campaign victory that’s worth crowing about.

Trams are hugely popular and they get people out of their cars. But there aren't enough of them in the UK because the cost of building them is often too high. This is because Government policy puts trams at an unfair disadvantage compared to other options like roads and buses.

For example, one of the big costs of transport schemes comes with moving utilities (water, electricity, gas mains, sewers) to make way for the new project. Under Government rules, tram schemes have to pay much more of this cost than road schemes do.

We brought this to the attention of Transport Secretary Sadiq Khan last year and argued that trams should get the same deal as roads.

This week, an all-party parliamentary group on light rail recognised the problem and said the utility cost issue should be sorted out urgently. Now Government needs to change its rules so that trams are more affordable.

9 February: As we've often said, passengers suffer when stations don't have proper facilities - like good lighting, cycle parking, bus connections. A new report suggests people in the North West have the worst deal.

Our 2007 'weakest link' survey revealed nearly 200 stations in need of urgent improvement and now TravelWatch NorthWest have shown that their region's stations need a lot more work than the Government thinks they do.

4 February: 59 MPs of all parties have called for rail fares to be reviewed. The MPs showed their support for our campaign by having their photo taken with Train, our mascot.

Politicians are starting to realise that they can't ignore the issue of high fares. If your MP wasn't at our photoshoot, you could write to them and ask why not. And if they were there, write to say well done!

2 January: Rail fares change today. I've written a comment is free article for the Guardian, explaining why the Government needs to bring down fares to make taking the train the easy option. Why not add a comment to let people know what you think? And if you haven't already, join the campaign.

4 December: The Government wants to increase penalty fares from £20 to £50 - but it doesn't always make it easy for people to buy a ticket.

Yes, everyone should pay to take the train, but at the moment passengers are often faced with long ticket office queues - or nowhere to buy a ticket - and a complex fare structure. Instead of increasing penalty fares, the Government should deal with these problems by ensuring that stations and trains are well-staffed and reviewing fares to make them simpler and cheaper.

Tell the Government not to increase penalty fares.

2 December: Earlier this year, we met Lord Adonis at York station and asked him to cut train fares. It seems he was listening.

Now that the Government is in charge of the railway line from London to Edinburgh, the Transport Secretary wants to review and cut fares to get more people on the train.

We've written to Lord Adonis to say well done! And we've asked him to go further by cutting fares across the country.

A photo from the York tour earlier this year:

25 November: In 2007, the Government promised 1300 extra train carriages to relieve overcrowding on the rail network. Yet all over the country, passengers are still packed in like sardines. Why are we waiting?

We've written to Lord Adonis, asking him to stick to the number of carriages promised and to deliver them as soon as possible. We encourage you to do the same. 

25 November: Blackpool South station is under threat. Please take a moment to tell the council why closing it would be a bad idea. [editor's note: This action has now closed]

18 November: We've published figures today which show how the Government's decision to change fares regulation is leaving people seriously out of pocket.

In 2003, the Government decided that regulated fares should go up above inflation each year. This means season tickets are now hundreds of pounds more expensive than they would have been. Let's tell the Government to stop squeezing passengers.

13 November: Later today the Government is taking over the East Coast rail franchise from National Express. We think this is a chance to improve things for passengers.

The Government is now in charge of the trains going from London to Scotland. What a perfect opportunity to encourage people to switch from plane to train! There's no need to wait for a high speed rail line that may or may not get built. The Government could start right now by cutting walk-on rail fares on the East Coast line, where currently only 54% of passengers think their ticket is value for money. Unfortunately the Government is not planning anything like this. Instead it wants to go ahead with the above-inflation fare increases National Express had planned for January. If you think that's unacceptable, join our campaign.

The problem is that the Government is trying to make money from the railways by asking for huge payments from train companies in the franchise agreements (and to make this money, fares have to go up). National Express failed because it promised to pay the Government too much money - £1.4 billion by 2015.

One of the reasons why the Government wants these large payments is that the cost of running the railway has gone up hugely since privatisation. So here's another challenge to the Government: why not keep the East Coast franchise in the public sector and see if it provides better value for money? Lower costs means more money can be invested in improving things for passengers.

27 October: Blackpool Council has proposed that Blackpool South Railway Station should be closed, even though it is used by thousands of passengers.

The Council has suggested that the railway line could be cut off at the Pleasure Beach instead of continuing towards Waterloo Road, Central Drive and the Blackpool Football Club. This would make it much harder to access the town by rail, which would reduce visitor numbers and increase car traffic and carbon emissions.

The Blackpool and Fylde Rail Users' Association is opposing the plans, and Aidan from Campaign for Better Transport Lancashire has suggested that the Fylde line should not be cut but double tracked and modernised to allow a regular service from the Fylde coast to Manchester.

We don't know of any other local authority proposals to close stations and we've responded to Blackpool Council's consultation opposing the idea. Please let me know if you hear of other proposals to close stations - if other councils follow this example then we'll never get people out of their cars.

In the meantime, we'll be watching what happens in Blackpool.

20 October: Reopening the railway line between Skipton and Colne is high on almost everyone's agenda.

Campaigning group SELRAP has organised a conference to discuss a funding partnership for the line, and the Conservative and Lib Dem transport spokespeople are both attending.

Let's hope the conference shows decision makers that reopening this line and others must be a top priority.

16 October: We've responded to an inquiry on light rail with suggestions for how we can get more trams in UK cities.

7 October: Last week, I travelled around the country to talk to passengers about our campaign to cut train fares.

Our seven day trip reminded me exactly why sky high train fares are unacceptable. We met lots of people who gave us all sorts of good reasons why the Government should stop avoiding this issue.

25 September: I won't be in the office for a bit - I've bought a rail rover ticket and will be travelling around the UK for seven days to talk to passengers about our train fares campaign.

Top Bristol campaigner Julie Boston will be coming with me. We'll be handing out campaign postcards at stations all over the country, from Cambridge to Cardiff, and from Guildford to Glasgow. We can't wait!

26 August: The Network Rail report published today raises serious questions about whether a high speed rail line is a good way of spending £34 billion. 

Lots of people think it's a good idea because it offers an alternative to damaging short haul flights. But the report predicts that a high speed line to Scotland would only mean 18% fewer air journeys. And 40% of the high speed rail journeys to Edinburgh would be new trips - people travelling more, travelling further, and generating more carbon.

Network Rail isn't counting on any overall carbon reduction from people switching from plane to train - because building the line would produce a lot of CO2, and because it doesn't know how the airlines would respond to the competition. The study does say that 39,000 tonnes of CO2 would be saved because of people and freight switching from road to rail. But that's only about 0.03% of transport's carbon emissions. We've got some better and cheaper ideas for how to get serious about cutting carbon emissions from transport.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis says increasing capacity is the main reason for high speed rail. But has he asked Network Rail to look at alternative options? For example, a freight only line would reduce congestion on passenger lines, and upgrading the existing West and East Coast mainlines by increasing line speed, doubling the track and providing bypasses would provide more capacity and quicker services.

Speed is not the only reason why people switch from plane to train - cost is also key. Instead of waiting until 2020 or later for a high speed rail line, the Government could act right now to make it easy for people to go green. Help us convince the Government to cut train fares and tax the fuel on domestic flights.

20 August: Passengers have a hard time trying to get the cheapest ticket, according to a report released today.

The Which? report says rail staff often don't provide the correct information, especially when there is a choice of company for a journey.

Train fares must be simple to understand as well as cheaper. That doesn't just mean simpler names for the tickets, but simpler options. Complicated pricing and time restrictions don't help passengers, they just make it harder. Instead, we need the Government to step in to make buying an affordable ticket easy to do.

18 August: The Government is pretending it's being tough on train companies by sticking to the RPI+1% formula for regulated train fares.

July's RPI figure of -1.4% means that regulated train fares should fall by 0.4% in January 2010 - but that will still mean a rise in real terms of 1% above inflation, as normal.

Now that the inflation rate is negative, the Government is trying to pretend it's standing up for passengers, but actually its policy is to make us pay higher fares every year.

13 August: Many passengers travelling on First Great Western trains to and from London will be paying 20% more from September.

The company has introduced a Super Off-Peak ticket with strict time restrictions, forcing many passengers to use an Off-Peak ticket instead - and they've increased the price of those by 20%.

Train companies can squeeze more money from passengers simply by changing the time restrictions on tickets. The Government needs to change the rules so that this doesn't happen.

But the Government also needs to change its policy of clawing back as much money as possible from passengers. The Government wants passengers to pay more so it has made agreements with train companies which mean it will receive billions of pounds in 'premium payments'. But the companies can only make this money by charging passengers more and more.

If you think this is wrong, join our campaign!

5 May: Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has said rail journeys should replace short-haul flights, and is planning a high speed rail line to achieve this. We're delighted the Government has realised that many plane journeys should be made by train instead.

But high speed rail is only a good idea if it replaces flights, instead of just adding to the number of journeys we make. 

So Lord Adonis must cancel plans to expand Heathrow airport. If he is really committed to phasing out short-haul flights, this expansion won't be needed.

And if the Government really wants people to switch from plane to train, it must start making it easy for them now, rather than just planning for the future. Lord Adonis should cut train fares and tax the fuel used on domestic flights, so that people can afford to go green.

Join our campaign for cheaper train fares.

27 July: Our campaign to reduce rail fares received a massive boost after a Parliamentary Committee concluded that fares are too high.

Earlier this year I wrote to the Transport Select Committee about the cost of rail fares and the impact this was having on the environment. Their latest report, which you can read on the Parliament website, warns that the massive annual hike in fares (up to 11% for some tickets) is bad news for rail passengers.

The Committee agreed with us that longer franchises would encourage rail companies to invest in their network without the risk that another company would reap the rewards. They also want to keep the East Coast Mainline in Government hands to see whether state-owned railways could be better for passengers than those in private hands.

All in all a number of sensible recommendations. If you agree, why not join the fight for fairer fares?

20 July: If you visit many European cities, you will see quiet, clean, frequent trams instead of cars hooting at each other. But in this country, we only have a few trams because Government guidance makes it very hard to introduce them.

For example, local authorities must pay 25% of the cost of building a tram, but only 10% of the cost of a road or bus scheme.

The Government is now reviewing its guidance, so, together with the Passenger Transport Executive Group (which represents transport authorities in big cities) we've written to Transport Minister Sadiq Khan, asking him to stop discriminating against trams. More trams in our cities would improve the lives of millions of people.

15 July:  We're glad the Government has put out a strategy today for reducing carbon in the transport sector. But it seems to think business as normal can continue, with a bit of tweaking. It’s wrong: carbon emissions won’t fall if it continues with plans to build roads, expand airports, under-fund buses and increase train fares. The Government needs to go back to basics and come up with a real vision for what transport will look like in a low-carbon future.

We think people will travel less than they do now, and they’ll travel more by bus, train, walking and cycling and less by car and plane. The Government should be thinking about how we can get there, fast.

1 July: The Government is setting up a publicly owned company to run trains on the East Coast mainline by the end of the year, because National Express cannot meet its franchise commitments. This is a chance for Government to learn lessons and try to improve things for passengers. We’ve got three suggestions:

1) The Government must stop cutting its rail funding and increasing fares.

Deals between train companies and the Government involve large sums of money being paid back to Government. This means the companies are forced to increase fares. National Express wasn’t making enough money from passengers to pay back the £1.4 billion it owed the Government. We're campaigning for the Government to invest in our railways instead of squeezing passengers.

2) The Government must run the East Coast franchise to meet passengers needs, not the need to make money.

That means investing in improvements, and reversing National Express decisions to introduce ticket gates at all stations, and to charge passengers extra to guarantee getting a seat.

3) The Government should keep the East Coast franchise in the public sector and evaluate whether that provides better value for money.

This is a big opportunity for the Government to find out whether railways can be run more efficiently by the public sector. It should not relet the East Coast contract but should allow the public company to continue running train services in the long term, as a benchmark for other franchises, and find out if it performs better. Saving money means more money for investment, and better services for passengers.

15 June: A new report agrees with us: in traffic-clogged towns around the country, people are desperate for a railway line that would give them a real alternative to driving.

The report shows there is a strong business case for new lines to connect towns to the rail network. One million more people would have access to rail if the top 14 lines and 40 stations were built.

We suggest the Government should read the report carefully, look at our list of lines that should be reopened, and then get on with it. Many people don't have the option of taking the train. Giving them that option would cut carbon emissions and traffic jams.

11 June: A tram scheme in Nottinghamshire is under threat because the newly elected Conservative councillors want to cut the Council's funding for it.

The tram extensions would really improve things for people in the area, and our local group has been campaigning to make sure they happen. I've written to Theresa Villiers, the Conservative transport spokesperson, to ask her to intervene to make sure the tram goes ahead.

1 June: Caught on camera: When trains and planes fight for our business, planes fight nasty. It's not a fair fight.

8 May: The Independent has publicised a fact we've been highlighting for some time now: since Labour came to power, public transport fares have risen while the cost of motoring has fallen, undermining attempts to cut carbon emissions.

People are being priced off buses and trains and pushed into cars and planes. We're campaigning for the Government to change its ways and give people an incentive to choose low-carbon transport.

People agree with us: over half of the responses to the Government's consultation on its transport plan called for cheaper public transport fares and higher costs for motoring and aviation. The Government's response (pdf 363 kb)suggests they don't want to deal with this problem. But we're not going to let them ignore it.

30 April: The recession is no excuse for service cuts and higher fares - let's tell the Government to get its act together.

The recession means that rail use isn't growing as much as it has been. That's a good reason to cut fares, to encourage people to use trains. Instead, services and jobs are being cut.

The RMT has organised a demonstration this Tuesday - hope to see you there!

19 April: Yesterday, the Rail Minister told me he’d love for train fares to be cheaper.

I was talking to Lord Adonis at York rail station. I was there with several people to remind him that huge rail fares are a huge problem for most of us. He said he’d love them to be cheaper – but that that was up to Alastair Darling. So, come on, Darling, be a darling and cut train fares, so that we can be rewarded for choosing green travel.

Photo: Lord Adonis listening to our request to cut train fares

10 April: Keep your eyes peeled for an unusual train sighting. Rail Minister Lord Adonis is about to begin a six-day train trip around the country to see the railways at first hand – ending up in York on the weekend (according to The Times). 

It’s unusual for a minister to do such a thing so we applaud Lord Adonis. His trip is a great opportunity for you to let him know how you think the railways could be improved! You could hop on his carriage and have a chat or welcome him in York next week. If, like me, you can’t join Lord Adonis on the train, drop him an email. He’ll be receving emails during his journey.

I’m going to tell Lord Adonis that we don’t want the highest train fares in Europe. He should cut train fares so that more people can afford to go green by taking the train. The Government could pay for fare cuts by taxing the fuel on domestic flights.

Lord Adonis's email address: andrew.adonis@dft.gsi.gov.uk