The
RMT
union


has
condemned
the
scrapping
of
a
pilot
on
ScotRail
which
abolished
peak
fares
for
a
year.

The
trial
did
not
yield
the
results
for
which
ministers
had
hoped,
and
Transport
Scotland
said
it
was
not
financially
possible
to
continue
beyond
next
month,
when
the
12-month
trial
expires.
But
the
RMT
described
the
decision
as
‘a
retrograde
step’.

The
union’s
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said
the
decision
undermined
the
Scottish
Government’s
own
climate
change
and
car
reduction
goals.

He
continued:
‘RMT
has
long
called
for
the
off-peak
fares
trial
to
be
made
permanent,
and
the
decision
to
scrap
the
trial
will
be
significant
disappointment
for
many
passengers.
The
return
of
peak
fares,
inflated
by
this
year’s
8.7
per
cent
fare
increase,
will
make
rail
travel
unaffordable
for
many
and
push
people
into
cars.

‘The
Scottish
government
should
be
investing
in
making
rail
travel
affordable,
accessible
and
reliable
and
it
should
rethink
this
short-sighted
and
damaging
decision.’