DOUBLE BOOST FOR 'NO TAX ON TICKETS' CAMPAIGN

12.00.00am GMT Tue 28th Nov 2006

Alistair Carmichael MP, Liberal Democrat shadow transport spokesperson

The Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats campaign to expose and end the stealth tax on rail tickets received a double boost this week.

First, the Liberal Democrat shadow transport spokesperson in the House of Commons, Alistair Carmichael MP has given it his backing. He said 'This is a stealth tax on rail tickets and must be brought to an end. Malcolm Cowan deserves congratulations for spotting this and raising it - I do not know of anyone else who has recognised the effects on passengers of the massive premiums being extorted by the Treasury and Department for Transport as the price for the new rail franchises.

'The effect will be to push people away from using the railway as operators are driven to more and more unorthodox ways of raising the amounts needed to keep the Treasury happy. We have already seen the restrictions applied to the use of day return tickets in the evening rush-hour introduced by First Capital Connect - there will be more restrictions and fare rises unless this policy is reversed.

Surpluses should be used to increase investment and make rail use more attractive, not as a cash cow for the government' he said

Secondly, the campaign was backed by Conservatives at County Hall in a debate on Tuesday.

Malcolm Cowan, county LibDem transport spokesperson said today 'It is clear that not only does this massive tax take by the Treasury push up fares, it also gets in the way of agreeing franchises that would improve services. Instead, all the emphasis by the government is on getting as much cash out for themselves. With this double boost of support, we will be upping the campaign. Anyone can give their support by going to the website notaxontickets.co.uk.'

For further information, contact Malcolm Cowan on 01707-324723.

Note for editors:

Many rail franchises have been re-let recently, with a key feature being the large premiums being agreed between the rail operator and the government - Department of Transport and the Treasury. These premiums are taken from the fares paid by passengers and sent to government - effectively a tax. The franchise period is commonly 10 years.

These long contracts and fixed premiums have been heavily criticised in the press because they make no allowance for changing economic fortunes, as well as amount of money extracted from passengers.