Hyslop accuses Greens of playing political games with cheaper rail fares call

The Scottish Greens have been accused of playing political games for bringing forward a Holyrood debate calling for the abolition of peak rail fares.

The party made the plea as transport spokesperson Mark Ruskell said expensive rail tickets were pricing Scots out of the country’s rail network.

Last year, the then SNP-Green government launched a pilot that scrapped peak fares across Scotland.

But the fares were reintroduced after ministers said the scheme did not convince enough commuters to swap their cars for the train.

It saw fares surge overnight, with a Glasgow-Edinburgh peak train ticket costing more than £30.

A nationwide fare increase means this will go up further this year.

During Wednesday’s debate, the Transport Secretary questioned the timing of the motion, which came a day after the Scottish Budget was passed by MSPs, including the Greens.

She said: “(Green MSP) Ross Greer warned only yesterday in the Budget debate that politics should not be ‘a bit of a game just to get one over each other’.

“Yet this Green Party motion appears to do exactly what he warned against.

“Day one, they support the Budget. Day two, they want to drive a coach and horses through the transport resource budget, blowing a £51 million hole in it.”

Ms Hyslop said the Greens had not asked for peak rail fares to be abolished during their Budget negotiations.

Mr Greer suggested the Greens had brought up peak rail fares during the talks, telling Ms Hyslop: “I would encourage her to check the record in reference to what we proposed in Budget negotiations.

“But she knows absolutely that the Scottish Greens have put forward a range of proposals to fund every policy that we have ever put forward in this Parliament.

“Our motion today is consistent with our party’s policy over a long period of time.

“We are trying to be constructive. I find it disrespectful that she is accusing us of playing political games here when we are simply abiding by our party’s values.”

Ms Hyslop said officials told her that pleas not to increase fares by 3.8% – how much they are set to increase this year – and having a fare freeze were not part of the discussions.

Earlier in the debate, Mr Ruskell warned the Scottish Government that people are being priced out of rail.

“Public transport should be seamless, accessible and an affordable choice,” he said.

“I am concerned that rail is increasingly being seen as a premium form of travel for the few, rather than mass transit for the many.

“It seems odd that having successfully opened a new rail route to Levenmouth with the objective of tackling economic disadvantage, that now the Government is allowing fare increases that will price many people off the restored train services that their communities fought for.”

Mr Ruskell said the cost of rail travel was now “the critical issue” for commuters.

He added: “It’s time for the Government to intervene, to use its power to act in that public interest to deliver a more affordable service.

“We all see from our inboxes that rail travel is now too expensive for too many people, that ticketing is complex and confusing.

“And the fact that rail fares are even higher in England is really cold comfort to our struggling constituents who want to see action here now in Scotland.”

Ms Hyslop said: “This Government agrees that we must make public transport accessible, affordable and reliable to encourage more people to travel by bus and train.

“The off-peak all-day trial from this Government was bold and pioneering, only possible due to this Government bringing ScotRail into public sector control, and was definitely worth trying.

“However, it did not achieve its original aims of encouraging more people to travel by train.”