THE Scottish Government has confirmed that ScotRail fares will increase from April.
The 3.8% rise will come into force on April 1, while the extension of ScotRail’s flexipass ticket to cover 12 single journeys rather than 10 will continue.
In response to a parliamentary question announcing the increase, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the Government wants to encourage more people on to public transport and had kept the increase “as low as possible”.
She said: “From April 1 2025, all ScotRail fares will increase by 3.8%, including season tickets and flexipasses.
“We want more people to choose to travel by public transport for work, study and leisure, but we know that people are still struggling with cost-of-living pressures and don’t always see public transport as affordable or attractive.
“That is why we have kept the rise this year as low as possible, while also supporting the generation of sufficient revenue to help maintain existing services, and contribute towards investment in infrastructure and fleets.”
The increase is lower than the 8.7% which came into force last year, but remains above the rate of inflation seen in December – 2.5%.
Scottish Green transport spokesman Mark Ruskell said the increase will cause “misery” for commuters.
“If we want rail to be the first and best option for regular journeys, then it has to be affordable and accessible for all,” he said.
“When the Scottish Greens were in government we secured the removal of peak rail fares, only for the SNP to bring them back as soon as we were out of the room.
“It was right to take ScotRail into public ownership, but we have a long way to go in building a modern and affordable rail network.
“It shouldn’t have to cost a fortune to get to work, to hospital appointments or even to explore Scotland. We must end peak rail fares and stop financially penalising those who have no say on when they have to travel.”
Scottish Labour transport spokeswoman Claire Baker said: “This fare hike will hammer rail passengers and consign ScotRail to a spiral of decline.
“The SNP should be making rail more affordable but instead it has hit passengers with painful fare hikes time and time again.
“This increase is bad for Scotland’s rail passengers, bad for our economy and bad for the environment.”
