Labour politicians to meet Brighton commuters today
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Mary Creagh is to meet commuters from Brighton to discuss their concerns today (Monday 24 February).
She has been invited along by the party’s candidate in Brighton Pavilion at the next general election, Purna Sen.
The visit is taking place a week after Which? magazine published its annual rail customer satisfaction survey.
The survey ranked Thameslink operator First Capital Connect 17th out 19 train operating companies for customer satisfaction.
Purna Sen
Just 41 per cent of First Capital Connect passengers said that they were satisfied.
And Southern ranked joint 13th with 46 per cent satisfaction.
Which? surveyed more than 7,000 passengers across the country.
The cost of tickets and value for money were among the most common concerns along with the cleanliness of trains.
A season ticket from Brighton to London, including bus and tube, now costs £5,072, with the price having risen at above the rate of inflation, although there are some slightly cheaper options.
Purna Sen said: “These results are very worrying and I am glad that Mary has found the time to come and look into this issue.
“With season tickets costing a small fortune, people deserve value for money and it seems they’re not getting that in the south east.
“We’ll make sure people have their say on this issue and about any other local transport concerns they have.”
Dr Sen and Mrs Creagh will be joined by campaigners at a “Labour Listens” event at Brighton Station before attending a private meeting with local public transport user groups.
Mrs Creagh said: “It’s no surprise that eight in ten commuters think fares are too high when season tickets have gone up by 20 per cent under this government.
“Fare rises are costing hard-working commuters hundreds of pounds, contributing to Cameron’s cost-of-living crisis.
“David Cameron is still failing to stand up for working people, allowing train companies to hit passengers with inflation-busting fare rises of up to 9 per cent a year.”
