Well, yes:
Chris Grayling, the shadow transport secretary, said:
"When the Government seems determined to introduce a national road
pricing scheme, it is ludicrous to be pursuing a policy that will price
many people off the trains too.
"These increases
are coming at a time when overcrowding on many services is very serious
and set to get worse. It looks like the Government has decided to
collude with the train companies to tackle overcrowding with
inflation-busting rises that will force people off the rail network."
That probably is what they’re doing. If capacity is restricted (as it is) then raising prices to push the marginal traveller off the system does indeed serve to reduce overcrowding. You would hope that a Tory would actually understand that.
What else does anyone want them to do? Lower prices so as to increase overcrowding?
In the longer term of course the answer is to increase capacity: but what else should they be doing in the short term?
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