Peak and off-peak rail fares could become a thing of the past in Scotland now that ScotRail has been taken into public ownership, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Speaking as the rail service was brought back into public hands on Friday, the First Minister said that a review of fares which would take into consideration how Covid has dramatically changed the way people travel will take place this year.
However, Ms Sturgeon said there was no timetable for when fares on Scotland’s railways may fall.
Today, the rail franchise comes back into public ownership for the first time in 25 years.
The franchise transfers from Dutch firm Abellio, which has been running ScotRail since 2015 but it has faced criticism over performance levels.
Its contract is being brought to an end three years early, having been due to last until 2025.
Although customers are unlikely to notice any immediate differences to the way the railway is run, a “national conversation” on its future is set to be launched by The Scottish Government, inviting contributions from staff and managers.
Speakingat Glasgow’s Queen Street Station on Friday, Ms Sturgeon was asked if the review would consider reforming peak fares.
She said: “I wouldn’t want to rule any of that out. I think all of these issues should be on the table.
“I think one of the most challenging things we need to work our way through is what is going to be the new normal in terms of people’s travel to offices and workplaces.
“Where is the hybrid [working] model going to settle? We don’t really know that yet, but it will have big implications on people’s use of public transport.
“So all of these issues I think have to be in scope, as we consider these things and reach conclusions on them.”
Asked when would be the earliest that fares on ScotRail could fall, the First Minister refused to elaborate, saying she did not want to “pre-empt” the review.
In February, ScotRail said fewer trains will run for commuters at peak times after the Covid pandemic “hugely” changed people’s working habits.
A total of 2,150 daily services will be running from May, compared to around 2,400 before the pandemic hit.
Operations director David Simpson said the move towards hybrid working meant that there was less pressure on weekday peak-time services, with people increasingly travelling at other times for leisure purposes instead.
Transport minister, Jenny Gilruth, said the move today was “historic”.
In a statement, she said: “This is an opportunity to deliver a railway which is for the benefit of the people of Scotland and everyone who travels by rail: customers, staff and stakeholders, not shareholders.
“The national conversation that gets under way this spring will provide an opportunity for staff, passengers and communities to have their say in how we shape Scotland’s railway, and ScotRail in particular.”
Unions also celebrated the public ownership move, with RMT Scotland director Mick Hogg telling Good Morning Scotland: “No longer will there be private shareholders receiving dividends or any profits from Scotland’s railway, so in that sense we believe there is a great opportunity for Scotland’s railway to receive the proper investment that it deserves.”
Mr Hogg said the transport minister was “ticking all the right boxes as far as the RMT is concerned and she does not want industrial strife”.
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