Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's press release of 18 August 2015, entitled Earnings outstrip rail fare increases for the first time in a decade, what the statistical evidential basis is for the statement that increasing regulated rail fares by the retail price index between 2016 and 2020 will save season-ticket holders around £425 each.

Data on all annual season ticket issues and the revenue associated with them was used to create an implied average annual season ticket fare. This was then uprated under both the RPI+0 policy, and the Department’s previous assumption about future policy (RPI+1), using the OBR’s assumptions of future RPI increases. The difference between the two was then summed to reach an average saving of £425 over the period.