Wednesday 5 July 2017

Nobody move or the commuters get it!

From The Evening Standard:

Rail commuters face 'Brexit fare hike' of nearly four percent

Regulated fares, which include season and other commuter tickets, are set to go up next January in line with the rate of RPI inflation this month.

Economists are predicting RPI will be between 3.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent in July...

The spike in inflation that will trigger next year’s rise has been largely blamed on the fall in Sterling’s value after last June’s referendum on quitting the EU.

11 comments:

Dr Evil said...

Ozzy is such a pessimist.

Penseivat said...

If the RPI is linked to the rate of inflation, why is it that government funded salary and pension increases (xcept for members of parliament) are linked to the much cheaper CPI? It appears that only politicians are exempt e effects of inflation.

James Higham said...

That's a disgrace falsely dragging in Brexit to excuse nefarious activity.

Lola said...

'Inflation' has more to do with QE and ZIRP (which drive credit creation) than it has to with Brexit. Prat.

paulc156 said...

Inflation a £ phenomenon right now. Whether people prefer sterling fell (massively on the day after the referendum) for non Brexit reasons is another matter entirely.................. not :-)

Mark Wadsworth said...

DrE, he has turned the Evening Standard into a parody.

JH, exactly, it's project fear

L, yup.

PC, the fare rise is due to stupid rules on fare rises.

Mark Wadsworth said...

PS, good point/good question.

paulc156 said...

MW. Agreed re the formula for fare rise. Not with the uptick in inflation. The drop in the pound that happened the day of Brexit likely happened due to Brexit. Shock!

Bayard said...

P156C, the Brexit vote may have shoved the pound off the cliff, but the cliff was already there.

paulc156 said...

B. Generally there's been a lot of talk about the lack of UK competitiveness in trade so that fall might have been expected over some period of time, however the post brexit fall was almost instantaneous and historically unprecedented (one day fall) and as such had little to do with those factors thought to undermine our competitive position pre referendum and everything to do with additional factors due to the new elephant in the room. ie. Brexit.
I understand the 'project fear' narrative and have some sympathy with it but if after such a clearly Brexit instigated move in the currency there is a chorus of denial from Brexiters that is Ostrich head in sand behaviour. Real falls in living standards were always on the cards in the near term at least.

Bayard said...

I'm not denying that the fall was triggered by Brexit, but the pound was overvalued before that and was just waiting for something to knock it off it's perch.