Rail passengers in Ayr and Girvan are 'paying more for less' amid 4.8 per cent fare increase

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Train passengers in Ayr and Girvan are “paying more for less”, says an Ayrshire MSP, following a 4.8 per cent rise in rail fares.South Scotland Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey has blasted the ticket price hike, announced by ScotRail last month following a freeze since January 2022, saying that ‘passengers shouldn’t be facing price hikes for an unsatisfactory service.’Ms Dowey has repeatedly called for action in recent months over delays at Ayr and Girvan stations.The most recent four-week reporting period of May 28 to June 24 saw 64.2 per cent of trains arriving on time at Ayr and 38.5 per cent arriving on time at Girvan.However, the public performance measure (PPM) figure - services that arrive or terminate at their location within five minutes of their booked arrival time– for Ayr for the same period was 91.8 per cent and 91.6 per cent for Girvan.This means that more than nine out of ten trains arriving at Ayr and Girvan station met their performance target.Ms Dowey is now calling on Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop to ‘justify the price hike’ for constituents in Ayr and Girvan who, she says, ‘experience train delays day-in, day-out’.Sharon Dowey MSP said: “For too long now, passengers have experienced delays at Ayr and Girvan Stations.“Passengers expect a reliable service from ScotRail, and yet since the SNP took it over, they’ve been let down.“Now, despite these delays, passengers will be hit with a hike in rail fares – right in the middle of a cost of living crisis.“Passengers will undoubtedly be wondering why they’re paying more for their tickets when the service is so unreliable.“That’s why the SNP should be explaining to my constituents what they’re paying a 4.8 per cent increase in rail fares for – and I’ll be