Green Party pledges to cut train and bus fares

The scheme, projected to cost around £9bn over the course of the next Parliament, will be paid for by scrapping the majority of the current Government’s £15bn road building programme.

Speaking at a protest against the privatised rail system, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said: “This investment of £1.8bn [per year] would offer an enormous help to Britons to as they travel between communities, to work, to meet up with friends and relatives, and would help us relieve the national reliance on carbon-intensive forms of transport.

“The privatisation of the railways has been a huge disservice to passengers – driving up prices while creating a race to the bottom in service provision. It’s left us with a rail network that is fragmented, costly, understaffed, and under-invested – and the public are shouldering the financial burden.”

Green growth

While it is unlikely the Greens will ever wield sufficient power to enact their policy, support for the party is at an all-time high, as a recent YouGov poll found that one-in-ten voters would vote Green if there was a general election tomorrow.

In addition, Green Party membership has more than doubled in the past year to 38,000, compared to 44,000 for the Liberal Democrats.

At the opposite end of the political spectrum, Ukip kicked off its election season earlier this week with energy spokesman Roger Helmer saying that climate change is still ‘open to question’ and that the party would repeal the Climate Change Act, if elected.

.@TheGreenParty would cut #rail & #bus #fares by 10% by scrapping most new roads http://t.co/NaOf7QaHx5 Please RT pic.twitter.com/iJ2fEhJzbs

— The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) January 6, 2015

Brad Allen