ScotRail paid almost £800 for taxi to take passengers from Wick to Inverness
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One lucky Caithness taxi driver got the booking of a lifetime after cancelled train services saw ScotRail dip into its pocket to get passengers to Inverness.
The fare amounted to £798.30 with the figure thrown up in new research by the Liberal Democrats that showed ScotRail spent a total of £130,000 on rail replacement taxi services in just six months of this year.
The ride from Wick to Inverness was the largest amount paid for a single journey, the taxi stopping at all stations en route to the Highland capital for passengers whose train services were cancelled.
The numbers show that between April and September – the first six months after ScotRail was taken into government hands – the total amount paid to private taxi and hire vehicle services for replacing cancelled rail services was £137,309.91.
The recent Scottish Budget revealed that a pilot scheme is to see peak fares suspended for six months to make train travel more affordable, potentially saving up to half the previous cost of a ticket in some areas.
Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Jill Reilly said: “This is an astonishing sum of money for newly nationalised ScotRail to have shelled out in just six months.
“Even worse, it comes hot on the heels of the news that the service has racked up more than £400,000 in payments to rail users for delays.
“This is money that should be available for cutting fares and updating trains, carriages and stations.
“Commuters and rail users need a quality service that they can rely on if we are to tempt people out of private cars.
"The Scottish Government must work with ScotRail to cut down on their reliance on replacement transport services and deliver the rail service that taxpayers and travellers pay for.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering a public transport system that works for all communities, for all ages, and for the climate.
“That’s why we want to see fares cut, new options for two/three-day a week season tickets and for the government to work with councils to explore new lines, particularly in areas where public transport links are poor.”
