Tay Tax - A Disgrace

I have long been campaigning for better rail services to and from Dundee.  It is important for the economic development of the city that there are good rail links to and from Dundee, indeed the success of the V & A will be partly dependant on it.  This is why it is ludicrous that it is being reported that for four people a taxi to Glasgow and back from Dundee would be cheaper than four return rail tickets.  This a tax for travelling north of the Tay - the Tay Tax.  It is also ludicrous that there are, as regular users of the rail service will know, bizarre ways to make the price cheaper at certain times.  Surely the fare structure should be clear and understandable, and surely the staff should be under an obligation to sell you the cheapest ticket possible for the journey you want to take.

Prices for rail travel in and out of Dundee jump as soon as you pass either Perth or Kirkcaldy. Dundee falls outside the subsidised rail zone, but we need to get our fair share of rail subsidies.  We should be looking at encouraging more people to use the train it seems to me that we are trying to discourage people from using rail travel.  As my colleague Jenny Marra says the Scottish Government should be looking to sort this out.

I want Dundee to have a rail service fit for the twenty-first century.  The city needs to attract tourists especially to the V & A at Dundee.  The city needs to be an easy place to do business and I worry that if you are based in Glasgow would paying over £50 for a rail ticket not put you off travelling.  For the good of the city we need to have good connections with other parts of the country and in some respects cost is part of that.  The Tay Tax is a disgrace.