Basically the fares are going up for one reason. Greed. Why? To suit the shareholders. There is a climate in our Government (of any stripe) to indebt the public through all manner of wastage (overseas aid, the EU, the Olympics, higher VAT, bailing out the banks, etc) This we all know. But when it comes to public transport, the green measures the Government boasts off is belied when rail companies can, for no reason, decide they will increase their fares every New Year. Why? Has the running of the service suddenly become more expensive between Dec 2011 and January 2012? They tell us it is for further investment. What investment do they speak of? At my local station, there is no staff after 11 am. The platforms are ill-maintained, railings everywhere, grafitti, and litter. There is no assistance, no plants, no-one who can advise what is happening at any given time. The only investment I can see is in painting the stations in their company colours. I support you fully against this greed and want the link broken beitween private coprorations and ministerial back-scratching.
Good luck to you.