The Government protect commuters by regulating the average annual increases in season tickets. On Southeastern, this increase is limited to 3 per cent. above inflation from 2007 to 2011.
Individual fares can increase by more than the average, as long as no individual regulated fare increases by more than 8 per cent. above inflation from one year to the next. Therefore, individual regulated fares on Southeastern can rise by up to 11.8 per cent. for 2008.
Southeastern is committed by its Franchise Agreement to zonalise all fares in London from January 2008, including seasons. To achieve this, and to maintain a balanced fare structure, a general derogation against fares regulation was granted for a number of season fares within London. There were no specific discussions on fares from Bexleyheath.
The new zonal fares structure on Southeastern will help pave the way for Oyster Pay-As-You-Go smart ticketing, to be rolled out across national rail in London from 2009. It simplifies the current complex system of individually-priced station-to-station fares.