..if you use Southwest Trains that is. Yes once again, the thorny issue of public transport comes under the microscope!

With the possibility of huge tax increases on bigger cars and vehicles, you would have though that public transport companies would have helped us hard pressed travellers out by offering us some incentive to use their service.

Instead, using utter common sense (why is it called "common sense?? when so few people have it?) Britain's largest train company, Southwest Trains, has decided to increase it's off peak fares by 20%...

Sitting round the formica coffee table that is the focal point of the Money Hospital lunch room, the staff here are not sure whether we should laugh or cry at this complete masterstroke of a decision.

It means that Finance Physician will be popping up to London less for "work conferences?? (although Matron is still convinced she spotted him at the Walthamstow Dog Track!)

Certainly it means we will all be less inclined to use the train at a time when we should be embracing more cost effective means of travel?

Not surprisingly the national rail passenger watchdog has accused South West Trains (SWT) of abusing its monopoly and thinks it might lead to other companies introducing similar raises!

SWT is to force passengers with flexible working hours to buy more expensive tickets, even though they are travelling after the rush hour. It is removing the current split between peak and off-peak fares and introducing a new, intermediate price band on May 20 that will cover trains arriving in London after 10am and as late as 12.49pm.

It will be the second well above inflation increase in the last 5 months for SWT passengers, who already have to endure the worst overcrowding on the network. The announcement comes less than a week after it was revealed that Brian Souter, chief executive of Stagecoach, (which owns SWT) will receive a windfall from the company of about £100 million!! (Brian Souter and his sister and co-Stagecoach founder, Ann Gloag, are worth £395 million!)

SWT has already angered many of you by removing seats and lavatories on several of its busiest routes in order to create more standing room. On the Portsmouth line, passengers now have to sit five abreast, instead of four abreast, for journeys of an hour and 20 minutes.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the watchdog, Passenger Focus said: "This unjustified, unexplained and unfair price hike is exploiting a monopoly market because passengers have little choice but to use South West Trains' services. The lack of consultation and explanation as to why it is necessary to raise prices by as much as 20% will leave passengers frustrated and angry.??

Mr. Smith said the increases would effectively extend the peak throughout the whole of the morning and hit thousands of passengers who had arranged flexible working hours in order to take advantage of off-peak prices. These large increases have as much to do with making money as they do in seeking to ease crowding pressures on true peak-hour trains. The danger is that this could set a precedent for other companies to follow.??

Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the transport union TSSA, said: "This amounts to daylight robbery in view of Stagecoach's profit levels. Modern-day passengers are now being held up by the owners, who consistently increase fares beyond the rate of inflation.??

Under the changes, if you are travelling from Weymouth to London, you can currently buy a cheap day return to arrive at Waterloo just after 10am, but you will have to wait almost three hours or buy a much more expensive ticket.

Even then you will still pay more because SWT said it is raising the price of the cheapest tickets by 3% from May 20, on top of the 5.3% average increase in January. First-class passengers will pay between 15% and 20% more on trains throughout the day.

Examples of fare increases Return tickets for journeys arriving in London between 10am and noon: New fares from May 20

• Portsmouth: was £25.20 - rises to £30.20
• Southampton: was £27.20 - rises to £32.60
• Winchester: was £23.20 - rises to £27.80

So if we were considering letting the train take the strain, it seems that our wallets wil be feeeling strained too! Perhaps if you feel strongly about SWT's increase you should let them know?

It seems that if they can't tax us on transport, then they will overcharge us; where will all this nonsense end?

Im afraid it might be a question that even all of us here at the Money Hospital would be be hard pressed to answer!