The questions on the high price of train tickets put to Jackie Townsend of First Capital Connect (FCC) echo what I hear time and again from local commuters who are sick of paying a fortune for services which aren’t good enough (The Argus, August 30).

More could be done to address this.

UK rail-users face some of the most expensive fares in Europe, not least because of the above-inflation formula the Government uses to set ticket prices. Rail fares should be reduced relative to inflation, not set above it.

My private member’s bill on rail calls for franchises with companies such as FCC to be taken back into public hands when they expire, or when companies fail to meet their conditions.

This would result in savings of more than £1 billion a year – money which could be used to improve services and tackle the spiralling cost of train travel.

Franchise conditions could include demands such as those in the Parliamentary petition I’ve been promoting recently at Brighton Station. These include minimum standards for on-train facilities such as toilets and a railway designed as a public service rather than one primarily run for profit.

People will have another chance to put questions to Ms Townsend and other FCC staff at a meeting I’m hosting at the Old Ship Hotel on September 17.

I hope local commuters will be there to hold them to account.

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion