One of the organisers of a high-profile fare strike on the Bath area's trains says passengers are ready to revolt again over what he calls a "tax on commuting".

Politicians have backed calls by More Train, Less Strain action group co-founder Tony Ambrose for a halt to fare rises.

Mr Ambrose, who lives in Bath and works in Bristol, says the cost of the 15-minute journey between the two cities is mile-for-mile one of the dearest in the country – although this claim is denied by operator First Great Western.

At the moment a return ticket for the 26-mile round trip can cost up to £7.30, and is set to rise to more than £8 in the new year and – according to campaigners – likely to be over £10 by 2014.

The cost is decided partly by provider First Great Western and partly by the Government, which has just announced a three per cent increase over and above inflation, from January.

Mr Ambrose, who is among a group of passengers considering whether to revive the campaign group, said it was only a matter of time before passengers took direct action.

He said: "A return from Bath to Bristol is going to cost in excess of £8 in the new year. This is, mile for mile, about the most expensive train trip in the country.

"It is effectively a tax on commuting by train. It is just really spiralling out of control.

"Passengers are beginning to feel really angry and resentful about it. It is only a matter of time before they try to do something about it."

Mr Ambrose added that if the few thousand people who commuted via train each day got into their cars instead, the road system between Bath and Bristol would not cope.

He said: "The only thing the Government will listen to is direct action. We are definitely heading towards a point where people will take no more."

A spokesman for FGW said that at 28p a mile, the average Bath-Bristol return fare was actually in line with others across the UK.

He said: "While we understand there is difficulties in the economic climate at the moment, when we compare our fares per mile to alternatives, they stand up very well."

In 2008 a fares protest organised by MTLS saw passengers refusing to pay and instead use fake tickets, to voice their anger at what they called Worst Late Western.

Councillor Roger Symonds, Bath and North East Somerset Council's cabinet member for transport, said that to get more people out of their cars, train fares had to be cheaper.

He said: "I think the train pricing system is so complex. If you know your way around the system and you can book in advance then you are likely to get pretty good, reasonable fares.

"But if you can't do that and you are a normal commuter then it is really very, very expensive. First Great Western is incredibly expensive. We know that and they just keep going up and up."

Bath MP Don Foster added: "I am deeply concerned how this hike in rail fares will affect Bath's residents. We are already paying too much and it cannot be justified to put up our fares further still.

"This is bad for passengers, bad for the economy, bad for the environment and also bad for the residents of Bath. Fares need to be made simpler, more transparent and more affordable."

Recently Transport Secretary Philip Hammond caused controversy when he described trains as a "rich man's toy", admitting that some fares were "eye-wateringly expensive".

But he said that although raising rail fares had been a difficult decision, it was necessary because of the budget deficit.