Virgin Trains Ticketing has issued a report calling on politicians to give passengers a better deal by reforming the retail side of rail travel.
The report, titled Charter for Change, shows that:
- 57% of passengers have no idea that train operators can restrict certain train fares.
- 77% think train fares are too complicated.
- 86% believe fares should be the same regardless of where they are bought.
- 50% of passengers say that one of their main frustrations is inconsistency between retailers is
- 58% say their top priority is getting the best fare for their journey.
- 94% want retailers to have access to live fares so they have more journey options and alternative destinations.
Charter for Change was launched outside of Westminster before the All-Party-Parliamentary Rail Group held yesterday, Monday, 20th May.
‘Charter for Change’ is about can unlocking a better deal for UK passengers.
Mark Plowright, Director of Virgin Trains Ticketing
Charter for Change also shows Delay Repay frustrates many passengers, with 73% wanting to be able to claim repayments from where they bought their ticket instead of applying to separately the train operator.
Key proposals from the report include:
- All train operators’ discounts and fares should be available from all sales outlets.
- Independent retailers should have access to live data from across the network so that passengers can find the best deal.
- All retail channels should offer essential services such as Delay Repay and Mobile Pay-As-You-Go.
Aaron is a train traveller from Holyhead who uses the train regularly for work and leisure. He considers himself to be a nerd-level expert on train ticketing, but still has difficulty get fares he knows are available.
The system is too complex. I’d say I only see the fare I want first time, a third of the time. I just want to be able to go onto the site or app of my choice and find the best value deal for my journey. I don’t want to see variability of £200 for a seat on the same train.
Aaron . a train traveller from Holyhead
The current retail environment was not set up with a large market of independent retailers in mind and we’ve been left with a model that limits what retailers can do.
Buying a train ticket is the first interaction any passenger has with the network and getting the rail ‘shop window’ right is crucial if we are going to boost rail ridership and win back passengers’ trust.
That means fare reform – simpler and cheaper fares – but it also means addressing the current rail retail model which is causing confusion and frustration for passengers. This divide between train operators and rail retailers is outdated and unnecessary. It stifles competition and doesn’t reflect the growing role that independent retailers play in today’s industry.
We’ve seen encouraging conversations around rail retail in recent weeks but it’s time to tackle these issues without further delay. ‘Charter for Change’ is about moving rail retail up the political agenda so we can unlock a better deal for UK passengers.
Mark Plowright, Director of Virgin Trains Ticketing, Launching ‘Charter for Change’ outside of Westminster ahead of yesterday’s All-Party-Parliamentary Rail Group
Responses
One way tickets should be half the fare of a return not upto 90% of a return. Delivering cars all over country and having to return home by public transport it really eats into my income from my jobs.
Agreed. I recall in the mid 1960´s I could get a college weekend ticket cheaper than a day single. Also in early 80´s a weekend ticket was available, BUT ONLY from Travel Agents with the BR logo display, only available on the Friday before the weekend.
Alas all these excellent Travel Agents have gone when Privatisation came in.
The biggest con is that split ticketing works. It exposes the fact that the underlying fare structure has become dishonest. It is beyond me that a ticket office or machine can sell one ticket to a destination when often a handful of tickets allows the same travel under the same conditions for considerably less outlay.