BUT GOVERNMENT REFUSES DUE
TO COST TO THE TAXPAYER
AN army veteran wants railcards extended after months of travel disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Senior railcard holder Stephen Cross, 67, said various circumstances stemming from the pandemic had meant he was unable to travel by rail.
He normally uses his card to travel to see friends and family and travels by train to get to airports
He paid £70 for his three-year railcard, which typically reduces rail fares by about a third, but the card is due to expire in April.
The Government has confirmed that “railcards will remain non-refundable and will not be extended”, said a Railcard spokeswoman, as this “would come at a significant cost to the taxpayer”.
However, Mr Cross, of Vernon Road, Basford, said railcards should be extended because of the disruption customers have experienced this year.
Mr Cross, who served in the army for 23 years and also worked in customer service for the tram operator NET, added: “By the fact of the travelling and paying my fare, even though I’m trying to travel cheaply, the railways would get my business.
“By being responsible now and extending the card – more people will travel and make use of it.”
He said railcard renewal prices should be lowered for customers whose cards have expired during the pandemic.
He prefers to travel by train, and says: “Because I am travelling on my own it’s particularly easy for me to use public transport because I can get to where I want to be and do not have to worry about finding a car park.”
A Railcard spokeswoman said: “After careful consideration, the Government has confirmed to us that railcards will remain non-refundable and will not be extended.
“Refunding or extending railcards for over 5.1m customers would come at a significant cost to the taxpayer at a time when the focus must be on maintaining rail services to support the country’s recovery from the pandemic.”
Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent transport user watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers bought railcards in good faith and will be disappointed by the decision not to extend them or offer a discount on renewal to make up for the period when we were encouraged not to travel.
“While the Government continues to provide high levels of support to make sure the day-to-day railway keeps operating, it seems a pity some slack could not be given on this issue to encourage people back to rail travel.”
A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “We took immediate action at the outbreak of the pandemic to support the rail industry, keeping the services people depend on running, protecting jobs, and delivering refunds on all advance fares, as well as removing charges for cancellations. “With fares revenue having fallen to less than 5 percent of pre-covid levels, we must ensure we are fair to taxpayers and focus investment on maintaining services, to enable social distancing and support our economic recovery. “Special arrangements to refund or waive fees on all advance tickets ended on September 7 and this was clearly advertised by train operators. Passengers with non-refundable advance tickets are still able to exchange them, for a fee, for future travel.”
By being responsible now and extending the card, more people will travel and make use of it Stephen Cross