Johnson calls on operators to lead on fares changes
TRAIN operating companies (TOCs) should take the lead on reforming the national fares structure, says Rail Minister Jo Johnson.
Despite growing pressure from passenger groups to simplify the current system and provide better value for money, Johnson ruled out any unilateral changes being made by government, due to limited funding.
Speaking at an All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group meeting in Westminster on April 24, he said that imposing new products or pricing mechanisms on TOCs would be too expensive, because it would fall on the Department for Transport to underwrite any potential loss of revenue.
The DfT will instead concentrate on the wider rollout of paperless ticketing for existing products, via its £80 million Smart Ticketing on National Rail programme that is due for completion at the end of the year.
He said: “Smart ticketing is the number one priority for us, and delivering on the Secretary of State for Transport’s commitment [for network-wide availability] by the end of the year. We are also challenging industry to deliver more pilot schemes, and want to see operators come to the Department with deliverable ideas for fares reform.
“We are unable to finance an unlimited liability from taxpayers, but we recognise that something has to be done. One thing that has struck me since I became Rail Minister is the amount of innovation in the sector that is pent up to be released.”
Johnson’s preference for a ‘bottom-up’ approach to fares reform was echoed by the DfT’s deputy director for passenger experience Fiona Walsh, who said that franchise bidding provided an opportunity for fares reforms to be proposed and then trialled.
She pointed to the next Southeastern franchise that is due to commence in April 2019, and which includes a requirement for the operator to trial an Oyster-type pay-as-you-go ticketing system in the Medway towns.
She added: “We have listened to what passengers tell us, and we are challenging industry to work with us to come up with solutions. There might not be a ‘big bang’ change, but if we can get incremental changes then it will give us a testbed of evidence and better outcomes for passengers.
“We have various fares trials with the Rail Delivery Group which are ongoing, but creating a new system without losers is fundamentally impossible. There is more we can do, however, and one way is to ask franchise bidders to come up with innovative ideas.”
Mike Hewitson, policy director at passenger watchdog Transport Focus (TF), welcomed the DfT’s commitment to increasing the availability of smart ticketing, but reminded Johnson that there was still a need to consider if the current range of ticketing products remained fit-for-purpose.
He said there was scope in particular to address the lack of flexibility in season tickets, which offer large discounts to full-time office-based workers but do not cater for part-time workers or reflect the growing trend to work remotely from home on some days.
In January, the latest results of TF’s bi-annual National Rail Passenger Survey showed that just 33% of commuters were satisfied they were getting value for money ( RAIL 846).
Hewitson said: “Passengers want something easy to understand, and confidence that they have got the best price. Lots of good work is being done to make fares easier to navigate and purchase, but at some point, we need to look at the cause of the problem.
“In terms of products, one size doesn’t fit all. Part-time season tickets would be better for how people work now, and not five or ten years ago.”