Rail industry plans further ticket clarification

The rail industry plans to make the language used within the fares system easier to understand as part of an ongoing drive to help passengers purchase the correct ticket for their journey.

Recent research by KPMG found that one in five people do not find it easy to understand which ticket they need to buy, and that a third do not feel that they are always getting the best deal.

Almost half a million routes will be affected by this latest part of the initiative, which begins next month. It will mean that since February 2017 all 14,000 uses of ‘Route Direct’ and more than 670,000 (13% of the total) uses of ‘Any Permitted’ will either have been removed where there is only one way to travel, or replaced with the name of a major station the train passes or where the customer must change train. In addition, the use of ‘London terminals’ will be changed to specify on the ticket the particular London station that the fare is valid to. When a ticket is valid to multiple stations, supporting data will be provided online.

The Rail Delivery Group claims that, aided by the changes made to date, 91% of passengers using ticket machines are now buying the most appropriate ticket for their journey – an improvement of 11% since 2017. If customers purchase the wrong ticket from a machine, a price guarantee will refund the additional cost.

Transport Focus Chief Executive Anthony Smith welcomed the news, saying: “Rail passengers find fares and ticketing complex and confusing. Action to remove jargon is a significant step towards a fares system that passengers find easy to use.

“However, over the longer term some more fundamental reforms are still needed if train companies are ever going to enjoy the trust of the travelling public. The current consultation will make sure passengers’ views are heard as the industry works to reform its complicated fares system.”

RDG Deputy Managing Director of Customer Portfolio Jason Webb added: “We know it can be confusing to buy a ticket on the train and that the outdated jargon unique to rail like ‘London Terminals’ or ‘Any Permitted’ is part of the problem. We’re making huge efforts as an industry to make this easier where we can, but to really make fares simpler to understand we need regulatory change. That’s why we’re running a consultation and asking customers to have their say on what they want.”