Fares crunch
Rail Delivery Group urges radical reform of rail fares after extensive consultation with passengers and organisations.
RADICAL changes could be made to the structure of Britain’s rail fares in the next few years, after the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) canvassed the opinions of 20,000 passengers.
RDG’s research suggests that 35% of non-rail users are put off by the complexity of fares - currently there are around 55 million ticket variations available within the system. Furthermore, it found that only 34% of passengers were ‘very satisfied’ with the ticket they bought.
RDG insists that the price of travel will not rise, and that passengers will actually save money. Currently season ticket increases and anytime return fare rises are linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI), but under the new plans the RDG proposes that the price of a seven-day season ticket would be used to set a cap or maximum price. Lower caps could be introduced for off-peak travel.
As part of the plans, fares trials will take place to inform plans on changes to regulation. These are being developed, with operators keen to run them this year.
Proposals include single-leg pricing so that passengers can mix and match the best-value fares, Pay As You Go on suburban networks, and leg-based pricing where the fare is calculated based on the additive price of the number of legs in the journey. No details have yet been released on where that will happen, or with which operator, as this needs Government agreement.
“The result of our nationwide consultation is clear - customers have different needs and want an easy-to-use range of rail fares to meet them. Our proposals can deliver exactly that - creating a system that better fits how people live and work today,” said RDG Chief Executive Paul Plummer.
“Rail companies are already working together on plans for real-world trials, so people can see what our proposals could mean for them. However, current regulation needs to be updated. We want to work with government, who are key to making improvements a reality, to deliver the better fares system the public wants to see.”
Transport Focus led the consultation with RDG. Chief Executive Anthony Smith said: “Passengers want to see root and branch reform to the outdated and outmoded fares and ticketing system. Trials will provide reassurance and allow passengers to understand the impact of the changes.”
He added: “The time for piecemeal change has gone. Extensive passenger research tells us that Britain’s outdated and outmoded fares and ticketing system must be overhauled.
“Vital changes to the fares system must be tested through pilot projects. These will provide reassurance and allow passengers to understand the impact of the changes.”
The consultation found that eight out of ten passengers surveyed wanted the system overhauled. Nine out of ten wanted consideration of smart or electronic tickets with the potential for price capping, while eight out of ten passengers also wanted fares to be based on encouraging travel on empty trains.
RDG said that its Easier fares for all proposals would create a transparent, simple to understand fares system backed up by an industry ‘best fare guarantee’.
‘Tap-in, tap-out’ pay as you go ticketing could be rolled out across the UK. There could also be greater local control over fares in devolved areas, as well as better integration between rail and other forms of transport.
Flexible working will also finally be recognised under the proposals, while commuters could also travel in off-peak hours - which would offer cost savings, instead of having to pay for peak-time travel in both directions. This could also reduce overcrowding on certain long-distance routes by up to a third, the RDG said.
Some 20,000 people took part in the research, between June 4 and September 10 last year. The RDG also gathered input from 60 organisations that represent some 300,000 other bodies, including local authorities and businesses. Five principles have been agreed upon that should underpin the reforms (see panel).
RDG has built the plans with the concept that passengers should only pay for what they need and are always charged the best-value fare. This would allow the creation of a ‘single-leg’ structure similar to that operating in London, enabling passengers to use the most appropriate ticket.
The London model was chosen because the proposed weekly price cap is ideally suited to smartcard or contactless ticketing being rolled out across the commuter areas. This
will reflect changing work patterns, rather than the rigid 0900-1700 Monday-Friday office worker.
Commuters could also benefit from a weekly capping system similar to that available for journeys within London, using Oyster.
It is also planned that passengers will be given more options for travel, and will not need to commit at the time of purchasing their outward ticket to the time of day they will return. This is because all fares will be singles, and so mixing and matching different types of ticket will be possible for each leg.
RDG also believes that a reformed fares system will enable improved use of technology such as online accounts, smartcards and smartphones, and proposes a two-stage approach to reforming regulation.
The first stage is for the industry to work with Government on how fares are calculated, which would mean the end of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement that dates from 1995. This would be replaced by a new system of regulations that would then require commercial changes for operators as part of changing price regulation.
Analysis by KPMG also showed that if fares are made easier to understand, it is expected that 300 million additional journeys could be made by rail each year.
Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald tweeted: “Reform led by private train companies will serve the interests of shareholders, leaving passengers stuck with a confusing and expensive fares system. For a simple, fair and transparent fares system, the railway needs to be brought into public ownership.”
Transport Select Committee Chairman Lilian Greenwood said: “It’s no surprise to us that passengers want real reform of rail fares. In a 2016 report, the Transport Committee labelled parts of the rail ticketing system “overly complex, opaque and unfair”, and nothing has changed. The call for fairer fares has only become louder and more insistent after a year in which many passengers experienced appalling levels of disruption and promised improvements to services have been delayed or cancelled.
“The Rail Delivery Group’s proposition to the Williams Review that passengers only pay for what they need, are always charged the best-value fare, and can use smart tickets and season tickets that suit today’s working patterns, all make complete sense to us and are welcome recognition that things need to change.”
Greenwood warned that “the devil will be in the detail”, and that the TSC will be watching how the proposals are developed.
The RMT union warned that the plans will be undermined by the fragmentation of privatisation.
General Secretary Mick Cash said: “Whichever way the industry dresses this up, the fragmentation of privatisation will always lead to a complex mix of various fares across the network with passengers caught in the crossfire.
“RMT is also deeply concerned that these proposals, which the industry admits would take up to five years to implement, may be used as just a cover to close ticket offices and remove station staff under the “guise of automation with dire consequences.”