Industry must act fast to implement crucial changes and win back passengers
The industry is at the proverbial ‘coffee-smelling’ moment, moving from worrying about how we can cram everybody in to having to re-attract customers, find new ones, and cut our costs to match reduced numbers.
I am concerned that while
RAIL’s editorials and regular columnists seem acutely aware of this, many articles seem to reflect an industry in ‘business as usual’ mode, with an assumption that next March we can throw our masks away and forget this all happened.
I, like millions of others, work for a company that used to equate working from home as a skive, but which has now discovered that not only can we work equally effectively at home, they can save a fortune in office costs as well.
The five day a week season ticket commuter will no longer be the norm. Two or three days a week will be more likely, and those days will vary as we juggle office meetings with home commitments.
This will in turn free people to live further from work in areas more to their liking - rural, more space, cheaper.
Many others will not have this choice and will still have to attend workplaces full-time, although they are more likely to be key workers with shifts spread across the full day and week. Their needs must not be forgotten.
To meet this challenge, we must put all our efforts into getting the passengers back, and getting the costs down before the Treasury does:
Keep up the reliability and cleanliness improvements we have all seen, but look to improve comfort, on-board catering,
WiFi, and more tables as journeys get longer and more work is done on the move.
Remove barriers to travel: Oyster-style walk-on fares in all commuting areas, which now means just about everywhere, with automatic discounts for regular travellers. By tapping in without having to see a specific figure, not only is it quick and easy but an important psychological barrier is removed - you don’t have to think about the costs and justification of each individual journey.
Think end to end journey: make stations easier to access, ensure direct access and track crossings at both ends of all platforms, tap-in points, well-lit footpaths and easy cycle access from local housing and other journey endpoints.
On to costs, radical approaches are required…
Adjusting frequencies to demand while maintaining employment, by reducing overtime - making part-time work and reduced hours easier.
Maintaining training programmes to reduce staff shortages and costs in the long term.
Improve the changing trains experience at key locations, to improve customer options if direct frequencies or options have to be reduced.
Focus on maintenance costs: mobilisation times, possession lengths, consider closing services early or at quiet periods to get more work done per shift. Improve the quality of alternative arrangements to cover the needs of all travellers.
Focus on project costs: as travel patterns and flows change, the industry must adapt more quickly and more cost effectively. Reform the timetabling process to enable easy modification to match demand, popular events, weather changes, and maintenance and project activities.
If the industry concentrates on the essentials, and quickly, we can demonstrate to the Treasury that we know best how to get the costs down and revenue back up. However, I’m afraid I don’t see much sign of this.