Rail passengers still paying up to £100 too much at ticket machines
Ministers fail to fulfill promise that all travellers be alerted to rip-off fares at self-service outlets
TRAIN travellers at hundreds of railway stations throughout Britain are still paying up to £100 too much for tickets after ministers failed to fulfil a pledge made in response to a Daily Tel
egraph investigation. About 300 self-service ticket machines – around one in eight – still give customers no indication that they could obtain cheaper rail fares if they went to the ticket office or paid online.
That is despite Claire Perry, the rail minister, promising that signs alerting passengers to possible rip-off fees would be installed on ticket machines by March 2015. Ms Perry made the pledge after this newspaper revealed how passengers were being overcharged without their knowledge when using ticket machines.
It was found that the machines, which are used to purchase almost a quarter of all tickets sold annually, offer wildly different fares, making some journeys £100 more expensive.
Discounted tickets for group travellers, special promotions and other ways passengers could save, such as buying in advance, were not being flagged up.
In response, Ms Perry called a meeting of railway chiefs, which led to an agreement that customers should be made aware of the cheaper prices.
She said in December 2014: “There is no excuse for poor quality information, restricted ticket choice or confusing screen directions at ticket machines.”
She added: “One summit is not the end of our discussions. I will be closely monitoring progress and I will not hes- itate to hold the industry to account if improvements are not made.”
However despite the pledge, hundreds of machines have not been updated. An industry source said that 12 per cent of ticket machines – around 300 – still do not warn passengers that cheaper fees could be available elsewhere almost a year after the proposed date of completion.
Unlike updated machines, they have no sticker or electronic message that spells out how customers could avoid the most expensive fees.
Labour has accused Ms Perry of fail- ing to live up to her promises. Lilian Greenwood, the shadow transport secretary, said: “The Telegraph exposed an important issue, but ministers seem to have lost interest. Some passengers are still not being offered the cheapest ticket and even the commitment to label the ticket machines has not been kept.”
In response to the finding, Ms Perry said: “Train operators have already made improvements and passengers are benefiting from better on-screen information at stations and at the majority of ticket machines. But there is clearly more to be done and, working alongside the ORR as the consumer regulator, I continue to push the industry to address the remaining issues as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group said: “Train operators are in the process of providing more information on ticket vending machines to ensure that customers are better informed about the options open to them.”