Ombudsman aims to ‘educate’ young passengers
An initiative to “empower” young rail users has been launched by the Rail Ombudsman.
It follows a case in which the mother of a female teenager travelling alone complained to the Ombudsman after an incident in which the daughter was accused of fare evasion.
In response, the Ombudsman has now launched The Young Person’s Train Guide, a campaign that includes a resource pack explaining such aspects as penalty ticketing and including worksheets for school pupils. The guide has been picked up by Merseyrail, which is working with schools in the Liverpool area to educate new railway users.
The Ombudsman said that since the role was established in 2018, “young people’s lack of knowledge of rail travel, the laws and byelaws that govern it, and passengers’ responsibilities and obligations to achieve safe passage, has been evident”.
It adds that cases “whereby young people are penalised, based on a lack of experience or knowledge of the rail sector, can be very damaging. Their experience of the industry is negatively impacted, confidence is knocked, and parents, guardians and families’ reactions have longterm industry repercussions.”
Kevin Grix, CEO and Chief Ombudsman at the Rail Ombudsman, said: “This national initiative has been designed to educate and empower young people, as train travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels and often relied upon as a key mode of transport for the next generation of rail passengers.
“We’ve witnessed first-hand the impact that lack of knowledge can cause when young people travel by train, often with devastating consequences which could have been avoided. Our aim is to educate and inform young people to travel as confidently and securely as possible.”
Merseyrail Deputy Managing Director Jane English said: “By working with the Rail Ombudsman and some of our local schools, we want to ensure that young people know what is expected of them and what their rights are while using our services.”
She said the aim was to “instil confidence and the love of rail travel among young people in our region”.