NEWS
Ticket machines to get new warning label
The new deal between train operators for ticket machines to make passengers aware of cheaper fares amounts to little more than a new sticker for the machines, RTM has learned.
Promoted as a new code of practice that will see self-service ticket machines make passengers aware when the ticket they want to purchase is available cheaper elsewhere, the arrangement will actually just see a new warning label affixed to the ticket machines telling passengers that cheaper fares may be available at ticket offices – rather than warning them if the specific ticket they are buying is not the best-value option.
Rail minister Claire Perry MP
pushed for the agreement following research showing how self-service ticket machines — which are used to buy almost a quarter of all tickets – offer wildly different fares.
A summit of rail representatives in December agreed in principle to a new code of practice from March, which has yet to be drafted but will be overseen by the Office of Rail Regulation.
Perry said: “I am absolutely determined that passengers should get the best possible deal for every journey.”
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group admitted to RTM that the current agreement so far amounts to little more than a new
label for the machines.
The spokesperson said: “As it currently stands, between now and March operators will be ensuring that self-service ticket machines are labelled to let passengers know that they could potentially buy cheaper tickets at the ticket office. As far as I am aware there is no commitment yet to make changes across all
machines to have that detail provided for individual tickets.”
The announcement came on the eve of the rise in rail fares at the beginning of January. The average rise for all fares, at 2.2%, is the lowest for five years. Regulated fares, which were pegged to July's measure of Retail Price inflation (RPI) rather than capped at RPI plus 1%, rose by 2.5%.
Thameslink passengers ‘not getting service promised’
The poor performance of the new Thameslink and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise in its first months has prompted the watchdog for London travel to call for a special compensation package for passengers.
They are “not getting the service they were promised” and “have no choice but to put up with the situation”, London TravelWatch says, with a lack of drivers combined with rolling stock
problems resulting in last-minute cancellations and shorter-than- advertised trains.
Since Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) took over in September, performance problems have been rife, with day-to-day experiences far removed from the promises made in the glossy marketing literature – despite high fares.
After a meeting with GTR, the DfT and Network Rail, Stephen Locke,
chair of London TravelWatch, said: “We have asked [them] to agree a compensation package for all those affected by the wide-scale service disruptions over the past few weeks on each of the routes which will make up the new TSGN franchise. A significant gesture is necessary now if they are to have any chance of recovering the trust and confidence of increasingly cynical commuters who, being effectively a captive market, have no choice but to put up with the situation.”
TSGN will encompass the Southern and Gatwick Express routes from July 2015 and also includes a small number of services and stations currently operated by Southeastern, which transferred in December.
A GTR spokesperson told RTM: “We apologise for the recent service on our network and in particular on Thameslink.
“As well as issues such as train failures which we are determined to address, there have been many problems with infrastructure, such as signal failures.
“A general shortage of drivers has also led to cancellations. Drivers on overtime normally cover the shortfall but, on Thameslink, this has been absorbed by 900 separate days of essential training in the past three months for the new routes being taken around the London Bridge redevelopment and for new trains we are introducing which will improve reliability.”
He said the operator is recruiting and training “many more drivers”.
10 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 15
© Yui Mok PA Wire
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