RAIL


HOW TO WORK WITH TRAIN OPERATING COMPANIES


Raj Sachdave, former Capita head of rail, now managing partner of new consultancy Black Box Partnerships, offers some tips for working with train operating companies


Train operating companies (TOCs) are businesses, too, driven by franchise obligations, “yield” (price of the ticket) and “load factors” (bums on seats).


1 Work with your TMC and understand how


benefits you could immediately access or learn from in its approach?


2 Intercity and regional TOCs have development teams keen to build stronger,


smarter relationships with businesses. These are their key objectives: ■ Modal shift from air, mileage/car and short- term rental; ■ Recognise loyalty from travellers who trust their service; ■ Ensure the customer experience is enjoyable and productive; ■ Support growth in future business activity, ensuring rail is a default position; ■ On a competitive route, evaluate a realistic potential to switch the right percentages; ■ Looking at ticket type behaviour and supporting best practice (via a TMC).


3 Collate expense data (with your TMC) to understand the potential for all parties;


analysing mileage, food and beverage, parking, taxis, etc, to control costs and increase value in traveller experience.


4 Softer benefits such as reduced parking


vouchers and upgrades may be a smarter approach if your buying behaviour is well established, allowing all parties to build a communication line.


5 Group bookings add value. Most TOCs will offer significant savings to a group of ten


passengers or more. Carnet bookings for regional journeys can offer upwards of 25 per cent savings for regular travel from one location to another, over a 90-day period.


120 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018


Up to 80 per cent of delayed passengers do not claim compensation they are entitled to


buyingbusinesstravel.com fees, complimentary wifi, onboard catering its relationship stands with TOCs. Are there


RAIL


TRAVEL IS ALL ABOUT HOW YOU BOOK, WHEN YOU BOOK AND WHAT YOU BOOK


“walk-up” fare to London – which could cost three times as much as the advance fare. “Rail travel is all about how you book, when you book and what you book,” he explains. “People should never need to book the most expensive Anytime ticket. If they schedule meetings after 11am they can save money and travel on less busy trains. “I advise businesses not to look at


rail travel in isolation as a cost on a spreadsheet, but to understand what part it plays in the total picture. If you’ve got a good level of spend and good data, talk to train operators as they are becoming more commercially savvy.”


SPLIT TICKETING TOOLS Several online companies have now sprung up to offer split ticketing, with Raileasy, which operates the Trainsplit site, now having a corporate booking tool. It is urging customers to back the concept in public consultation, saying it has saved 700,000 customers £11.5 million since March 2015. Raileasy claims its algorithm also finds many cheaper alternative journeys than the 25-year-old journey planner used by National Rail and train operators. Another issue affecting business travel is


compensation for delayed journeys, known as Delay Repay, with the DfT bringing down the threshold from 60 to 30 minutes, now 15 minutes, in the latest franchise awards. It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of


delayed passengers don’t claim because they don’t realise they are entitled, can’t be bothered or find the manual process – sometimes online – too daunting. But two companies are now automating that process in partnership with TMCs. Travel Compensation Services (TCS) started by targeting commuters coming


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