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RAIL TRAVEL


COMPLEX RAIL FARES Rail booking tools may not improve onboard services or circumvent disruption, but they do offer heavily discounted seats on journeys booked well ahead. Using the kind of dynamic pricing that seeks out deals for air travellers, these booking tools navigate the complexity of the UK rail fare system. Evolvi claims it brings down the average ticket price year after year for its users, a feat managing director Kirstie van Oerle says is particularly impressive when prices change almost by the minute. “We are accessing best value fares through what is currently the most complex rail fares structure in the world,” she says. Train ticket retailer Trainline also has a business platform aimed at travel buyers and business travellers. Evolvi has got ahead with some impressive extras, notably carbon emission reports for journeys. These, says van Oerle, are becoming increasingly important “as many [corporate users] are now required to report their energy usage, CO2 emissions and energy efficiency measures in their annual reports”. Buyers may have more concerns than just finding the


best fare and connections when they turn to rail booking sites, suggests Neves, speaking for the “impaired users” for whom he is required to book trains: “An improved and standardised booking process for assisted travel services would be welcome through online booking platforms.” Operators currently tackle this issue through their individual apps, which do not feed into national booking sites, such as Trainline. Another of Neves’ concerns is when and whether


rail infrastructure can tie into the joined-up concept of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), which, he says, is gaining recognition as an ideal. “It’s critical that station infrastructure includes solutions, such as Car Club, as well as affordable parking.” Enterprise is planning on bringing its rent-by-the-hour Car Club vehicles to dozens of UK locations, he points out.


RAIL COMPANIES STEP UP LNER has plans to make onward travel “as seamless as possible” via new initiatives, such as a new digital service, LNER Assistant. It sends customers service updates direct to their mobile phone across multiple channels, integrating booking data and live train information to deliver personalised alerts. It claims to be the only train operating company to send these types of automatic notifications as standard in real time. Delay Repay is also becoming more simplified, thanks to some operators offering automatic online compensation but it is not standardised, with train operating companies using varying repayment methods. Yet while compensation schemes are getting easier to use, the same cannot be said for ticketing. It is to be hoped the Williams Review report will recommend an end to the need for travellers or travel buyers to employ “split ticketing” – booking journeys in stages to get a better fare because of anomalies on certain routes.


buyingbusinesstravel.com 2019 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 119


SMARTER TICKETING


THE WIDESPREAD USE OF E-TICKETS across the UK is still a long time coming, with the focus remaining on commuter trains “in and around London”, argues Capita’s Josh Collier. Operators, including Thameslink, Southern and Southeastern, have bought into the concept of digital ticketing with Smartcards, but they are “geared towards regular daily travellers rather than passengers like business travellers making one-off journeys”. Heathrow Express has introduced


contactless and Oyster cards. So far, 86,000 customers have used these since the launch in February. Meanwhile, its new website is set to


introduce lower price points through a yield management system, giving lower fares available on days with lower demand, offering better value for money closer to the date of travel compared to the current system where customers must book before certain times to secure advance fares. A new API is also planned that gives TMCs quicker and easier integrated booking of tickets by prompting the option when a flight to or from Heathrow is selected.


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