How will the rail fare shake-up affect you?
By now you’ve probably heard the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, is switching up the fare system for passengers in a trial.
RDG has acknowledged the current setup is “baffling” for passengers and has said it wants to make sure people are offered the cheapest possible fares.
So you’re probably wondering how it’ll affect you…
What’s been causing problems?
Jacqueline Starr, RDG managing director of customer experience, said: “We know customers can find it hard to get the right ticket for their journey due to complex rules and regulations built up by governments over decades. There are more than 16m different train fares, many of which nobody buys. This also makes it more difficult to give passengers the right, simple options on ticket machines.”
So train firms and the government are trying to work out how best to update the system. Its new trials are switching up rail fares.
When is the trial starting?
It goes ahead from May.
Who will benefit?
Passengers using cross-country train routes are set to reap the rewards of a simplified system, with those travelling on trains between London and Sheffield or Scotland among the first to benefit as part of tests agreed between train firms and the government.
So, initially the trial is being piloted by the RDG on routes between London and Sheffield and on CrossCountry Trains’ nationwide network.
What’s changing?
The trials are aiming to focus on prime examples of where rail fares regulations need modernising. On CrossCountry Trains, passengers will be offered the cheapest ticket on offer for a through journey – without the faff of having to trawl through and weigh up if it’d be cheaper to buy separate tickets for each bit of the route run by different rail operators.
Currently passengers taking a journey with numerous legs often pay more when buying just the one through-ticket, than those who pick up a series of singles along the route.
Anything else?
Indeed. More reforms are being trialled out on Virgin and East Midlands trains, including one to bring in “single-leg pricing” so customers will always know the cheapest fare for their chosen journey – out and back. Finding the best price both ways is made trickier because the regulated off-peak fare is a return one, so customers often have to do the maths on whether two single tickets are cheaper than a return.
So it’ll be more transparent?
That’s the plan. Travellers will be shown the best available price for a journey – regardless of whether you’re picking up a return ticket or two singles.
I didn’t actually realise I might’ve been paying more than I needed to all this time…
You’re not alone. Joanna Whittington, chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road has said that one in 20 passengers were being sold rail tickets by machines that were too expensive. So, many of us are probably coughing up the wrong amount for train fares.
Is there more to come?
Quite possibly. CrossCountry Trains – the main operator taking part in the trials – may eventually offer savings on other routes too.
And a 10-point action plan is being implemented from July requiring train operators to flag up the cheapest fares and let passengers know when they can catch a later service to save money.
Fingers crossed…