Ticketing and Concessionary Travel on Public Transport - United ...

8
Long distance coach services are currently operated entirely separately from other
modes, with no sign of a move towards integration with those other modes, either of
ticketing or, in the larger picture, of services. 22
18. Coaches are used by millions of passengers every year <strong>and</strong> they often serve locations
<strong>and</strong> routes that are not easily accessible by rail. The Government seems to have a blind
spot regarding integrating coaches with other modes, despite the potential to improve
linkages with rail <strong>and</strong> bus services. The Government should give coaches greater
consideration in future statements of public transport policy.
Sale of tickets
19. Train operators are promoting online ticket sales <strong>and</strong> use of ticket vending machines to
reduce the transaction cost of sales, currently around £400 million per annum. 23 Many
passengers st<strong>and</strong> to benefit from this, both in terms of the convenience offered by online
sales <strong>and</strong> in terms of operators’ cost-savings freeing resources to be used in other ways.
20. The increased opportunities to buy tickets through alternative outlets, such as the
internet, is welcomed <strong>and</strong> of benefit to many passengers. However, it is slightly simplistic
to point to growing internet sales figures to demonstrate popularity if passengers are
effectively forced to use certain sales outlets because others are not available. The National
Passenger Survey showed that while 65% of passengers were satisfied with ticketing
facilities at stations, 19% were dissatisfied. Similar results apply to telephone bookings. 24
21. A reliance on online sales leaves passengers without access to the internet or without
credit cards at a severe disadvantage. A further problem for some passengers is that the full
range of tickets—including PlusBus <strong>and</strong> cycle reservations—is not available online or
through ticket vending machines. Combined with the reduction in the number of station
ticket offices, <strong>and</strong> of the hours during which they are staffed, these changes in
arrangements for the sale of tickets might bring benefits overall, but they conspire to make
life very difficult for a minority of prospective travellers. 25
22. The Rail White Paper promises a simplification of the rail fares structure to make it
easier for customers to compare <strong>and</strong> choose the most appropriate ticket. 26 Trainline.com
has highlighted the derogation that allows train operators to sell certain tickets, such as the
“megatrain” ticket, only through restricted channels, such as their own websites. This
means that a potential passenger might need to search multiple websites to locate the best
fare. “This situation will get significantly worse as smart ticketing is introduced because, in
our view, TOCs [train operating companies] will use this derogation over a wider range of
tickets.” 27
22 Ev 67
23 Ev 133
24 Ev 131
25 See, for example, Ev 71 <strong>and</strong> Ev 185–189 on the problems faced by cyclists trying to book train <strong>and</strong> ferry tickets.
26 Department for Transport, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, Cm 7176, July 2007, paras 10.22-10.44
27 Ev 122