New season tickets go on sale for part-time commuters - BBC News

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New flexible season tickets go on sale from Monday aimed at commuters who only travel to work two or three days a week.

The new tickets can be used for eight days in any month-long period.

The National Rail website will allow passengers to calculate savings and book the new tickets.

It's part of the government's planned shake-up of rail services, but is being introduced immediately to cater to the trend for more home-working.

From 2023 a new state-owned body, Great British Railways (GBR), will set rail timetables and prices, sell tickets in England and manage rail infrastructure.

The flexible season tickets are being introduced separately, ahead of the structural changes, and can be used from 28 June.

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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the new tickets would offer "greater freedom and choice about how we travel, simpler ticketing and a fairer fare".

The government estimates commuters could save between £60 and £350 a year on selected journeys.

The new system offers:

• flexible season tickets allowing travel on any eight days in a 28-day period, with no need to select the days of travel in advance
• an online 'season ticket calculator' to help passengers identify the cheapest option
• until the end of this year only, a guarantee for passengers who book in advance, that they can alter their bookings with no extra charge if their plans change

There was already reduced demand for traditional season tickets before the pandemic struck, but the enforced period of working from home has accelerated the trend. Dozens of employers have announced staff will be given the option to work from home at least part of the week after pandemic restrictions are removed.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said the changes would help persuade people to choose rail travel again.

"Our research with passengers showed us there was strong demand for a new ticket that suited people who expected to commute less frequently in future," said Mr Smith.

"This is a positive step towards much-needed longer-term reform of how rail tickets are sold. We also welcome the waiving of admin fees for changing tickets, which will help rebuild passenger confidence."

However, Transport Focus said it was important that passengers used the calculator to check the costs, as the new flexible tickets would not be the best option for everyone.

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The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) which represents train operators said the rail companies would like to go further in reforming the fare system, if given the go ahead.

For example they would like to see more use of the tap-in, tap-out technology, used on the London Underground, which allows travellers to accumulate journeys and pay the price for a season ticket if they reach the threshold, without having to know their plans in advance and pre-purchase a season ticket.

Although the new flexible season tickets apply to National Rail operations in England, with rail operations devolved in other nations, they are available on cross border commuter routes, for example Bristol to Cardiff, or Berwick to Edinburgh.

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2021-06-21 00:16:55Z
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