UK: Great British Railways must retain cash payment options, watchdog Transport Focus has said, because some passengers in the most deprived areas could be disadvantaged if they had to use other payment methods.
In its Is Cash Still Important On Today’s Railway? report, Transport Focus says GBR should:
- ensure that cash payment is maintained at stations where it is currently an option, so that people can continue to access the best value fares products such as Railcards and Advance tickets which are not available to purchase onboard;
- consider enabling high street retailers such as supermarkets, newsagents or post offices to sell rail products, to widen access and benefit people travelling from stations where key products cannot currently be purchased with cash;
- support people with accessing the benefits of buying online or using pay-as-you-go, including simplifying fares so people can feel more confident changing how they buy and pay for their travel.
Transport Focus matched deprivation data with publicly available ticket sales data from 429 GWR, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express and LNER stations. It found that at least 20% of ticket purchases were made with cash in almost all stations in the most deprived areas, and cash usage was on average double that of the least deprived areas.
A spokesperson fore the Great British Railways Transition Team told Rail Business UK ’we know that passengers want us to keep it simple when they go to buy a train ticket. That’s why the rail industry is rolling out more digital and pay-as-you-go options.
‘Taking advantage of new technology is an important part of giving passengers a simpler, better experience, but we also know that there are some who can’t or won’t want to use those options. Part of our work is absolutely about making sure rail remains an option for everyone, with accessible purchasing options.’
