UK: The Office of Rail & Road says third-party ticket retailers have responded positively to its December 2023 report which said some were not sufficiently transparent about the additional fees they charge.
ORR said it has had constructive engagement from MyTrainTicket, Omio, Raileasy, Rail Europe, Trainhugger, Trainline and Trainpal after it wrote to them with concerns about ‘drip pricing’, where consumers are shown an initial price before additional fees are revealed.
ORR said several retailers stated that they have already made interim improvements and are planning more substantial changes in the short term. Two retailers have not yet implemented changes but will do so later in the year. ORR will now monitor progress towards proposed changes.
‘Every retailer we engaged with acknowledges the vital role of complete transparency regarding fees right from the outset of the ticket purchasing process’, said ORR Director of Strategy, Policy & Reform Stephanie Tobyn on March 12. ‘It is imperative that retailers now act promptly to implement all proposed changes for the benefit of consumers.’
| Retailer | Key changes implemented | Future planned changes |
|---|---|---|
| MyTrainTicket | Information about fees made more prominent throughout the purchase process. | MyTrainTicket is exploring options for including the booking fee in the total price at the earliest opportunity and is engaging constructively with ORR. |
| Omio | n/a | New content providing information about fees to be added to website in April. New system that will include the booking fee in the upfront price to be implemented by end of 2024. Interim steps will make information about fees more readily available to customers during the purchase process. |
| Raileasy | FAQs on fees corrected. | New system that will include the booking fee in the upfront price to be implemented in March 2024. |
| Rail Europe | Booking fee now appears in the upfront price. Help pages have new content on refund fees. | n/a |
| Train Hugger | n/a | New system that will include the booking fee in the upfront price to be implemented in April 2024. |
| Trainline | Fees FAQs updated with improved information. Website purchases: booking fee now included in upfront price, with clear price breakdown. App purchases: as an interim measure, information about fees now made more prominent throughout the purchase process. | App purchases: booking fee to be included in upfront price by September 2024. |
| Trainpal | Fees FAQs updated with improved information. | New approach that will include the booking fee in the upfront price to be implemented in March 2024. |
