The passenger experienceApril 2014

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Journey purpose is an important factor when deciding which mode of transport to use. More leisure andbusiness1 passengers in the quantitativesurvey considered using other modes oftransport (26 per cent), than commuters(18 per cent) who are most likelymaking a frequent trip with a mode oftransport in mind. Leisure and businesspassengers making a long distance

or an infrequent trip are even more likely to consider other modes (34 percent and 29 per cent respectively).Similarly, just under a third of leisureand business passengers with adisability considered other modes of transport (31 per cent). Taking the car is the main alternative mode oftransport for all passengers whilecommuters also consider the bus.

MethodologyWe carried out eight focus groupswith rail passengers in London,Manchester and Birmingham. Six in-depth interviews wereundertaken with passengers with a disability, followed by an onlinequantitative survey of 2,028 railpassengers in Great Britain.

Passenger Focus and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) wanted tounderstand the experience of passengers using the railway. We wantedto know how passengers plan their rail journeys and purchase tickets,and how they use information whilst travelling.

1Quantitative results for planning journeys and purchasing tickets have been combined for leisure and business passengers, as they have similar needs and behaviours

Why take the train?

Commuters choose the train becauseof the reliability of the journey

time (27 per cent) and the door to doorjourney time (22 per cent). But for leisureand business passengers the cost oftravel is the main reason (21 per cent).

Passengers in the focus groups saidthey usually consider the door to dooraspect of a journey and this influencesthe mode of transport they use.

Planning the journeyWe wanted to know how passengersplanned their journey once they haddecided to take the train, so how they compare journey options such as routes and times of travel. We asked passengers to think about thelast journey they had made.

Just under half of leisure andbusiness passengers in the quantitativesurvey planned their journey (45 percent), with a similar proportion ofdisabled leisure and businesspassengers doing likewise (48 percent). This increases for passengersmaking a long distance leisure orbusiness journey (59 per cent), whichsuggests that a journey of this type can be more complicated and requiresin-depth planning.

Just over a third of commuters in thequantitative survey planned their journey(35 per cent). This is mainly done viaapps which suggests that the extent oftheir planning may be for checking fordelays and changes to train times, ratherthan in-depth planning as undertaken by leisure and business passengers.

Passengers have a preference touse online channels to plan their journey.Half of all leisure and businesspassengers in the quantitative survey(50 per cent) used websites to plan theirjourney (56 per cent for those making an infrequent leisure or business trip)and 27 per cent used an app.

This was also evident from the focusgroups when many passengers said theyused websites to plan their journeys. Passengers in the focus groups

said that they trusted the informationonline when planning their journey.However, they recognized theimportance of knowing what to look forin order to get the correct information to successfully plan a journey.

Using apps was also mentioned bypassengers in the focus groups, withmany passengers saying they used themas an additional tool to plan journeys.

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“I always think about the doorto door journey. When I go toBirmingham city centre I geta train but if I stay with myfriend I drive because helives a bus ride away. That’sdefinitely a major factor”Frequent passenger, London focus group

“I always pre-plan everythingin advance now because theinternet makes it all so easythat there is no excuse not to” Frequent passenger, Birmingham focus group

“I’m really confident aboutplanning journeys becausethere are loads of appsyou can use now. I have theTfL one and the NR [NationalRail] one on my phone andCity Planner tells you whatbus to take and where tochange trains and how long ittakes to walk and how manycalories you will burn”Infrequent passenger, London focus group

Buying a ticketIn the quantitative survey, 66 per cent of leisure and business passengerswho bought their ticket before the day of travel used a website. This washigher for those making an infrequent(70 per cent) or long distance (84 percent) journey. 71 per cent of passengerswith a disability also bought tickets via a website before the day of travel.However commuters were more likely to buy their ticket from a ticket officebefore the day of travel (61 per cent).

Just under two thirds of leisure andbusiness passengers who buy ticketsbefore the day of travel do so becauseof cost savings (59 per cent).

When buying on the day of travel,ticket offices were used more by leisureand business passengers, and ticketvending machines more by commuters –47 per cent of leisure and businesspassengers who bought their ticket onthe day used a ticket office (36 per centof commuters) and 34 per cent used a ticket vending machine (40 per centof commuters).

Most passengers in the focusgroups were aware that buying ticketson the day were usually more expensivethan buying Advance Purchase tickets,so they avoided paying a walk up farewhere possible. However, in certaincircumstances they bought on the day such as when going on aspontaneous day out; travelling forbusiness at short notice; or makingshort local leisure journeys.

Ticket types and restrictions Around a fifth of passengers in thequantitative survey (21 per cent) werenot made aware of restrictions whenthey bought their ticket. Passengers who bought their ticket before the day of travel, particularly via a website, weremore likely to have been made aware of ticket restrictions, compared to thosewho bought on the day. 68 per cent ofpassengers who bought their ticket via a website before the day of travel,were informed of the ticket restrictions.However, only 33 per cent ofpassengers buying on the day from a ticket office were told. Of those

passengers who were made aware of restrictions to their ticket, most (83 per cent) fully understood them.

We explored this further in the focusgroups. Many passengers had a lowawareness and understanding ofdifferent ticket types, and this can be abarrier to successful ticket purchasing.This is also evident from previousresearch Passenger Focus hasundertaken on ticket vending machines2

and websites3. Passengers believe that a simplified fare structure will make theirdecision process easier and they will be less likely to buy the incorrect ticket.

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“If I’m coming into London sociallyI never bother to plan anything I just turn up and buy a ticket at the station before I travel” Infrequent, London

“There may well be three corenames [Anytime, Off Peak,Advanced] but I’m sure we could come up with half a dozenothers that we are aware of. The structure is complicated and not transparent” Frequent passenger, London focus group

2Ticket vending machine usability, Passenger Focus, July 20103Ticket vending machine usability, Passenger Focus, June 2011

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Ticket restrictions were also exploredin the focus groups. Frequent orconfident passengers are more likely to trust their abilities in working out therestrictions and buying the correct ticket.Others were more likely to seek help fromstation staff who are expected to be ableto answer questions about ticket validity.

Confidence in getting the best pricePassengers in the quantitative surveywere very confident (36%) or fairlyconfident (42%) that they had secured the best priced ticket for their journey. Justover one in ten (11%) were not confident.

However when this issue wasexplored in the focus groups, passengersfelt it was sometimes difficult to knowwhether they had bought the best pricedticket, especially for unfamiliar journeys.

They acknowledged that you wouldneed a good knowledge of the farestructure and the restrictions that apply tobe sure of getting the best priced ticket.

Being made aware of ticketrestrictions has a positive effect onpassengers’ confidence in getting thebest price. However, understanding those

restrictions also plays a significantpart. Of passengers who said theywere not confident in getting the bestpriced ticket in the quantitative survey,34 per cent were not made aware ofrestrictions and 29 per cent could notrecall being told. Conversely, nearly all (94 per cent) passengers who were very confident they had got the best price for their ticket, and 84 per cent of those who were fairly confident,were made aware of ticket restrictionsand understood them.

Some passengers in the focusgroups mentioned that there was nocomparison website, like those that existin other sectors such as insurance orutilities, which let you compare options.They thought that having such a facilitywould help their confidence in gettingthe correct ticket they wanted for the best price. As retailing itself gets more complicated – for instancesome website retailers offer discounts,some tickets or offers are only availablethrough certain channels – the desire for reassurance gets stronger.

Informationsources Before travelPassengers are increasingly checking the status of their journey before theytravel. Around a third of leisure andbusiness passengers in the quantitativesurvey (32%) checked for delays prior to setting off for the station and a quarter of commuters (24%). These checks are nearly always done online, usingwebsites or apps. This was alsomentioned in the focus groups.

Checking before leaving home in thisway lets passengers know if there areany delays to their journey or whether to avoid going to the station if there arecancellations. It allows them to makealternative travel plans.

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The passenger experience

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“If there are conditions thatI’m not that confident about I will speak to somebodyrather than risk getting thewrong ticket online” Infrequent passenger, London focus group

“I haven’t heard of a lot of thethings that have been mentionedtonight so that’s why someonecan get a ticket for £15 that I pay £45 for because I don’thave the same knowledge of the system” Infrequent passenger, London focus group

“I am confident that I willalways be able to plan ajourney I want to make butnot that I will always get thecheapest price available” [Infrequent passenger, London focus group]

“It’s comparable with otherindustries except that there isno comparison website fortrain travel but you know youwill get the best deal oninsurance from comparisonsites” Frequent passenger, London focus group

RecommendationsAs the number of passengers using trains continues to grow4, it is importantthat the concerns raised by passengers here are addressed.

• The ticketing structure can be confusing for passengers and, with the addedcomplexity of ticket restrictions, some passengers find it difficult to know if they have bought the best value ticket for their journey. A full explanationof the ticket type and the accompanying restrictions should be availableduring the sales process and through all channels. The explanations mustalso be easy to understand.

• Passengers want a greater ability to compare ticketing options, so that theycan be sure of buying the best priced ticket. For example, fares that are only available via specific channels or which retailers are offering discounts.In other sectors price comparison websites give consumers confidence that they have bought the right product at the right price.

• Apps are increasingly being used by passengers for planning and duringtravel. However apps are not used by all passengers, so the sameinformation should be available from all sources so that passengers without access to apps are not disadvantaged.

During travelPassengers find a range of informationsources helpful for delays whilsttravelling – information screens atstations (62 per cent), websites (48 percent), as well as public announcements

at the station (44 per cent). Apps areconsidered more useful by commuterswith a third using them (33%). Apps areespecially helpful when access to otheronline information is not available.

Some passengers in the focusgroups said they used apps during their

journey, but they used them alongsideother sources such as informationscreens and public announcements. In certain situations apps are used toprovide faster access to informationsuch as delays and when makingconnections.

Contact us

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t 0300 123 0860 w www.passengerfocus.org.uke info@passengerfocus.org.uk

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“I always check the app that tells me where thetrain is on the actual line;it’s a green dot on the line and it’s a live update” Frequent passenger, Manchester focus group

“I use the NRE [NationalRail Enquiries] app becauseit’s very detailed and will tellyou which platform the trainwill be going from” Frequent passenger, London focus group

4Passenger Rail Usage, 2013, ORR