The future of ticketing and retail reform must consider everyone

14 October 2025

In September 2025 we published a new piece of work commissioned by the Fares, Ticketing and Retail Programme (FTR), a group of organisations who are tasked by government to deliver fares, ticketing and retail reform for the future railway.

They were keen to find out more about digital exclusion and some of the drivers behind it, so that they can better understand how this group of people might need to be supported as they plan their rail journeys in the future.

External research by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) shows that around 1.3 per cent of adults in the UK have no bank account, and 6 per cent rely on cash for most purchases.

Similarly, a piece of previous research  we did in 2024 found that cash was still important on the railway, especially in more deprived areas.

This new piece research aims to dig a little deeper in the context of the railway, and to identify some of the different themes which mean that certain people can tend to rely on cash over digital.  Findings suggested the following as key drivers:

• A need to budget carefully
• Underlying health conditions
• Concern over online scams
• Digital scepticism
• Digital anxiety
• A desire for anonymity
• Concerns around card / phone safety
• A resistance to change.

Interestingly, in the context of using the railway, the research shows that some of the people we spoke to were also willing to adapt, but that this would require the right level of support, and that they would also need to be convinced of the benefits of digital adoption.

Stewart Fox-Mills, FTR Programme Director, sees it as important that reform is informed by this work:

“We are working to ensure that as modern ticketing and payment methods roll out more widely on the railways, all passengers, including those who need to use cash or do not have access to smartphones or the internet, are able to buy a ticket across the different retail options.”

Looking across both sets of research, it is important that we remember societal issues can often cut across all aspects of people’s daily lives and as new fares and ticketing models are developed, unbanked and digitally excluded people (either by choice or circumstance) must be properly supported and not left behind.  Simplified fares and easy access to the best value tickets must be available to all, and not just those that adopt new ways of using the railway.

It’s an exciting time for the railway, with nationalisation presenting an opportunity for genuine fares reform, for it to be successful though, all aspects should put passengers at the heart of any change.

Natasha Grice

Director, Transport Focus