Passenger Voice August 2016: Anthony Smith’s editorial

29 July 2016

After months and months of anguish, Southern commuters are facing a temporary timetable; but will this help deliver a more reliable service?

Passengers want and need, above all else, a reliable timetable. We build our lives around these services and pay handsomely to use them.  Introducing the new timetable has seen 341 services cut every day.

So what do we now want to see happen to improve the situation for passengers? We are calling for three things to happen:

• one-off recompense for how bad it has been – existing Delay Repay is simply not good enough to reflect the extreme problems faced
• improved compensation offer from this point onward – bring in the 15 minute threshold announced by Government and make sure that industry works hard to make passengers aware of this
• no price increase next January. July’s Retail Price Index figure is used to set the figure for January – this will be announced in August. An ideal chance for Government to prevent the obvious headlines!

We want to make sure Southern and Government see the human side of the problem. If you are travelling on Southern we want your stories via our new travel diary app so we can share how even a few minutes of delay can impact your life.

More disruption looms for commuters more strikes on Govia Thameslink services announced. I urge Govia Thameslink Railway and the RMT get back around the table and resolve this matter without bringing services to a standstill. We will continue to call on the industry to deliver our three point plan and ensure passengers start to see a more reliable service.

To hear more information on what we have been up to and read stories from passengers affected click here.

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