Rail passenger satisfaction – response to Which? poll
17 February 2016
Today Which? magazine published its latest passenger satisfaction poll.
David Sidebottom, passenger director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said:
“Each year we speak to around 50,000 passengers and it is clear that for some, such as commuters, satisfaction with their journeys lags behind that of other rail passengers. When passengers buy a ticket, whether for a one-off trip or their season ticket for work, they expect it to give them something simple – a journey they can rely on.
“We also know that passengers are understanding when much-welcomed investment in the railway causes disruption to their journeys, but only when they have received decent, timely information tailored to their journey. Frequent late-running or cancelled trains with little or no notice add up to regular misery that impacts on people’s lives.
“We’re working with government and industry to ensure that the passenger voice is heard. We have already called for those impacted by sustained disruption in the south east area to receive more compensation, and for industry to provide a ‘safety net’ offering recompense for those affected by frequent delays of less than 30 minutes.”
Notes to editors
• This survey from Which? throws a welcome extra spotlight on our work in this area. Passengers have told us that punctuality and how well train companies deal with delays are the biggest factors in whether they are satisfied with the overall service.
• The top issues raised by passengers contacting Transport Focus include train delays, refund conditions and levels of compensation.
• Our original research on delays and compensation showed that less than 15 per cent of passengers entitled to compensation for poor performance actually claimed. The main reason was that they didn’t know they were entitled to and didn’t know how to do it. We will be repeating this work soon to find out what, if any, improvements have been made.
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