Transport User Voice – April 2019 – What’s happening in Wales?

26 March 2019

Welcome arrival of Delay Repay 15 for Transport for Wales passengers

New rules for getting compensation if your train is late have come into force on Transport for Wales services.

From the start of the new service in October 2018, Transport for Wales services introduced a Delay Repay compensation scheme for passengers delayed for 30 minutes. The scheme has now been improved to trigger after passengers are delayed for 15 minutes.

This is a key benefit that Transport Focus pressed for as part of the consultation process for the next Wales and Borders rail service.

Passengers are eligible for the following amounts if they are delayed for: 

• 15-29 minutes: 25 per cent of a single ticket or relevant portion of a return ticket 
• 30-59 minutes: 50 per cent of a single ticket or relevant portion of a return ticket 
• 60-119 minutes: 100 per cent of a single ticket or relevant portion of a return ticket 
• 120 minutes or longer: 100 per cent of a single ticket or 100 per cent of a return ticket (both ways). 

Claims must be received within 28 days of completing the journey. Further details and a claim form are on the Transport for Wales rail website.

A Transport Focus colleague was recently delayed for more than two hours on a journey from Stockport to Cardiff, due to issues at the Wrenbury level crossing and had a very positive experience of claiming Delay Repay. This colleague filled in the journey details on the claim form and uploaded a photo of the ticket. The email response said the claim was being considered. A couple of hours later it had been approved for the full cost of the return ticket and the rail vouchers arrived in the post the following day!

Welsh Government consultation – improving public transport
The Welsh Government has issued a White Paper on proposals to reform the planning and delivery of local bus services in Wales. 

The consultation looks at proposals for: 

• making information more readily available to the public for timetables, fares and tickets; open data for access to developers and better provision to local authorities for monitoring 
• eligibility for mandatory concessionary fares, increasing the entitlement age in line with women’s pensionable age 
• establishing a new structure to develop a regional and national context for planning and implementing transport in Wales 
• enhanced quality partnerships, which authorities could use to deliver strategies and schemes 
• franchising local bus services, providing more workable options suitable for Wales 
• local authorities running buses directly or via an arm’s length company and tools for ensuring services meet people’s needs 
• taxis and private hire vehicles, with national standards, enforcement and information sharing. 

Read Transport Focus’s response, based on evidence from research with passengers on their opinions of transport and priorities for improvement.

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