Transport User Voice – November 2019 – Make Delay Pay

29 October 2019

What do the figures say?  

Last week saw rail passenger compensation hit the headlines as two sets of statistics showed passengers were receiving less.

We know that passengers want punctual and reliable journeys. When things don’t go to plan for passengers, prompt responses, an apology and compensation can take away some of the sting.

The Department for Transport showed that the total amount of compensation has gone down from £80.7m to £78.9m – a decrease of £1.8m or two per cent.

This is almost entirely due to South Western Railway and West Coast; an increase of figures for other train operating companies is masked by the decrease on these two operators. This is especially true on Northern, which has almost tripled the amount paid out.

The Office of Rail and Road report on the volume of claims and the speed of processing, covering the period 1 April to 20 July, showed there were 1.2 million delay compensation claims, a decrease of 29.7 per cent from the previous year. However 2018 figures were high due to the fall-out from the May 2018 timetable crisis.

We were pleased to see that more than 98 per cent of delay compensation claims were closed within 20 working days.

However we still want to see the industry introduce more automated compensation for delays and cancellations and ensure every eligible passenger knows how to claim so that they get the money they are entitled to.

Transport Focus research found just 35 per cent of passengers who were eligible claimed compensation for their journey. We are urging passengers to claim every time and Make Delay Pay.

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