Train Operator Compensation Schemes – Report of Findings – June 2011

22 June 2011

FirstGroup approached Passenger Focus and London TravelWatch in 2010 to ask if they were interested in carrying out a piece of joint research into customer’s attitudes to compensation. As the leading operator of train services in the UK, with a diverse portfolio of train companies, we wanted to find out what customers thought of the current compensation arrangements and explore what they wanted going forward. We were considering our strategy for future franchises and realised that we did not really understand what customers thought of the current arrangements. We wanted to go beyond anecdotal feedback and research customer needs. Delay Repay has been running for five years, so we felt it was time for a review. What did customers really think of it? Did they still prefer the traditional Charter arrangements? And what could we do with emerging technology to improve the customer experience of claiming compensation?