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Now millions of part-time commuters will get benefit of season tickets

Millions of commuters will be able to buy part-time season tickets in a major shake-up of the way rail travel is paid for.
 
For the first time, people who work three or four days a week will benefit from the same savings that come from buying a monthly or yearly ticket.

The plan was revealed to the Evening Standard by Transport Minister Norman Baker. Speaking at the Liberal Democrats^ conference in Glasgow, he announced a major trial scheme to be carried out on a busy London commuter line.

He said: ^Why should there be a season ticket that works for people who work five days a week but that leaves people out of pocket if they work three or four days a week? Where^s the justice in that?^

Currently, season tickets cost the same no matter how many days people travel in and out of London. It means those who commute five days a week or more save money while those who come in fewer days pay more per journey. The Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the move.

In another new idea that will be tested at the same time, the traditional fare jump from off-peak to peak times could be softened by introducing a mid-priced travel slot at the cusp of the rush hour.

The shake-up could encourage more people to work from home on one or two days a week, or to shift their working hours to quieter periods.

^The days when people turned up at London Bridge on the 8.43 wearing a pin-stripe suit and carrying an umbrella have all gone,^ Mr Baker said. ^That^s not how London operates any more.

^People nowadays want more flexibility about when they start at the office and leave. If they want it, why shouldn^t they have it? Why should people be forced into a box that says ^nine to five^ on it? This is all about enabling Londoners and commuters to have a transport system that reflects their needs more closely.^

The Government^s thinking was influenced by the London Olympics last year, when civil servants were encouraged to work from home or work flexi-hours to help reduce congestion.

A commuter line will be picked next year for a full-scale test of the new ticketing ideas. Stations will be equipped with new smartcard ticketing, similar to London^s Oyster card system, that will gradually replace paper tickets.

Mr Baker said: ^We have not decided which line yet but it will be one of the busy lines into London. The impact of the new tickets will be measured at every point along the line to see how passengers respond.^

Train companies will benefit because they will be able to get more passengers onto services if people can be encouraged to switch from travelling during the worst rush-hour crush. Until now we^ve been held back by technology, because traditional tickets did not give us the flexibility we wanted,^ said Mr Baker. ^But now we are moving into the era of smart technology where everything is possible.^ The Government is investing ^40 million in smart ticketing technology in the South-East.

Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: ^Part-time season tickets are really good news for many part-time workers who rely on the train. There are now record numbers who work part-time and currently have no option but to pay for a full fare. Bringing in part-time season tickets will help with the flexible and affordable arrangements workers want and the economy needs.^

He added: ^Overall, this announcement is recognition that commuters are a key vote for all the parties in the run up to the General Election. Train travel is still too expensive. The big question is still when the Government will bring the decade-long policy of above-inflation fare rises to an end.^

Millions of part-time rail commuters could save an average of more than ^1,500 a year if the government "honoured its pledge" to introduce flexible season tickets, according to the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).

The group criticised the government for failing to respond to modern work patterns, leaving many of Britain's 12 million part-time workers ^ almost 75% of them women ^ paying too much for their ticket.

At present, part-time workers who commute by train must either buy a season ticket and lose money on the days they don't use it, or buy individual peak-time tickets, which are more expensive.

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the encoding can't cope with 'marking off' as you use it

The discount is allowed for buying multiple journeys in advance

a passenger who makes a bulk buy of five units stores four and uses them at intervals of a day, or stores four and uses them at intervals of a week makes, frankly, little difference in the cost of provisioning.

Promised changes to season tickets to make rail travel more affordable for commuters who work part-time are in doubt, with smart ticketing delayed and the programme^s costs rising, transport campaigners and Labour have said.

The government announced plans to meet the needs of part-time workers in 2012 and the Conservatives made an election pledge to introduce measures including smart ticketing. According to the Department for Transport (DfT), however, train companies have made slow progress in doing so. The changes could save some commuters thousands of pounds a year.