Department for Transport - Survey of Rail User Groups

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Posted here as Rail User groups are (or should be) about improved services.

Good morning
 
The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the way it consults with the public on rail franchises. It is very important that we get a full picture from rail users of where we are doing well and what could be done better and differently. We would therefore be very grateful if you could take the time to share with us your group^s experience of rail franchise consultations and your views on how they could be improved by completing the survey linked to below. The Department will not respond to individual comments and responses, but your answers will be considered alongside views from other stakeholders when determining how best to consult on future rail franchises.
 
The survey can be found by clicking on this link: DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) Rail Franchise Consultation Survey
 
You have until Thursday 5 December to complete the survey, after which this link will no longer work.
 
Thank you in advance.
 
Department for Transport Rail Franchising Team

Link is to:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SX5RMRK

[ChrisB]

Aaaah, at long last!

I made the point that User Groups are able to put in their input, but generally only at very high level - Stakeholders like Passenger Focus, County Councils and views tend to get lost to DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) staffers at various meetings over the last 12 months or so, and I was told that this would be discussed and actioned if felt necessary.

I'm glad that they seem to agree & are running this survey.

Yes, I'm aware direct response to the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) is usually available, but finding out that ITTs^▸ (Invitation to Tender) are out to tender is no mean feat either.

[grahame]

I am glad they are asking - a good step (far better than not asking!)

A group's view, though is something best considered and discussed by the groups a whole. As this Survey Monkey question set runs over several pages, it's difficult to put all the questions to the group as a whole / even to all of the officers for their consideration.   The temptation (which I have resisted) is - as the invitee - is to answer personally or in the best way possible as the questions come up - and I don't think that will give the most widely considered of responses.  In order to help groups that read the forum and are yet to answer, the full questions are as follows:

1. Please set out the name of your group:
2. Please tell us the geographical area you cover:
3. Please tell us the franchise your users travel on:
4. When was the last time you responded to a Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about))rail franchise consultation? [Year pulldown option]
5. What was your experience of the consultation? Please consider to what extent:
You felt involved in the refranchising process
You were able to provide your views easily
6. To what extent was the formal consultation document easy to understand?
Very difficult   Difficult   Neither easy nor difficult   Easy   Very easy
7. To what extent was it easy to find?
Very difficult   Difficult   Neither easy nor difficult   Easy   Very easy
8. Were you alerted to it?
Yes No
9. How relevant did you find the questions to you?
Relevant Difficult to say Irrelevant
10. To what extent were you given the opportunity to make the points you felt were important?
11. Were you able to find the Government^s response / Stakeholder Briefing Document to the consultation?
Yes No Comments:
12. Please comment on how useful you found the Government^s response and whether you could see that your views had been considered:
13. How do you think the Department should best consult with you when your franchise comes up for renewal or extension?
14. Would more use of digital media (twitter, facebook, online surveys etc) be welcome in DfT^s formal consultation process?
Yes No Comments:
15. What aspects of a franchise do you think you should be consulted on?
16. How would you rate the way in which the Department consults with rail users
Very badly   Badly   Neither well nor badly   Well   Very well
17. Please provide any other comments you may have on the DfT^s formal consultation process on franchises:

As far as I can tell, all of the questions are option, and I'm unable to tell you if any particular answers result in questions later on being altered / added (for example, if a group answers "very difficult", does a "how could we improve this" extra question come up?)

I know that several groups I'm a member of may consider this survey to be useful for them to fill in (and I note that although they ask for a group name, they don't ask for a contact so I'm not sure how duplication will be handled).  Please feel free to add comment to the thread ... I'm going to email the key person [secretary?] of MRDG^» (Melksham Railway Development Group - about) and  TransWilts CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) where I'm active, and various others who read the forum (TransWilts Link mailing list) and alert them to the the survey in case they have not heard, and to this thread.  I note the question about a "briefing document" (11) and have to report that no link was provided in the invite to contribute, and I've not been able to find one with a quick search nor within the survey itself.

[grahame]

I should probably add ... the email subject is "DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) Rail Franchise Consultation Survey" and it talks about Rail User Groups. This forum has considered (and decided) that it's a rail user group within the last 18 months, so an answer should be submitted (or at least considered) on behalf of the Coffee Shop too. Member view / comments for this are welcome; I'll put to to the moderator team to make the input at the start of next month, and we'll work out which of us gets the task.

[grahame]

I'll put to to the moderator team to make the input at the start of next month, and we'll work out which of us gets the task.

Well, I could see that one coming towards me from miles away ... 

Yes, I'll be happy to collate responses - as I did last time, actually: it should be a relatively easy task to update our previous response, rather than start from scratch.

Thanks, Chris ... I was musing at how consistent our team has been over the years - gently and nicely growing and moving forward in the longer term, just as transport systems should should.  And contrasting that to the changes we have seen elsewhere, where within government (national and local) and rail company management so many faces have come and gone.