A flood of publications - some of which may have passed unnoticed, all on the Department for Transport web site and mirrored on the Coffee Shop for searching and posterity too.
Headline findings
The structure of the rail pricing system and attitudes towards train travel mean that passengers are approaching this system very differently to the majority of other purchasing decisions.
• Passengers often start from a position of little understanding of the pricing system and comparatively little motivation to understand it.
Fairness, transparency and simplicity are seen as vital to a good pricing system, and rail is largely seen to be performing poorly against these principles.
• In the context of rail pricing, simplicity is interpreted as helping passengers navigate the choice available to them.
Information about the rail pricing system leads to a slight increase in positivity.
• Passengers are broadly happy with the way that the pricing system is funded and are pleased that the majority of fares are reinvested into the railways.
• Explaining the demand management system aids understanding, but does not address frustrations around peak time travel.
When asked to come up with suggestions for changing the pricing system, a number of participants suggested concepts resembling those DfT» are considering.
• Some ideas involved an improved, centralised account, and basing prices on distance travelled.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/991030/rail-fares-and-pricing-research-report.pdfPassenger views on rail fares and pricing in Great Britain
This report contains findings from research with rail passengers on rail fares and pricing conducted in 2018 and 2019. It covers:
* passenger criteria for what makes a ‘good’ pricing system and the relative importance of these criteria in relation to rail
* passenger attitudes towards and awareness of the rail pricing system
* passenger attitudes towards various pricing and ticketing concepts in rail
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/part-time-commuters-and-fares-a-qualitative-studyPart-time commuters and fares: a qualitative study
Findings from qualitative research which explored part-time commuting patterns and passengers' views on different types of flexible season ticket.
Details
This report presents findings of research into part-time and flexible commuters. The objectives for the research were to:
* explore passengers’ current commuting patterns and future commuting intentions in comparison to pre-COVID-19, including looking at the number of days a week that passengers commute
* examine passengers’ views and preferences with regard to different aspects of a ticketing product (such as ticket price, ‘bundle size’, length of time that tickets a ticket is valid, purchasing channel and ticket type)
* understand if commuters would change their travel patterns and intentions in response to flexible season tickets being made available
* test how passengers would rate the products against the principles for a good pricing system identified in previous BritainThinks fares and ticketing research and against the objectives for UK▸ rail fares trials
This qualitative research was commissioned by the Department for Transport and conducted by BritainThinks in August 2020.
The project involved testing a variety of flexible season-type ticket options. The research was conducted with an interactive online community of 56 participants over 2 weeks and with 6 to 7 participants from that community during each of 8 90-minute focus groups.
This research was published alongside quantitative flexible fares research and follows on from research into Passenger views on rail fares and pricing, published in May 2021.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1079866/dft-flexible-fares-ipsos.pdfPart-time commuters and fares: a quantitative study
Findings from quantitative research that aimed to understand existing and potential part-time commuters and their interest in flexible rail ticketing products.
Details
This report presents the findings of research that aimed to understand existing or potential part-time commuters and:
* find out about their travel patterns and anticipated travel patterns
* examine their needs and requirements
* identify any barriers that prevent or discourage their use of rail for commuting purposes
* explore their interest in a new flexible part-time rail ticketing product
This quantitative research was commissioned by the Department for Transport and conducted by Ipsos MORI between 2 and 14 April 2021.
Research took place through the Ipsos MORI online panel. A total of 10,000 members of the panel aged 16 to 75 in England took part. This comprised a nationally-representative sample of 8,449 adults in England and a booster of 1,551 future rail commuters.
This research has been published alongside qualitative flexible fares research and follows on from research into Passenger views on rail fares and pricing, published in May 2021.
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