Trains: Are You Paying too Much? Channel 4 Dispatches

1 June 2015

 

Train staff told not to offer tickets that could save customers money, undercover investigation reveals

As passenger numbers hit an all-time high, Channel 4 Dispatches examines some of the key problems commonly complained of by train travellers, from increased ticket prices and overcrowding to compensation claims.

An investigation airing tonight [Monday 1st June at 8pm], Channel 4 Dispatches reveals:

·         The working timetable rail companies can use to massage their punctuality.  A manager at First Great Western told staff that this would be a factor in paying out less compensation 

·         The ticket machines that offer different prices for the same train journey from the same station.  In one example our reporter discovered a fare difference of over £100

·         A trainer telling new First Great Western staff not to offer tickets that could save customers money

 

Twenty years ago British Rail was privatised and now 23 companies or rail franchises each run bits of the network.

Four million of us now travel by train – but our railways are creaking under the strain.  Customer satisfaction with the service has fallen to its lowest level for six years.

 

Undercover at First Great Western

Last year First Great Western were one of the poorest performing operators according to a passenger survey and punctuality was at its worst for four years.

As part of a wider investigation into the train industry, Channel 4 Dispatches went undercover at First Great Western to examine what lies behind their mission statement of putting customers first. 

Our undercover reporter got a job based at Newbury manning the ticket barriers, checking  and sell tickets.

Ticket prices are one of the most complained about issue by passengers.  

First Great Western’s Passenger Charter says it will provide an accessible and accurate ticket selling service.

However, a trainer tells our undercover reporter and other new staff not to sell tickets that could save customers money.

Trainer says: “From Reading to London it’s cheaper to do a single in and a single back. Fact, alright? However, don’t do it, ‘cos it’s about £2 difference, and you’re just causing problems for everybody else. Okay, because if you do it, what’s the customer going to expect every day? Everybody to do it.”

Undercover reporter:  “But shouldn’t we really do it, because £2 a day, that’s £10 a week?”

Trainer:  “There’s a line to draw. There’s a line to draw guys and that’s one we do draw because £2, yes, I understand where you’re coming from, absolutely, but we draw a line.”

Later that day, the same trainer says staff must follow Association of Train Operating Company or ATOC rules and offer customers the best deal – contradicting what he said earlier. 

Dispatches showed our footage to David Sidebottom, from  Transport Focus, the independent transport user watchdog. He says: “That’s confusing if the staff member’s getting confused in training when they’re on the shop floor if you like selling tickets, it’s already very complicated we know the ticketing system is complicated it needs to be simplified.

“The onus is currently on the passenger to ask for what they want and in a complicated system how on earth do you know what you want. There should be the responsibility back on the train company now to ask you what you want and sell you the right ticket.”

In response First Great Western told Dispatches they were disappointed the trainer ‘initially got the answer wrong but they were pleased ‘he clarified the position later’. They added they’d make sure all trainers ‘are clear about the correct position in the future’.

 

Advised not to offer cheaper split tickets

Channel 4 has discovered that some train operators advise staff not to offer cheaper split tickets.  

First Great Western passenger charter states customers can buy a full range of tickets.

Split ticket can often save customers money when travelling to some destinations.  But in training our undercover reporter is told not to offer split tickets.

She then asks her station duty manager about the secret of split tickets. 

Undercover reporter:  “I know this is off topic but split tickets, you know like we were talking about for example the 0558 ticket to Paddington, if you do a ticket to Slough and then a ticket from Slough to Paddington?”

Duty Manager: “We can’t do that. That is split ticketing and we can get into a lot of trouble with the Department for Transport for doing it.” 

“There are a lots of mixed ideas and opinions across the station as to whether we should be doing it or shouldn’t be doing it…. But the actual rules are that we don’t do it unless the customer specifically asks for it.”

Dispatches spoke to the department for transport and they said they would not get into trouble for offering split tickets.

On the issue of split tickets First Great Western said the recorded conversations ‘accurately reflect the rules every train operator must follow’.

They add they agree the rules need reviewing to make ‘the ticket buying process simpler and clearer’ and they have made ‘recommendations to Government on how to progress this further’.

 

Station ticket machines – significantly different prices

Replacing people with technology doesn’t necessarily improve customers’ chances of finding the best value ticket.

Dispatches discovered that customers taking the same journey can be charged different ticket prices depending which ticket machine they use at a station. 

A ticket from Leeds station travelling to Birmingham can cost significantly more depending on which station ticket machine is used. 

For example the Virgin East Coast ticket machine charged £149.30 for a first class off peak return.    

But at a nearby machine run by Northern Rail gave one first class option, which is a first anytime return at £280.40. 

This is over £100 more expensive.

Northern Rail told Dispatches they’d added information posters to the machines and ‘that offer guidance on what type of ticket the machines can and cannot offer and how other operators’ machines may display fares differently’.

They add they’re working with ‘industry partners to address these inconsistencies’.

 

The timetable used to massage punctuality

Timetabling is an area that even industry experts can’t quite understand.

There are two versions of the timetable: 

·         The public timetable that we all have access to 

·         The working timetable used by train companies

During our undercover reporter's training, a train planning manager reveals how First Great Western can tweak the timetable to their advantage.

Train planning manager:  “If I’ve got a working timetable which has my train arriving at Penzance at 1225, there’s nothing stopping me putting another two or three minutes on it in the public timetable. And saying it’s meant to arrive at 1228. So if the train... so the train which is 11 minutes late, you could make it eight minutes late. Pure manipulation of the numbers. I can’t dress it up in any other way. “

“And all TOCs do it. Er but sometimes a destination there’s an extra lump of time... Again I don’t particularly like it but it’s something that we do as a business, something that every TOC does, and it’s a way of making the figures look as good as possible.”

Our reporter was left in no doubt that the minutes built into the timetable at the final stop by First Great Western are used – in part- to make their performance look better. In turn this can helps them meet their government targets and maybe pay less compensation to some of us.

The performance figure is called PPM. It is the percentage of trains that arrive within 5 or ten minutes of their schedule but is measured only at the final destination.

The train planning manager says: “Yes that [compensation] would be a factor, because it would make PPM, it would be less, be less compensation going out. “

 

 

First Great Western right to reply

In response First Great Western said they do not improperly change journey times to improve performance figures.

They said ‘Extending journey times beyond what is operationally required is poor customer service, costs revenue and would contravene the franchise agreement’. 

They add that compensation isn’t based on achieving performance targets and the additional one or two minute margins would have a tiny impact on reducing compensation.

They go on to say that there is no other incentive to do this than to make sure they get customers to where they need to be at the time they have said they will arrive.

 

Trains: Are You Paying too Much? Channel 4 Dispatches, Monday 1st June at 8pm

 

Notes to Editors

Press contact:  Peter Heneghan, Channel 4 Press Office