Rail Delivery Group

Improvements being made to ticket machines
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date 31 October 2014
source Rail Delivery Group
type Press release

Responding to claims that ticket machines do not offer passengers the cheapest fares, a spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, said:

“Independent research carried out on behalf of the rail industry shows that 19 out of 20 people using ticket machines are able to independently find the correct ticket for their journey, which is comparable to those customers buying online.

“But we know that there is more we can do to make ticket machines simpler to use, which is why the industry is working to increase the quality of the on screen information provided by the machines. In particular, in response to feedback we have received from customers, over the next few months changes will be rolled out on all self-service machines to make it easier for passengers to understand the specific restrictions that apply to different ticket options.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

BDRC ESA Retail carried out mystery shopping research on behalf of the Association of Train Operating Companies in 2013.

The results show that 94% of tickets bought on ticket machines were correct. The tickets bought were representative of the types of tickets bought using ticket machines by the general public those based on industry sales data, the vast majority of which are day tickets where the cheapest option is required (as opposed to, for example, the fastest route or most flexible ticket).

The results also found that only 7% of ticket machine users found it difficult to find the information required to buy the right ticket, and 4% were dissatisfied with the information provided about ticket terms and conditions.

Railhub Archive ::: 2014-10-31 RDG-002