Transport Watchdog calls for people to 'head out to help out'

Transport Focus wants the government to work with train companies to get more passengers travelling Credit: ITV News

Transport Focus is calling on the Government and train companies to introduce a scheme to help get passengers back on trains.

The independent watchdog is urging the government to introduce 'head out to help out' - a scheme similar to the one launched for restaurants, 'eat out to help out.'

Transport Focus is calling for a radical shake up of the fares system.

Transport Focus wants the Government to reform the fares and ticketing system Credit: ITV Meridian

In a survey from the organisation, of those who commuted by train prior to the pandemic around two in three expect to continue to work from home more often in the future.

Transport Focus is urging the Government to reform the fares and ticketing system to offer better value for money. They want measures to go beyond a fares freeze, rather than the rise in line with RPI, and include the roll out of more flexible season tickets for people returning to their place of work part-time. 

This train at Swanwick Station in Hampshire was particularly quiet during this morning's rush hour.

Transport Focus is calling for:

  • cut price deals to entice passengers back to rail travel following the impact of coronavirus, starting with the launch of a ‘Head Out to Help Out’ scheme

  • the introduction of more flexible season tickets and ‘carnets’ (which offer a discount for multiple journeys when bought upfront) for people returning to their place of work part-time

  • reform of the complex rail fares system to be urgently accelerated to deliver a better value for money fares system for passengers.

These passengers at Brighton Station this morning agreed that rail fares need to be reduced.

Transport Focus wants the government to work with rail companies to offer discounts for commuters during the pandemic Credit: ITV Meridian

Passengers in Transport Focus’s Transport User Community say discounts need to be substantial to be genuinely attractive.

Carnet ticket offers such as bundles of ten tickets for the price of eight are needed for them to see rail travel as a genuinely attractive option again following the impact of coronavirus.