Plan for flexible UK rail tickets now facing a delay
Plans by train operators to provide flexible season tickets to cater for people returning to the office part-time have been reportedly been stifled by government inactivity.
Rail companies last month submitted plans to the Department for Transport to offer Carnet-style ticketing, which would allow commuters to use up their rail trips over a certain period of time.
However, the Sunday Times reports that rail companies have been told by the government that the proposal will not be approved in time for January when ticket prices are set to rise.
Rail companies have proposed the new option as season tickets only make financial sense for commuters if they travel at least three times a week.
The government effectively nationalised the UK’s rail industry this year to cover for lost revenues during Covid-19.
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents rail companies, said it was “working with the government to find solutions in the short term, but we also want to work with them to deliver wholsale reforms of fares and ticketing”.
The Department for Transport said: “We are working with industry to try to provide commuters with more flexible and better value fares.”