A NEWSPAPER investigation into ticket machines at National Rail stations has found that many are effectively concealing cheaper fares and that different operators are not consistent.
The fundings, published by the Daily Telegraph, have received swift support from user groups and the Commons transport select committee, whose chairman Louise Ellman said: "The industry needs to put things right and if it does not, the Government must get involved. Passengers are being treated unfairly and being forced to spend more than they should.”
Watchdog Passenger Focus also agrees. Head of policy Mike Hewitson said travellers wanted clear, simple information. “Our research shows us that ticket machines still aren’t particularly user-friendly,” he said. “Passengers should be able to use ticket machines and be confident in what they are offered, without needing to be 'experts’ in the system.”
At least one train operator has admitted that the machines are not always the best solution, with a London Midland spokesman reportedly saying: "Tickets for more complex journeys are always better bought online or at a booking office".
Among the examples quoted by the Telegraph were Leeds, where passengers using a Northern Rail machine were charged the Anytime rate of £271 for a First Class Return to Birmingham but were not offered the Off Peak option of £145.70 although this was available from East Coast machines alongside. Meanwhile passengers from Birmingham to London would be charged £49.50 for an Off Peak 'any permitted' Single from Chiltern Railways at Moor Street but only £31 for the same journey from a Virgin Trains machine at nearby New Street.
It can also be hard to get group discounts from machines, while 'splitting' a journey to save money -- although permissable -- cannot be done because machines usually only sell tickets for journeys starting at their station.
Northern Rail told the Telegraph that it was "working with its suppliers to ensure all necessary data were fed into its ticket machines to offer the best value fares to customers," and that "this sometimes involved entering new data manually". A spokesman said that the company would strive to “correct any inconsistencies”, while Southeastern said it was not able to include every fare on machines -- because too many were available.
The Rail Delivery Group responded: “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.”