To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on his Department's plan in Rail Fares and Ticketing published in October 2013 to trial flexible ticketing; when he expects flexible ticketing to be rolled out and available across the whole rail network; what recent representations he has received from train operating companies on such tickets; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
28 October 2014
Good progress has been made on introducing flexible ticketing. The Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise includes an obligation to introduce carnet-based season tickets on smartcards by 30 September 2015. The Essex Thameside franchise includes a similar obligation to introduce flexible season tickets and carnets. We plan to trial flexible ticketing through a combination of research and analysis, as well as evaluation of data from these flexible ticketing schemes. Conclusions around price, flexibility, the impacts on operator revenue and other ticket prices will be central to any decisions on wider roll-out.