Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.82, page 94 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what progress his Department has made on introducing flexible season tickets on the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise.

Claire Perry

The introduction and roll-out of part-time season tickets will give people who commute part-time a better deal than they currently have access to. We have challenged the rail industry to develop proposals for pricing and delivering more flexible season tickets for those who work or commute part-time which could also attract new customers onto the railway.

Progress on delivery of more flexible tickets is beginning to be made. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have a franchise commitment to introduce carnet style tickets on their smartcards which is subject to the Secretary of State’s approval.

A number of costed options are being reviewed and a pilot programme has been developed, benefitting from and delivering the Key smart ticketing capability, this is expected to be introduced in May 2016.