Rail Regulator tells train operators they must do better on information and retailing

22 January 1997
ORR/97/04

The Rail Regulator, John Swift QC, today continued his campaign to secure improvements in the information and retailing services provided by train operators by setting out acomprehensive programme of action.

Introducing his policy statement, Mr Swift said,"Accurate and impartial retailing is essential if passengers are to be able to use the railway with confidence. It is clear that operators can and must do much better in this respect. That is why I have already taken action on two fronts. First, I launched the public consultation which has enabled me to set out a wide ranging programme of action for improvement today. Second, I began the largest ever network-wide survey to establish, via 'mystery shoppers', current standards of service and pinpoint where specific improvement action is needed.

"My first conclusion from the consultation was to reject the suggestion that retailing services should be taken away from train operators and put in the hands of independent sales organisations. This would cut train operators off from their customers and cut retail staff off from professional knowledge about the railway. That would not be in the best interests of either the passengers or the industry. My aim is to work with the industry to create a better railway and I am persuaded by the operators' willingness to work with me to improve their ticket retailing services. Indeed, their plans to expand their businesses depend on their product being sold better, and a third of their revenue comes from sales made by other companies.

"The action I am setting out today is therefore intended to assist retailers by clarifying the retailing requirements under their licences, while making it clear to them that it is their responsibility to improve the service they offer. I am also leaving them in no doubt that if I see evidence of serious or persistent infringement of the licence provisions, I will be ready to order immediate remedial action."

Other key points from the Regulator's policy statement include:

• The objective of impartial retailing is defined as: "Providing accurate information and advice on journey and ticket options - irrespective of which company provides the train service - to allow passengers to make an informed choice; and providing the means to purchase the product which best meets their needs."

• The Regulator does not wish to prevent retailers from making straightforward sales with the minimum of fuss. However, where a passenger's needs warrant it, the questions asked by retailing staff should be widened to include fare and journey options, on-board facilities, service frequency, and preferred origin and destination stations.

• Except where it is clear that passengers have already made a choice of service or are travelling immediately, retailers must provide information about competing services, including from or to another station in the same town.

• It is the responsibility of operators to invest in more support and training for their retail staff, and in modern information systems; and to examine their fares to ensure they offer choice without creating confusion.

The Regulator concluded, "Where operators make an isolated mistake I will expect them to deal with any complaint promptly, sensitively and positively. The first results from the mystery shopper surveys will be available to me in March and will allow me to judge the extent of the problems. I will investigate any problems which come to light - whether as a result of these surveys, in the meantime, or subsequently - to establish whether they should be treated as breaches of the retailing obligation in the operator's licence."

The Regulator has today written to Managing Directors of all the train operating companies, emphasising the importance he attaches to the provision of accurate and impartial retailing information. A copy of his letter is attached.

Accurate and Impartial Retailing: Meeting the Needs of Passengers. A Policy Statement is available, free of charge, from SueMacSwan, ORR Library, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138-142 Holborn, London EC1N 2ST. (Tel: 0171 282 2001; Fax: 0171 282 2045; E-mail:rail.library@orr.gsi.gov.uk).

Accurate and Impartial Retailing: Meeting the Needs of Passengers. A Consultation Document, was published in August 1996 and is also available from Sue MacSwan.

January 1997

To: Managing Directors of Train Operating Companies

Accurate and impartial retailing

Railway privatisation has involved a major process of industry restructuring. This process, of transferring the newly-created companies to the private sector, is nearly complete. We are thus close to the end of Phase 1 - restructuring - and into Phase 2 where the industry is being called on to deliver a much improved performance. I intend to set-out for the passenger train operators a set of Regulatory Objectives within the next few weeks. But this letter is concerned with only one aspect of the promotion of the use of the network and the terms of the Passenger Operator Licence - the provision of accurate and impartial retailing information. I enclose with this letter my Policy Statement on accurate and impartial retailing which reflects the responses of operators and passengers to my Consultation Document issued last August.

The overall theme of my Policy Statement is opportunity and improvement, backed by comprehensive monitoring of performanceand licence enforcement where necessary. Some improvements can be achieved relatively quickly, and I am ready to work with you, through ATOC, to ensure that happens. Others need further work to capture the opportunities for improvement. In that context, I must impress upon you the importance which I attach to three activities, each of which falls to your company to implement as part of an industry response. The first is the need to take immediate action to develop ticketing and information systems to support the provision of accurate and impartial information. The second is improved staff training so that staff can do their jobs even better, and the third is improving the information available to passengers so that they can become better informed customers, able to take full advantage of the benefits of travelling by rail. I would draw your attention to what I have said in the Foreword to the Policy Statement, that I will not allow any excuses for systematic failure to meet acceptable standards on the grounds of lack of investment.

I am confident that in time the industry should be able to produce its own solutions to problems and deficiencies that to some extent it has inherited. And I would much prefer a regime based on intelligent and responsible self-regulation. But I am satisfied that both passengers and operators need the clarity and protection of the rules established under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement ('TSA'), monitored and enforced by this Office. The industry, however, also needs further guidance from the Regulator on applying the rules and how he expects them to contribute to an improved network.

I have concluded that the railway can deliver accurate and impartial information to its passengers. Separating this activity from train operation would be contrary to the interests of passengers and operators. In other words, I reject the relevance of the argument that selling another rail company's products is like asking Sainsbury's to promote Tesco beans. The argument is spurious but has achieved a certain notoriety. It should be dropped. I am glad that the majority of responses from the industry indicated a keenness to work within the existing structure.

Those responses also indicated a need for clarity about the objectives of impartial retailing. I have therefore defined a Mission Statement which I am asking all train operators to adopt for their retailing activity. I want your information and retail staff to see it as their job to provide accurate information and advice on journey and ticket options which meet passengers' needs, irrespective of which company provides the train service. I would like your personal confirmation that this statement of objectives is one that you subscribe to and will promulgate to your staff.

My Policy Statement also provides additional guidance on how that objective can be achieved in practice, particularly in relation to competing services. I have listened to what train operators have said about some of the practical difficulties faced by front line staff: you have my assurance that I have no intention of demanding from operators standards of conduct which are impracticable and ultimately unenforceable. I have therefore agreed that there should be a distinction between the information requirements for immediate and advance ticket sales, and I am prepared to consider proposals to amend the TSA to disapply the queuing standard from advance purchase ticket windows. But I am expecting operators to find ways of avoiding excessive queues at immediate travel ticket windows to preserve rail's attraction as a walk-on service. And I will continue to press for improvements in the handling of journeys for disabled persons for whom special arrangements must continue to apply.

The provision of accurate and impartial retailing information is an output of the highest importance in the new railway that I have no intention of diluting. It is important for operators, to allow you to achieve your commercial aspirations, and important for passengers, to allow them to have confidence that the restructured railway is meeting their needs. The issue is as to the best means of achieving that output to the highest standard which passengers can reasonably expect. On their behalf I expect industry-supported solutions which produce real standards of excellence.

A copy of the Press Notice which accompanies the Policy Statement is also enclosed. As a measure of the importance I attach to this issue, this letter, as you will see, has formed part of the Press Notice.

JOHN SWIFT QC

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