Different types of passengers require different types of fare

Passenger numbers are close to pre-pandemic levels, but how and why people are travelling requires careful thought on any fares review, says PHILIP HAIGH

Philip Haigh Transport writer

FLICKING through some Transport Focus survey results the other day, I was struck by two things. London-Shoeburyness train operator c2c topped the rankings, with 91% overall satisfaction between September 2023 and June 2024. However, I found it also propping up the bottom of the table when it came to value for money, with a score of just 46%. How can an operator be, at the same time, top for overall satisfaction and bottom for value for money? I turned to Anthony Smith for the answer, leaning on his 20 years running Transport Focus and its predecessors. It’s commuters, he explained. “You can’t please commuters, you can only not displease them.” He argues that in general commuters hate going to work and see rail fares as a distress purchase, hence their…

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