Across Europe, nations are adopting a Climate Card, offering public transport travel on a monthly subscription basis. We were asked by Greenpeace UK to discover whether a similar approach could work here.
Our report Fare Britannia seeks to learn lessons from our near neighbours. The aim would be to bypass today’s muddle of rail fares and stimulate a switch to public transport. Fare Britannia has been tested assuming a £49/month charge – broadly in line with Germany’s €49/month price, where it is known as the Deutschland ticket and there were very high levels of take-up.
Our analysis makes an initial assessment of the impact of such a card in Britain. As in Germany, it would not be available on fast intercity services to/from London. But local, regional and inter-regional train services would all be in-scope and there is no reason not to make it available for bus and light rail travel too.
We suggest it would be best to start in the English regions away from the Southeast (which dominates the nation’s rail use currently). It could, for example, be started with availability across the North of England. Its format should encourage travel by rail for journeys to work and college in particular. Fare Britannia could be a way to boost regional economies.
A virtue of subscription-based payment is simplicity. It is the way people pay for their mobiles and streaming services, so it’s familiar to most consumers. It bypasses the complexity of rail ticketing – which can undermine customer confidence in rail travel, put off from the start. It could be transformational.
Our report identifies the key risks – the impact on the rail budget and the possible impact on already busy services. It notes that the significant demand stimulus noted in Germany has parallels with the experience in London when Travelcards were introduced.
While this can be only a preliminary analysis, we suggest that the Department for Transport and the new Great British Railways, now established in shadow form, are well placed to consider this exciting prospect.
Jim Steer, Director, Greengauge 21
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