How could disruption be made more bearable?

[BenS123]

So this thread is simply to raise ideas on what the industry could do as a whole to make it so disruption is more bearable for passengers. I've got a few ideas...

- Better communication - it's unbearable being left, sometimes with hundreds of other passengers, just staring at a board saying "Cancelled" and nothing else. Clear manual announcements should be made to give passengers a sense of progress being made to get to their destination.

- Ticket acceptance with local buses - used very rarely where I am and should be used more as passengers would rather be 'on the move' than just standing on a platform.

- In severe disruption, TOCs should consider authorising their passengers to book their own taxis. SWR is quite proactive in this field.

- Passengers should be assured that if they take another route which would not normally be valid but ticket acceptance has been authorised due to disruption, that their tickets will continue to be accepted even after the disruption had ended, as long as they started their journey prior to the end of the disruption.

- TOCs should not turn down compensation such as taxis because of a "Do Not Travel" warning, as some passengers need to travel nonetheless, an example of this was the major signal failure at Waterloo earlier this month, SWR said not to travel and then used this to say that taxi compensation was not payable. Bearing in mind SWR announced not to travel on the morning of the disruption, many plans were unchangeable by this point.

The underlying factor here seems to be that passengers stuck in disruption want to see 'progress' in their journey, i.e. they want to be on the move knowing that they are on their way to their destination, rather than just sitting on a platform for hours on end.

I'm fully aware that the entire point of disruption is it's unexpected, however to improve passenger experience plans should be in a place to keep passengers informed and not put off from the railway.

 

[zwk500]

- Better communication - it's unbearable being left, sometimes with hundreds of other passengers, just staring at a board saying "Cancelled" and nothing else. Clear manual announcements should be made to give passengers a sense of progress being made to get to their destination.
- Ticket acceptance with local buses - used very rarely where I am and should be used more as passengers would rather be 'on the move' than just standing on a platform.
- TOCs should not turn down compensation such as taxis because of a "Do Not Travel" warning, as some passengers need to travel nonetheless, an example of this was the major signal failure at Waterloo earlier this month, SWR said not to travel and then used this to say that taxi compensation was not payable. Bearing in mind SWR announced not to travel on the morning of the disruption, many plans were unchangeable by this point.

These are all good ideas, and the commercial reasons why they haven't always come about could be solved with a bit of willpower.

- In severe disruption, TOCs should consider authorising their passengers to book their own taxis. SWR is quite proactive in this field.

There are several good reasons why this would not be so good - not just liability and fraud but also the risk of vulnerable passengers being left without any transport because other passengers have nabbed the taxis first.

- Passengers should be assured that if they take another route which would not normally be valid but ticket acceptance has been authorised due to disruption, that their tickets will continue to be accepted even after the disruption had ended, as long as they started their journey prior to the end of the disruption.

Does this not already happen? Ticket acceptance being withdrawn is usually given quite a lot of leeway by staff when delays are being recovered.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Quality information. easyJet seem to be the gold standard here - if your flight is delayed you get a decent explanation of why and what is happening on their app. Much better than "the late arrival of the incoming aircraft". Similarly communicating if connecting services will wait or not (they sometimes do!) and explaining what will happen if not, e.g. will there be an alternative, or are you going to have to wait. The biggest problem is uncertainty.

I agree on arranging your own taxi, much easier to do so with Uber etc nowadays.

When a journey on an Advance is disrupted e.g. due to a missed connection or a delay or expected delay of more than 1 hour, it should become an interavailable Anytime Day Single. This is how DB do it - whack on the "Zugbindung aufgehoben" stamp and you can do what you like. Similarly if ticket acceptance is given on another day it should be an Anytime, any operator acceptance; if my evening train on Sunday is cancelled odds on Monday morning, not Monday evening, is going to be the useful alternative.

Make it simple and make it consistent, and make it favour the customer, not the bean counter.

 

[zwk500]

Make it simple and make it consistent

This is the crux of the matter. Don't make passengers read an undergraduate essay to understand what they need to do to get home.

 

[Magdalia]

- Better communication - it's unbearable being left, sometimes with hundreds of other passengers, just staring at a board saying "Cancelled" and nothing else. Clear manual announcements should be made to give passengers a sense of progress being made to get to their destination.

As someone who commuted for 30 years I'd say this was the first priority. I have experienced many major disruptions, including the aftermath of the Hatfield and Potters Bar derailments.

Two things I found valuable were:

• FCC senior management came out onto the concourse at Kings Cross to take the flak from the passengers so that the front line staff could get on with doing their jobs
• WAGN and FCC both had published emergency timetables so that regular travellers knew what plan B was

- TOCs should not turn down compensation such as taxis because of a "Do Not Travel" warning, as some passengers need to travel nonetheless, an example of this was the major signal failure at Waterloo earlier this month, SWR said not to travel and then used this to say that taxi compensation was not payable. Bearing in mind SWR announced not to travel on the morning of the disruption, many plans were unchangeable by this point.

I disagree on this. "Do not travel" has to mean what it says. No plans are unchangeable.

 

[cactustwirly]

Quality information. easyJet seem to be the gold standard here - if your flight is delayed you get a decent explanation of why and what is happening on their app. Much better than "the late arrival of the incoming aircraft". Similarly communicating if connecting services will wait or not (they sometimes do!) and explaining what will happen if not, e.g. will there be an alternative, or are you going to have to wait. The biggest problem is uncertainty.

I agree on arranging your own taxi, much easier to do so with Uber etc nowadays.

When a journey on an Advance is disrupted e.g. due to a missed connection or a delay or expected delay of more than 1 hour, it should become an interavailable Anytime Day Single. This is how DB do it - whack on the "Zugbindung aufgehoben" stamp and you can do what you like. Similarly if ticket acceptance is given on another day it should be an Anytime, any operator acceptance; if my evening train on Sunday is cancelled odds on Monday morning, not Monday evening, is going to be the useful alternative.

Make it simple and make it consistent, and make it favour the customer, not the bean counter.

easyJet do not set the standard! They left my mates stranded with very little communication after a cancellation.

Other airlines handle it better than the ToCs. When BA have delayed my flights, the reason has been communicated (normally due to late aircraft or missing crew)
When my flights have been cancelled I've got a text with a new booking on the same day!

 

[NoRoute]

- Ensure stations have good provision of seating, so passengers are not stood standing for long periods.
- A complementary coffee or tea would be a nice low cost gesture.

 

[Bald Rick]

Quality information. easyJet seem to be the gold standard here

Orange standard, surely.

Although I do agree, they are better than other, ahem ‘favourite’ airlines.

 

[43096]

easyJet do not set the standard! They left my mates stranded with very little communication after a cancellation.

Other airlines handle it better than the ToCs. When BA have delayed my flights, the reason has been communicated (normally due to late aircraft or missing crew)
When my flights have been cancelled I've got a text with a new booking on the same day!

The airline industry is no standard to aim for. I find that apps like Flightradar24 are a far better way of getting an idea of what is going on than any airline official channel. Only recently my BA flight from Dublin to Heathrow was delayed by about 2hrs. Nothing from BA until booked departure time had been and gone: it was quite clear that the aircraft hadn't left Heathrow on its outward journey from FR24.

Make it simple and make it consistent, and make it favour the customer, not the bean counter.

This. I have lost count of the times where decisions have been made by SWR "control" (I use the term loosely) that have not been in the interests of any passengers during major disruption.

I disagree on this. "Do not travel" has to mean what it says. No plans are unchangeable.

And it is utterly useless where people have already made their outward journeys (eg to work) and need to get home, as was the case in the Waterloo disruption not so long ago.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I disagree on this. "Do not travel" has to mean what it says. No plans are unchangeable.

I agree, but it should only be able to be declared when there is severe weather or a terrorist attack or similar. Perhaps the Police should have to declare it rather than a TOC. It should only be used in situations serious enough that the new emergency alerting system might be used.

If there is just disruption, TOCs should be able to invoke a lesser scheme offering free changes to another day ON A TRAIN OF THE PASSENGER'S CHOICE (capitals deliberate; if the original train was Sunday evening, then Monday morning first thing is likely to be the best alternative, so "travel at the same time" is rather useless) but should also still have to provide alternatives and if necessary accommodation if people are not in a position to just go away and come back tomorrow, e.g. if away from home.

 

[Magdalia]

And it is utterly useless where people have already made their outward journeys (eg to work) and need to get home, as was the case in the Waterloo disruption not so long ago.

Fair point. WAGN got me home after both Hatfield and Potters Bar. On the latter occasion they already had the emergency timetable running via Hertford in time for the evening peak. But people already at home should not be starting new journeys.

but it should only be able to be declared when there is severe weather or a terrorist attack or similar. Perhaps the Police should have to declare it rather than a TOC.

I agree that there ought to be some process and accountability for "do not travel" announcements. But I'm not convinced that the police are the people to do it.

 

[zwk500]

I agree that there ought to be some process and accountability for "do not travel" announcements. But I'm not convinced that the police are the people to do it.

I think Network Rail Gold Command are a reasonable authority to do so, but maybe there should be some kind of mechanism where an explanation has to be given to either the ORR or the DfT (in the same way the bank of England has to explain itself if inflation or interest rates (can't remember which) exceed a certain limit).