RDG replace separate Railcard forms with one combined form

[whhistle]

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) have released new Railcard forms meaning old 'singular' ones should be gone by the 9th of September.

From Sunday 08 September 2019, new station literature will be replaced for all Railcards including the roll out of the generic leaflet replacing all individual Railcard leaflets.

In May 2018, we launched a trial in 5 stations to test the generic leaflet. We extended the trial this year to 3 more stations to gather more info before rolling it out nationwide.

The generic leaflet consolidates all Railcard into one booklet style leaflet and contains a single application form, and one Terms & Conditions that fits all Railcards.


Why a generic leaflet?
The reasons why we wanted to trial this approach was to help the industry:

· Reduce wastage – by combining all Railcards into one booklet, station staff only need to order one type of leaflet instead of individual, helping us manage the stock better. In 2017-18 we destroyed over 600k individual leaflets.

· Reduce cost – by printing one booklet instead of 6 individual leaflets we reduce cost of design, print, distribution and storage.

· Help customers choose the right product for them. Customers will be able to find the right Railcard for them by quickly looking through the information in the booklet.

· Help promote the full range of Railcards – many customers don’t know that they are eligible for other types so this helps promote all Railcards.

This comes after a trial at 5 stations (which then increased).

The new ones need a box ticking to say which railcard the person has applied for.

 

[WesternLancer]

The new ones need a box ticking to say which railcard the person has applied for.

They seem to have made the whole field of railcards so complex they may need a rather long form! I wonder if it explains all the minor differences in use eligibility?

 

[Joe Paxton]

I wonder if this will only be for the 'national' Railcards - or if the Network Railcard, covering the south east of England (and a generous interpretation thereof!) will also feature?

It is really a 'regional Railcard', but is undoubtedly the most prevalent of them - and it features alongside the 'national' Railcards in promotional material - e.g. on NRE's page about national Railcards, or on RDG's Railcard website.

I'm always surprised by how many people who are potential beneficiaries of it don't seem to know about the existence / benefits of the Network Railcard. It is available to everyone regardless of age and covers a wide area.

Whilst Groupsave discounts (and accompanying 'kids for a quid' offers from some TOCs) have lessened the utility of the Network Railcard offering discounts to up to three accompanying adults (and four accompanying children), it's still very useful in offering a discount for two people travelling together - the holder and any other person, in contrast to the Two Together Railcard where both beneficiaries must be named and have photos on the railcard.

Perhaps if it features in a combined railcard leaflet it might gain a higher profile, though at the risk of annoying everyone else who might see another example of the south-east centricity of this country!

 

[[.n]]

I wonder if it explains all the minor differences in use eligibility?

The generic leaflet consolidates all Railcard into one booklet style leaflet and contains a single application form, and one Terms & Conditions that fits all Railcards.

Doesn't look like they have!!!

 

[janb]

I wonder if this will only be for the 'national' Railcards - or if the Network Railcard, covering the south east of England (and a generous interpretation thereof!) will also feature?

There are 2 versions of the leaflet. One which includes the Network Railcard for distribution in the appropriate area, and one which doesn't include the Network Railcard for the rest of the country.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The generic leaflet consolidates all Railcard into one booklet style leaflet and contains a single application form, and one Terms & Conditions that fits all Railcards.

I don't suppose the new T&C's are available online anywhere?

 

[Alan2603]

The new ones need a box ticking to say which railcard the person has applied for.

They seem to have made the whole field of railcards so complex they may need a rather long form! I wonder if it explains all the minor differences in use eligibility?

If they are combining all the Railcards onto one application form, I hope they will still issue them in ‘Easy Read’ and ‘Large Print’ etc, particularly when for applying for the Disabled Persons Railcard.

My brother for example, who has learning difficulties, can only just about understand the current easy read version of the Disabled Persons Railcard application form. He will be totally thrown if the 'new' application form includes multiple t&c’s for other railcards that don’t apply to him or show eligibility conditions for railcards that again don’t apply to the disabled railcard.

He cannot use a computer, yet he strives to be independent in life. Hence such as the easy read disabled railcard application forms are ideal for him and many others with similar disabilities.

In simplifying matters for themselves by using one application form, RDG may have just complicated matters further for people with learning difficulties and/or other disabilities.

 

[RJ]

I wonder if this will only be for the 'national' Railcards - or if the Network Railcard, covering the south east of England (and a generous interpretation thereof!) will also feature?

It will probably need its own form because of the map element, but probably a good time to review the design to ensure the map and validity information the customer is supposed to retain isn't printed on the reverse of the application form the ticket office retains. Some are still floating around, resulting in a second complete form having to be given to the customer!

 

[James H]

Here are the terms and conditions

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Here are the terms and conditions

View attachment 67972 View attachment 67971

Thank you.

Any comments from anyone? I can see that harmonisation may bring both benefits and drawbacks.

 

[[.n]]

So no T&C's for the 26-30 railcard (which I think is online only, so that makes sense), nothing about the Gold Cards (again highly specialised but might have been a handy reference spot), nothing about the new 16-17 card (again I think this is online only). I'm ignoring the even more specialised railcards that are available.

I've not compared them like for like with the separate T&Cs, so I don't know if there are any differences, but they are a confusing read, most talk about time restrictions, but the Disabled section doesn't, the various area restrictions are confusing are then reference other sections, for which only a part is valid.

How many pages extra is this leaflet compared to the normal ones? Does it actually save paper overall?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

How many pages extra is this leaflet compared to the normal ones? Does it actually save paper overall?

Presumably it will save paper because they will only need to supply the one leaflet to sit in stations unread: I'm guessing more and more people are getting their railcards online without ever even picking up a paper leaflet. So it will be cheaper to send every station ten big fat leaflets rather than ten disabled Railcard leaflets and ten Two Together leaflets and so on.

 

[AY1975]

If they are combining all the Railcards onto one application form, I hope they will still issue them in ‘Easy Read’ and ‘Large Print’ etc, particularly when for applying for the Disabled Persons Railcard.

My brother for example, who has learning difficulties, can only just about understand the current easy read version of the Disabled Persons Railcard application form. He will be totally thrown if the 'new' application form includes multiple t&c’s for other railcards that don’t apply to him or show eligibility conditions for railcards that again don’t apply to the disabled railcard.

He cannot use a computer, yet he strives to be independent in life. Hence such as the easy read disabled railcard application forms are ideal for him and many others with similar disabilities.

In simplifying matters for themselves by using one application form, RDG may have just complicated matters further for people with learning difficulties and/or other disabilities.

I hope that the RDG will think to produce an easy read version, or continue with the existing easy read version for the Disabled Railcard. If not, a letter to the RDG (or, failing that, an online petition) might be in order.