UK Edition
Ministers and rail chiefs are putting the finishing touches to a new system of flexible rail season tickets designed to entice commuters back to city centres as they split their time between home and the office.
Concerns over costs mean the discounts on offer will be much less generous than for a traditional season ticket, with mandarins attempting to spare the taxpayer from further expense after handing over £10bn in subsidies to keep services running, the Telegraph can reveal.
On key routes, it would be cheaper to buy a standard monthly season ticket than travel three days a week using the new flexible system.
Under the proposals, rail firms will roll out French-style “carnet tickets” which will allow passengers to complete five return journeys in any single month at a discount of 15pc to peak fares.
A passenger planning to commute for one day a week for a month could buy one of these tickets under the proposals. If a commuter wanted to travel in twice or three times a week, they would buy additional carnets. The scheme will be rolled out across the rail network in June.
However, the system is likely to disappoint some workers planning a flexible future because savings are significantly less than for traditional season tickets.
A traveller doing a two-day-a-week commute would pay only 30pc less than if they bought a five-day, full-month season ticket - even though they would only travel for ten days a month.
The cost of travelling three days a week on carnet tickets would actually be more expensive than buying a standard monthly season ticket on typical routes. For example, based on a £45.60 standard fare between London and Brighton, each carnet will cost £193.80.
Buying three carnets to travel three days a week over the month would cost £581.40 - considerably more than a monthly season ticket that costs £414.40.
Although some operators already offer their own individual carnet-style systems, this would be the first industry-wide scheme as part of an attempt to revolutionise the commute.
Flexible rail season tickets were first mooted last summer as a way to ensure that Britons return to using public transport once Covid restrictions are relaxed.
Industry sources said that plans for a bigger discount were blocked by the Treasury following concerns that Department for Transport spending was getting out of control. Taxpayers have handed rail operators £10bn in subsidies over the last year to keep services running for key workers.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, confirmed plans to cancel rail franchising last September.
The move inverted the privatised model that was introduced by John Major more than a quarter of a century ago. Instead of operators collecting fares, the Government now pays them a fee for running rail services with the proceeds from ticket sales going to the Exchequer.
The switch means that taxpayers, rather than rail operators, are now on the hook for discounted rail fares.
Officials have forecast that the carnet ticket will have no effect on public finances because the cost of the discount is compensated by an associated increase in the number of people that will be encouraged to return to the railways.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said: "The pandemic has accelerated the trend towards home working and rail fares need to reflect this so we’re working with the government to introduce new flexible tickets as soon as possible.
“As passengers return to trains, wider changes to fares are still urgently needed so that instead of adding extra ticket types for people to choose from before travelling, more commuters can benefit from tap-in, tap-out capping and automatically get the best deal at the end of the week or month.”
The plans come as Boris Johnson fights to get workers back onto public transport and avoid a car-led recovery. Rail bosses remain frustrated by the Prime Minister’s refusal to say that travelling on public transport is safe from the perspective of catching Covid.
The roll out of the flexible season tickets is now expected to coincide with the Government relaxing its message to work from home, which is currently scheduled for Jun 21.
At the start of the pandemic, passenger numbers plunged as ministers told the public to avoid public trains, buses and the Underground amid so that nurses, doctors and teachers could safely get to work.
A spokesman for the Government said: “We are committed to providing a more flexible, modern ticketing system for passengers. That is why we are looking at ways to make this a reality for commuters, including flexible season tickets. We’ll set out further details in due course.”