Rail passengers are becoming increasingly frustrated with ticket prices with a majority believing they are not receiving good value for money for the price of their ticket, according to a new survey .
Only 40 per cent of British customers think the cost of rail travel is fair, according to a survey by Passenger Focus, the independent rail consumer watchdog.
The study shows that overall customer satisfaction has dropped for the first time in three years and over 25 per cent of passengers surveyed were unhappy at the level of space in train carriages.
Train operators First Great Western and First Capital Connect were among the largest companies to have shown a slump in customer satisfaction levels, with a six per cent and five per cent drop respectively.
However satisfaction levels for long distance services showed encouraging signs as 87 per cent of passengers said they were satisfied with their travels . The overall figure, including inter-city and commuter lines, was 79 per cent.
Anthony Smith, Chief executive of Passenger Focus, Anthony Smith said the train operators with the biggest passenger satisfaction drops needed to "listen to their passengers and take action".
"We hope that this decrease is a dip and not the beginning of a trend," he said.
Speaking on a morning Radio show, George Muir, from the Association of Train Operating Companies, said he wanted the government to show "dynamic vision" to increase train capacity and appease customers .
"We do take this survey very seriously indeed. We really do listen to passengers, it's passengers we want to please and it's passengers we want to attract onto the railway," Mr Muir said.
He also defended the pricing of services saying, ""The dip down in value for money is largely around London and the South East ."
"This is a very difficult area to understand properly because the average cost of rail travel is about 17p a mile, which is under half the cost of travelling by car ."
 |
 |
|
|
Rail Passengers' Not Satisfied With Services And Prices Wed, 06 Jun 2007      Recommended linksFind your next holiday at Travelagents.co.ukUse our travel agent finder Searching For Your Holiday Looking for a cheap holiday? Find a discount hotel Survey Shows Customer Satisfaction With Rail Service Airlines To Pass New Air Tax To Passengers |
||
 |
 |
| Travel news |
|---|
| 14th Dubai Shopping Festival To Take Place Next Month - Wed, 19 Nov 2008 |
| Rail Passengers Set To Suffer Network Closures This Christmas - Tue, 18 Nov 2008 |
| Eurostar Reveals Huge Passenger Growth - Mon, 17 Nov 2008 |
| More News |