16 minute read
Rail: Update on what rail operators are doing to reassure business passengers as trains get busier, plus advice on how to navigate the latest trends
Is this seat Taken?
Trains are set to play a big part in corporate travel's recovery but there’s still work to be done to reassure travellers, says Dave Richardson
AVANTI WEST CoAST
It’s a bit of a catch 22. Rail is widely
tipped to play a critical role as Britain’s domestic business travel recovers but first corporate travellers need the confidence to get back on trains at a time when, inevitably, carriages will be getting busier.
Passenger usage of the rail network slumped to between 10% and 20% of prepandemic levels during the last lockdown, with commuter operators the worst affected. Empty station car parks clearly demonstrated the impact. The cost of subsidising train operators since Covid hit is enormous, put at £10 billion even before the latest lockdown began.
So, are cutbacks and higher fare increases inevitable further down the line?
At the end of last year American Express GBT produced a report called Let’s Go by Train. Designed to help understand how to put rail at the heart of business travel, the report identifies areas where rail is not meeting customer expectations and calls for more dialogue and data sharing across the industry. Key points include bringing business travel into the rail industry conversation; setting up a single authority to oversee rail and monitor data sharing; investing to improve reliability; extending connectivity and boosting regional growth; and giving commuters a fairer deal in the age of hybrid working.
Jason Geall, GBT Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA, says: “Our customers have been engaging with the Let’s Go by Train report, with one financial services company deciding to integrate rail into their RFP process while another asked us to review their HR policy and use of season ticket loans and purchase options.
“Our report opened a conversation with customers and key industry stakeholders, but we want to build on the momentum and take the campaign to the next level. "Over the next months, we want to bring together key stakeholders across rail – retailers, infrastructure, and technology providers – to better understand the needs of our corporate clients and travellers.” Sustainability and competitive end-to-end journey times are expected to drive the demand for rail, along with more regional travel as commuting declines.
Geall welcomes the Safer Travel Pledge introduced by Rail Delivery Group, which brings together train operators and Network Rail, and he expects fares reform and a greater focus on customer engagement to emerge from a longdelayed government review of rail.
Known as the Williams Review, it was delivered to ministers in autumn 2019, but not made public, and has subsequently been overtaken by events. Author and former British Airways chief Keith Williams has since said the franchise model was to end, which in effect happened after Covid hit anyway when the Government took control of all passenger train operators, paying them a premium of up to 1.5% of costs to run services, linked to targets.
Capacity constraints
Business Travel Association (BTA) CEO Clive Wratten says the Williams Review should still be published, despite the enormous impact of Covid since it was written. He welcomes an increased focus on customer experience and says he doesn’t feel that train operators will be any less innovative even though they are no longer facing the same financial risk.
“We still need to understand what the Williams Review means by the end of
franchising, and innovation and product improvement must be key,” he says. “Our members need access to more ticket types as rail will play a huge part in corporate travel recovery. It will grow for reasons of safety, sustainability and a shift from commuter to longer distance travel.”
Wratten feels the rail industry has done “a pretty good job” with enhanced cleaning of trains and stations but believes more comprehensive and common guidelines across all operators would be welcome.
Scott Davies, CEO of the ITM, adds: “It will be important for rail operators to overprovide on capacity as travel begins to build again. Perceptions will be important to optimise traveller confidence and so minimising experiences of overcrowding will certainly help."
To help manage social distancing onboard, rail operators have reduced seating capacity and are strongly recommending that customers book their tickets in advance and reserve a seat on their preferred service to guarantee they will be able to travel. "Reservations help us to monitor demand, and once a train reaches its allocated seat capacity in line with social distancing we then remove it from our booking platforms so no more advance tickets can be sold for that train," says Avanti West Coast. "We’re also recommending that people buy tickets through our website or app before travelling and choose a contactless, digital ticket. Passengers can book a minimum of five minutes before their scheduled departure time."
Those booking on LNER's website can see when trains are likely to be quieter by looking out for green seats. Other operators, such as Southern Rail, are adding alerts to services in Journey Planners where it expect trains to be busy.
Supplying capacity over and above demand, of course, presents challenges and one of the biggest worries is what it means for pricing. "Buyers are concerned that if fares increase as a result, the medium-term effect will be to suppress a sustained recovery,” says ITM's Davies.
David Sykes, Corporate Product Manager of FCM/Flight Centre, says mandatory seat reservations, spacing out of seat allocations, mask wearing and continued additional cleaning will all help boost confidence.
He adds: “Whilst there will, eventually, have to be an acceptance of being in closer confines with other members of the public than we’ve become used to, measures like these should be feasible to continue with as volumes increase and will certainly ease people’s concerns at the start.”
The indications are that the Government will not step back from funding major rail infrastructure developments, despite the overall financial outlook, the negative media coverage of HS2 construction works and continuing delays to opening Crossrail through central London, regarded by some as a white elephant in a post-Covid age.
It has released £760 million to open the first phase of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes by 2025 and created a fund to support feasibility studies into reopening closed lines. Northern Powerhouse Rail continues to plan better services across the North, while even the idea of a rail tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland has been floated.
The Government may 'talk big' but if rail usage does not return significantly in the next 12 months some serious questions will need to be asked. Corporate travel can be a major contributor but only if business travellers feel confident to take that allimportant first step and get back on board.
AVANTI WEST CoAST CHILTERN RAILWAYS
INSIGHT
STAY ON TRACK
Rail specialist Raj Sachdave of Black Box Partnerships outlines the latest train travel trends
As lockdowns ease and domestic
business travel resumes, train travel is widely tipped to play a bigger part in many corporate travel programmes, and rightly so. Here are some of the major trends and issues that travel buyers should be aware of.
Let’s get digital
Way before the pandemic there was a shift to digitisation within UK rail, in some ways playing catch up with the rest of the world. When I say digital, I don't mean simply moving away from those orange tickets, it’s about the use of information pre, during and post rail travel in equal measure.
Information, such as how busy is my train or station, where to stand on platforms and information on assurance and performance, are all there to be utilised and integrated into the business traveller experience.
Meanwhile the rollout of eTickets across the rail network has been supercharged, although some of the basics still need attention. For one, the ability to validate the ‘scanning’ of an eTicket is a must for Duty of Care and for agencies to be able to perform support functions such as automated refunds.
Happy customers
All operators have DfT oversight under new commercial arrangements that came into play from 2020. This means operators will need to measure and illustrate customer satisfaction in order to ‘qualify’ for points to climb the ladder - and we all know what points mean, right? Furthermore, many agencies have been capturing NPS and customer satisfaction scores and interacting with organisations on traveller sentiment whilst on the move, so there’s an opportunity to define how to collaborate with operators in a more structured fashion. Look out for 'Wavelength', which is the DfTapproved, industry-wide satisfaction framework.
60 million and counting
That’s the number of fare and journey combinations in the UK alone. Yikes, no wonder UK rail is confusing. The industry is getting poised to look at rail fares and pricing (including the headache of split ticketing) through a formal consultation. We should all be getting ready to add our views and insight. Be vocal. For years, both corporates and TMCs have been frustrated about why flexibility comes at a super high premium, and why buying the most expensive rail fare doesn’t even guarantee a seat. These are challenges that need to be resolved once and for all. Inventory technology for rail has been upgraded and there are a number of opportunities to move distribution to a more personalised framework, ensuring more relevant fares, pricing and business traveller products.
All the ‘ilities’
Rail is a posterchild not just for sustainability but also for productivity, suitability, accessibility and flexibility. Rebuilding travel volumes both by profile and spend is happening with carbon neutrality at its core. This is great news, so let’s not get seduced by other modes of transport that may give the impression of feeling safer or giving you bonus points.
Rail oozes confidence and assurances that other modes cannot offer consistently. Measuring the ROI of travel is a hot topic and the threshold to travel needs to be validated with rigour. Rail is a smart choice that can be measured with ease and fewer touchpoints. Let’s move to a deeper conversation.
Death of the commute
We all love routine, right, but not Monday to Friday. Believe it or not, this isn’t a pandemic phenomenon. Back in 2018, with commuter traffic falling, the rail industry stood back to reflect. Movement of staff to home based or virtual has long been a strategy for many organisations as they evaluate the ‘seat cost’ of their office space.
Technology and cloud-based services mean you can work from anywhere, so why the need to commute daily on a full-fat season ticket? There isn’t! With many employers now switching contracts to home based comes an opportunity to aggregate business commuter spend with rail spend.
Have a holistic discussion with your TMC and operators to ensure there’s a smarter customer experience and service on offer.
RAJ SACHDAVE
Raj Sachdave is Managing Partner of Black Box Partnerships, a of Black Box Partnerships, a specialist consultancy that specialist consultancy that creates a value-driven approach creates a value-driven approach in travel through smarter and in travel through smarter and faster exploitation of faster exploitation of technology and supplier technology and supplier partnerships. partnerships.
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
The Business Travel People Awards will look and feel diff erent this year, with new categories, new faces on the judging panel and an exciting new format for the ceremony itself. Here’s what’s in store for 2021
MORE CHANCE TO SHINE
IN RECOGNITION of the signifi cant changes taking place in business travel and the challenges the people in our industry are working hard to overcome, we’ve refreshed our award categories for 2021.
Six new awards have been introduced to refl ect major trends and to give as many people as possible – even those who have been furloughed or displaced – the credit they deserve.
This year, more of our awards are open to both individuals and teams, including teams where some of the key players might not currently be in full-time employment or might no longer be with the company.
Four of the awards are dedicated to eff orts and achievements relating to specifi c initiatives – duty of care, Covid-19 support, customer wellbeing and business transformation.
A special award will go to a Change Champion Leader who has made signifi cant and impactful change within their business, sector or in the wider industry. In addition, a new Industry Contribution Award will be given to an outstanding leader, innovator, and infl uencer whose contribution, throughout their career, has bought real and positive change to the business travel industry.
All of the awards will acknowledge outstanding individuals and teams whose professionalism and business excellence make them stand out from their industry peers.
For the fi rst time, we’ve opened up the majority of categories to all sectors of the industry too, so it doesn't matter which area of the supply chain you work in. As long as your achievements are related to business travel, you could win one of our prestigious awards. Nominations have come in thick and fast and, as always, competition is fi erce. Join us on September 15 to celebrate with the worthy winners, and watch this space because closer to the date we will be giving away free tickets to the awards ceremony to some of those who have sadly been displaced.
Watch this space because closer to the date we will be giving away free ceremony tickets to some of those who have sadly been displaced”
With special thanks to our sponsors
INTRODUCING OUR PANEL OF EXPERT JUDGES...
AS ALWAYS, entries for The Business Travel People Awards will be judged by a panel of esteemed industry experts.
For the second year, the panel will be led by Chair Leigh Cowlishaw, Joint Managing Partner of Black Box Partnerships, Global Supplier Partnership Director for the Advantage Travel Partnership and former Chair of the HBAA.
“It was an honour and a pleasure to chair the judging panel for last year’s People Awards and I jumped at the chance to take the chair for the second time, especially in this special 10th anniversary year,” she says.
“Once again, we have chosen astute and highly-respected individuals to form our team of independent and impartial judges. Selecting the right mix of judges has been hugely important to us, ensuring the panel represents a range of knowledge, expertise and skills from across the sector.”
Joining the panel this year is Clive Wratten, CEO of the BTA, who was the winner of a special award in 2020 for individual excellence in approach and actions during Covid-19.
“I’m delighted to be part of the judging panel for the People Awards,” says Wratten. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the best in the business. Our industry is driven by our people, today more than ever, and their work and passion for travel deserves to be recognised.”
New judges in 2021 also include James Foice, Chief Executive of ASAP, Sonia Michaels, Head of Business Travel Services and Events at the Advantage Travel Partnership, and Juliet Price, Consultant Executive Director at the HBAA.
Joining the panel to represent the buyer community is Carol Fergus, Director Global Travel, Meetings and Ground Transportation at Fidelity International, Ian Blackie, EMEA Travel Manager at Bloomberg, and Rod Richardson, Deputy Head of Travel EMEA at UBS.
Following tradition, the winner of the previous year’s Rising Star award is also invited to be a judge and we’re delighted that Peter Snowdon, who was recently promoted to Director of Commercial UK for TAG, will be joining the panel this year. “I feel very honoured to be joining the judging panel and look forward, in what has been such a diffi cult period for the industry, to take time to celebrate and recognise all the positive achievements of the past 12-18 months,” he said. “I’m excited to see what creative things the nominees have been doing to support each other, clients and suppliers during these unimaginable times for travel. Having won an award last year I know how much these awards mean and the eff ort that goes into each and every nomination, so I am looking forward to hearing the passion in the nominations and to reminding ourselves what a fantastic industry we’re part of.”
Alongside these new additions, we’re pleased to welcome back on to the judging panel Cilla Goldberger, Managing Director at ABT-UK; Emma Lamb, Global Travel Safety and Security Specialist at Milestone Tech @ Facebook; Elizabeth Anderson, Manager Global Travel Operations at Inmarsat; Consultant Jan Jacobsen; Lee Whiteing, Commercial Director at Global Secure Accreditation, and Nikki Rogan, Global Travel Director at Fujitsu.
pleased to welcome back on to the judging organises both events. panel Cilla Goldberger, Managing Director “After all this time apart, we all want to Safety and Security Specialist at Milestone make the most of seeing Tech @ Facebook; Elizabeth Anderson, each other face-to-face is designed to ensure Global Secure Accreditation, and Nikki maximum networking. Rogan, Global Travel Director at Fujitsu. "It's set to be a night to remember. We can’t wait to see you there.”
Pictured from top: Juliet Price, Peter Snowdon and Clive Wratten.
TIME TO PARTY
IT’S THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY of the awards so we’re stepping up to the occasion with a new format. Instead of the usual sit-down lunch, we’ll be celebrating in style at a fun and informal evening at the Hilton London Bankside on September 15.
The awards will be a fi tting fi nale to The Business Travel Conference, which takes place at the same venue on September 14-15.
The fabulous ballroom of the London Hilton Bankside will be transformed into a glittering party space where we can catch up with friends and colleagues and enjoy top entertainment.
“We are mindful of time and budget restraints at this time, especially with more of us now working outside of the capital, so we decided to coincide the awards and the conference this year," says Kirsty Hicks, Publisher of The Business Travel Magazine, which organises both events. “After all this time apart, we all want to make the most of seeing each other face-to-face again and our new party-style ceremony is designed to ensure maximum networking. "It's set to be a night to remember. We can’t wait to see you there.”
