Affordability

Helping more people to use bus and rail services, leading to fewer car journeys being made.

Passenger’s charter

In First Bus our commitments to passengers are outlined on the respective local business unit websites and include affordability and accessibility.

Our train operating companies publish Passenger’s charters that outline their promise to  customers. It’s their way of showing that they’re committed to giving them high quality, affordable services. In addition, they also publish price promises that ensure that the lowest priced tickets are available directly from them.

These charters and commitments can be viewed on the respective websites:

Avanti West Coast Passenger's Charter

First Bus Conditions of Travel

Great Western Railway Passenger's charter

Hull Trains Passengers' Charter

Lumo Customer Charter

South Western Railway Passenger's Charter

Tickets

We want to make it as easy as we can to buy a ticket for travelling with us, so we offer several options to suit different circumstances and budgets. Tickets can be bought:

·       Online on divisional company websites, via apps or third party ticketing platforms

·       At ticket offices and ticket machines

·       On board our vehicles

·       Through specialist sales or passenger assist teams

We have a range of different train ticket types across our services that offer greater affordability for our customers. Ticket options include single, return, season, advanced, off-peak, super off peak, anytime, group and family tickets.

Flexible Tickets

Our ticketing aims to be flexible and innovative, working around passengers changing expectations. An example is LumoFlex, an all-new digital-only ticket option which offers greater flexibility on all our services on the London to Edinburgh route. LumoFlex offers passengers more options to refund or amend journeys, reserve seating, fee-free change of journeys as well as a pre-departure fee-free refunds if plans change.

Apps

Across our networks we offer bespoke mobile apps to help customers find journeys and tickets. The apps help make journeys more affordable by saving booking fees, finding the cheapest fare available, offering rewards and discounts, and providing automatic delay repay payments.

Tap On Tap Off

We have launched ‘tap on tap off’ payment technology and ticketing options on select rail and bus services across the UK at stations and on our fleets. It allows customers to pay by contactless for the journey they make – calculated from the point they ‘tap on’ to the point they ‘tap off’. It also helps speed up boarding times and journeys.

This technology comes in the form of contactless payment cards, smart cards and apps depending on the service and provider.

Discounts and Railcards

Across our networks we offer a range of discount and railcards that offer discounted travel on a range of services that can be applied when purchasing a ticket these include age specific railcards, commuters, students, families and groups, disabled persons, veterans, jobseekers and regional railcards.

Offers and Rewards

Across our networks we provide bespoke loyalty schemes, offers and rewards via our apps and websites. An example is the Club Avanti loyalty scheme that rewards frequent travellers with discounted travel, onboard food and drink, and free tickets.

In addition to offering rewards on our own services we also offer customers exclusive offers and deals from our selected partners including theatre tickets, hotel stays, retail and more.

Refunds

Each of our divisions publish information on refunds for passengers who are no longer able to make their journey or are affected by adverse events. Refunds are typically provided through the point of purchase and are delivered in either a monetary or eVoucher format depending on the ticket and policy.

Delay Repay

Delay Repay is a national scheme that makes it easier to claim compensation when a rail journey is delayed. Rail passengers can claim Delay Repay if their journey has been delayed by 15 minutes or more. Depending on the length of delay, they may be entitled to compensation equivalent to all or part of their ticket cost. To make things easier for customers certain services offer automated delay repay.

Delays are calculated against the scheduled timetable on the day. The length of a delay is based on the time the train arrives at the scheduled destination compared to its scheduled arrival time, not the delay when it first set off.

All Delay Repay claims must be submitted within 28 days of the affected journey and can be submitted on the respective rail websites. Our divisions publish delay repay data on their respective websites.

Avanti West Coast Delay Repay

Great Western Railway Delay Repay

Hull Trains Delay Repay

Lumo Delay Repay

South Western Railway Delay Repay

Employee Discounts

To encourage our employees to use more sustainable forms of transport we offer exclusive benefits, discounts and offers via an exclusive app First Xclusives. The app also includes additional money saving benefits such as discounts, savings, cashback, vouchers and reload cards at major stores, retailers and travel partners. To find out more about financial wellbeing of our employees visit the Wellbeing page on our website.

Monitoring and Progress

Across the Group we set targets for affordability and accessibility and monitor progress, publishing progress and updates in our Annual Report and as part of the Annual Service Quality Reports:

Avanti West Coast Annual Service Quality Report

Great Western Railway Annual Service Quality Report

Lumo Performance Report

Hull Trains Performance Report

South Western Railway Rail Service Quality Report

Discover more about our tickets and discounts

Avanti West Coast Tickets

First Bus Tickets

Great Western Railway Tickets

Hull Trains Tickets

Lumo Tickets

South Western Railway Tickets