Transparency on financial support for franchises
3 Information on the extent to which fares cover the overall costs of passenger rail services, taking into account grant support to Network Rail, is not available. Increased visibility of the overall Government support to the railways would lead to better informed debate.
Information on the overall support, e.g. per passenger mile, that franchise services receive from the taxpayer should be made available. It should take into account additional support including grants paid directly to Network Rail.
Transparency on service quality standards
4 The Department seeks to achieve improvements in service quality (covering such aspects as train and station cleanliness, the provision of information and the attitude and helpfulness of staff) through agreeing measurable standards and setting targets to achieve year-by-year improvements on a baseline measured in the handover period. The targets and scores are not publicly available.
Service quality standards and the results of the train operator's quality audits should be more transparent. In particular, the Department should develop scores, based on existing franchise terms and conditions. The targets and scores should be made publicly available and more intelligible for passengers. To strengthen scrutiny by passenger groups, Passenger Focus should commission and make public the results of periodic "mystery shopping" (see Glossary) surveys.