15.06.17
National complaints soar in 2016-17, as passengers voice 218% more grievances on GTR
Passenger complaints in 2016-17 shot up by 7.5% from the year before, as ongoing disputes on GTR services saw them receive 218% more complaints for poor services than in in 2015-16.
In figures released by the ORR today, it was found that one in four of the national complaints (26%) related to the punctuality or reliability of services, a 12-percentage point rise from last year.
GTR’s dispute with union the RMT, which has now been ongoing for over a year, is partially to blame for the enormous rise, as strike action has led to countless delayed trains and cancelled services.
It was also found that five operators in London and the south east were responsible for almost half (46%) of all complaints registered in 2016-17, compared to 32% in 2015-16.
The ORR stated that overall around 29 complaints were being made by passengers per 100,000 journeys for franchised operators, representing 540,000 rail passenger complaints in 2016-17. And only 12 out of 23 TOCs managed to close 95% of complaints sent to them within 20 working days.
Overall, punctuality or reliability was the biggest reason for passenger complaints at over a quarter (26.5%), going down 2.8 percentage points from last year. Interestingly, the amount of complaints from ticket buying facilities went up by 3.7 percentage points, going up to 7.3% of complaints overall, second to punctuality.
The regulator added that it was likely that the low PPM score in 2016-17 may have played a part in the disappointing figures, as well as overall satisfaction which stood at 81% in Autumn 2016, a significant decline from the year previously when it was 83%.
Responding to the figures, a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: “We know that the last year has been difficult for passengers on some parts of the railway, and the figures reflect that, but on other parts rail companies working together have raised punctuality to record highs.
“The long-term trend is of falling complaints from customers and our £50bn-plus upgrade plan is making journeys better.”
Top Image: Johnny Green PA Images
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