Research and analysis

Rail delays and compensation 2020

Views of rail passengers on rail compensation schemes from research conducted in March 2020.

Documents

Details

This report contains findings from the third wave of research with passengers on rail compensation schemes, conducted in March 2020. Previous research on this topic was conducted in 2018 and 2016.

The report covers:

  • passengers propensity to claim compensation when they are delayed
  • passenger awareness of their eligibility to claim compensation
  • the experience of rail passengers when claiming compensation
  • the reasons passengers choose not to claim for compensation

The main findings of the research are:

  • the proportion of passengers claiming compensation for their last eligible delay of 30 minutes or more has increased from 39% to 46%
  • the proportion of passengers claiming under DR15 has also increased but is still considerably lower, at 22%
  • passenger satisfaction with the claim process has continued to increase, especially with the form of payment (87%) and the method for claiming compensation (77%)
  • more passengers (79%) receive an acknowledgement from their Train Operating Company when they make a claim
  • most claims (94%) are resolved within the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) target of 4 weeks
  • the value of compensation and length of delay have the most impact on the decision for passengers to claim for compensation

Research was conducted by Transport Focus and Breaking Blue on behalf of the DfT. More details can also be found on the Transport Focus website.

Published 21 October 2020