Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121931, if he will include Hove passengers in the next trial for part-time season tickets on the Key smartcard.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
No decision has been taken on the details of the next trial. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will be considering options for the scope and coverage of the next trial and will submit its proposal to the Department in due course.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121931, by what date the wider enhancements to the Key smartcard are planned to be delivered; and what those enhancements are.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will shortly be significantly expanding the coverage of KeyGo, its pay-as-you-go product which uses the Key smartcard, and will make further improvements to this product throughout the year. As a result of the government’s £80m investment in smart ticketing, GTR will also be adopting common standards for smart ticketing so as to allow passengers to make journeys across the network using smart cards.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled people are represented on the working group on taxi and private hire vehicle licensing.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Task and Finish group on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles was established by the then Minister of State for Transport, John Hayes, and has received submissions from a number of disability representation organisations. I look forward to receiving the group’s findings soon.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 4 November 2016 to Question 51330, what progress his Department has made on introducing (a) flexible ticketing and (b) rail season tickets tailored towards part-time workers on the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) undertook a trial on two routes (Horsham to London and Radlett to London) where passengers with a season ticket who travelled at off peak times were offered cashback for each journey undertaken. The results of that trial were that there was limited uptake of this offer and it did not deliver the outputs required. GTR will be rolling out wider enhancements to the Key smartcard throughout 2018, and the Department is working with GTR to consider alternative options and trials for introducing part time season tickets on the Key.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 119952, whether the Government revised Accessibility Action Plan will make specific reference to the issues that face disabled people while attending hospital appointments.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The final Accessibility Action Plan will set out the Government’s updated plans for making transport more inclusive so that disabled people can travel more confidently.
The Department is aware that transport to hospital appointments is an area of particular concern to many disabled people, and the Department plans to write to the Department of Health and Social Care on this matter shortly.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to include in the Accessibility Action Plan means to assist people with disabilities in getting to hospital appointments.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s ambition is to ensure people with disabilities have the same access to transport and opportunities to travel as everyone else. This includes transport to attend hospital appointments.
In August, the Department for Transport published its draft Accessibility Action Plan (AAP), setting out proposals for addressing the gaps in existing provision of transport services which serve as a barrier to people with disabilities.
The Government will publish its response to the AAP consultation in early 2018 and a revised AAP in summer 2018. The revised Plan will include our updated proposals for improving passenger transport across all modes so that people with disabilities can travel to the destinations and appointments they need to. The Department for Transport will work with Other Government Departments, including the Department of Health as part of its development of the revised Action Plan.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2017 to Question 9752, if he will take steps to encourage the use of Class 707 trains on coastal routes in the South East.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The future use of the Class 707 trains is a matter for the owner of the vehicles (Angel Trains Ltd). Our overall approach is to foster a healthy and high performing rolling stock market that delivers value-for-money services for passengers.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the future use of Class 707 trains which South Western Railway plan to stop using in 2019.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Once released by South Western railway, the trains will be returned to their owner (Angel Trains Ltd) who will be responsible for finding a future operator to lease the trains.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to procure more Class 700 trains.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Transport has no plans to procure additional class 700 trains. Rolling stock procurement is a matter for individual franchises.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer to Question 60337, on Southern: standards, when the full report and recommendations of Chris Gibb's project board into rapid improvements of Southern Rail will be published.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Industry expert Chris Gibb has provided advice to the department on Southern Rail. His recommendations, which are technical in nature, and the Government’s response will be published in due course.