Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Passenger Rail Usage statistics, published by the Office for Road and Rail on 14 June 2018 that reports a 9.2 per cent fall in season ticket journeys; and if he will make a statement.

The Department reviews the suitability of its policies on an ongoing basis and takes into account new evidence when available. Whilst there has been a fall in journeys made using season tickets, there has been a 4% increase in journeys made using other ticket types. The recent decline in journeys made using season tickets has been observed over a short period following a longer-term trend of sustained growth, and the Department will continue to keep this under review.

Passengers should have more choice in their ticket options and the Secretary of State includes a requirement for bidders to develop flexible ticketing offers for those who work or commute part-time in all franchise competitions. The Department is also undertaking new research to explore the number of journeys made per season ticket to understand further the impact of changing travel behaviour.