Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to encourage (a) train operating companies and (b) station car park contractors to (i) conduct and (ii) publish equality impact assessments detailing the steps they plan to take to support people that are digitally excluded.

Charging and payment methods for car parking at stations is a commercial decision for train operators and Network Rail. Train operators are responsible for considering the equalities impacts of operational changes on issues such as this, as set out in the 2018 ‘Station Car Parking Good Practice Guide for Train Operators’. The Department expects that train operators should consider each station’s needs and customer base when making decisions on charging at the car parks they manage.