Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the prices of the new flexible carnet tickets announced on 20 May have not been announced; on what date those prices will be published; for what reasons the tickets can be bought on 21 June 2021 but cannot be used for travel until seven days later; and what assessment he has made of the ability of (a) commuters (b) employers to plan for a safe return to work for people who have been working from home during the covid-19 outbreak without full information on flexible commuting costs.

As announced on 20 May, alongside the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, the Government is introducing new flexible season tickets across England this year, with the new tickets going on sale on 21 June, and becoming available for use on 28 June.

Tickets will go on sale a week in advance to provide passengers enough time to consider the best option for them before planning travel. A new season ticket calculator will be available for passengers to check the best value option for their travel plan.

Illustrative savings for routes across the country are available now in the press notice announcing the launch of flexible season tickets on www.gov.uk, but final prices will be published on 21 June.

We continue to work closely with operators and other stakeholders to ensure we can support people to return to the network safely and with confidence, including people travelling to work, in line with the milestones set out in the Government’s roadmap for exiting national measures. In line with the easing of restrictions on 17 May, operators increased service levels to around 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.