Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Southern Rail to ensure that passengers who pay with contactless cards are able to receive enhanced compensation under the terms of the scheme announced by his Department on 2 December 2016.

As we announced in December, Southern’s Season ticket holders are able to claim a refund for the equivalent of a month’s (4 weeks) travel. Passengers who pay for their journey by contactless cards (i.e. credit/debit cards) are not season ticket holders and therefore are not eligible to claim under this scheme. However the majority of commuters on Southern are season ticket holders.

Passengers using contactless card, and those who purchase day tickets, can claim through the Delay Repay system, which was enhanced on the whole of GTR from 11 December to Delay Repay 15.