Train companies admit inflating stats on pre-booked rail assistance

Figures passed to the rail regulator by train companies have repeatedly inflated the success of the industry’s pre-booked passenger assistance service, potentially adding weight to the push to close ticket offices and cut station staff.

The data showed the number of disabled passengers booking assistance for rail journeys in advance skyrocketing last year.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) this week described RDG’s failure as “concerning” and has had to remove data on assisted journeys from its website because of the “data quality concerns”.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the companies that run Britain’s railways, admitted to ORR that it had been including – in figures showing the number of “booked assists” – the assistance provided to disabled passengers who had arrived at a station and requested support using their legal right to “turn up and go” (TUAG) travel.

RDG admitted that TUAG figures had been included in its statistics for booked assistance since April 2021.

ORR published a note on its website earlier this year explaining that it had been forced to remove the assisted travel data from the site.

A freedom of information request from disabled campaigner Doug Paulley has now revealed why ORR removed these figures.

Emails released through his request show one RDG executive telling ORR that the “data we have supplied has always included Turn Up and Go”, with another admitting that “it does include both unbooked and booked”.

The emails show that it is only after ORR raises the issue that RDG offers to separate the two sets of figures.

ORR tells an RDG executive in one email: “We’ve never been informed the data now includes unbooked assists.”

The emails show how the sudden realisation that RDG has been sending through inaccurate statistics causes the regulator to cancel publication of the latest figures a day before they were due to go live in January.

RDG’s actions had led to inaccurate figures showing a huge rise in the number of disabled passengers using Passenger Assist – pre-booked assistance – in the second quarter of 2023-24.

RDG had originally told the regulator that the data was accurate but later admitted that in fact it included TUAG assistance “and always has done”.

RDG’s actions are important because both the government and rail operators are desperate to encourage disabled people to book their assistance in advance rather than taking advantage of their right to TUAG travel.

A move towards more booked assistance could boost the industry and government’s arguments for cutting staff at stations and might even help them push again for a mass closure of ticket offices.

Paulley said: “The inability of Rail Delivery Group to create accurate statistics on passenger assistance bookings is a clear sign that the technology, people and organisation aren’t fit for purpose.

“Metrics on disabled people’s transport rights and experiences are important, yet RDG doesn’t seem to treat them as such.

“That RDG didn’t even notice that the data were problematic demonstrates once again their evident incompetence in accessibility.

“It’s terrible that they still can’t get their figures right four months on.

“Conflating a minority of Turn Up And Go assistance provisions with statistics on bookings is worrying and undermining our rights. It fits the narrative of expecting us always to book.

“What we need is the inalienable right to Turn Up And Go and for RDG to be disbanded as the dysfunctional, two-faced organisation they are.”

ORR said the inconsistency in the data RDG supplied on passenger assistance was “concerning”, although a spokesperson said it had “worked constructively with RDG to investigate and resolve issues”.

An ORR spokesperson said: “As the provider of official statistics on rail, it is imperative that data is of a high quality and consistent.

“As soon as ORR became aware of the inconsistencies in the passenger assistance data from RDG, we took action to withdraw the data and work with RDG to investigate and resolve issues.

“We are aiming to publish latest available full year (April 2023 to March 2024) and corrected historic data for booked assistance in July.”

RDG refused to apologise for its actions, or to explain why it did not inform ORR that the Passenger Assist numbers were being inflated by TUAG figures.

It also refused to say if the inflated figures could have helped with the push to cut staff and close ticket offices.

But an RDG spokesperson said in a statement: “We strive to make sure that all the data the Rail Delivery Group provides to industry partners is of a high standard.

“Since we were made aware that Passenger Assist (PA) data was not comparable we have been working collaboratively with the ORR to provide greater clarification of the data set for PA.

“Our industry is committed and will continue working with stakeholders and accessibility groups to ensure that we provide an inclusive and barrier-free travel experience.”

Picture by ORR

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