Book a train journey from one end of the continent to the other more easily, at a lower cost, and with the guarantee of being protected in the event of disruption. This is the promise of the new legislative package on rail passengers, entitled ‘One journey, one ticket’, presented by the European Commission on Wednesday 13 May.
These three proposed regulations are intended to remove the obstacles still holding back the development of rail in Europe by simplifying reservations, strengthening passenger rights and facilitating integration with other modes of transport. “Our vision is very clear: one journey, one ticket. Passengers should not need to navigate different websites to compare disconnected systems and check if tickets are compatible”, Commissioner for Transport Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas told the press on Wednesday.
But behind this consensual objective, two measures could quickly crystallise tensions: - the obligation for incumbent rail operators to make their competitors’ offers visible on their own platforms; - sharing commercial and operational data with third-party distributors.
Strengthened passenger rights and ‘single tickets’. The first part of the package provides for a review of rail passengers’ rights in order to extend existing protection to journeys involving several railway undertakings. At present, “travellers [...] are often unprotected, exposing them to travel disruptions and unexpected costs associated with transport, accommodation and meals”, says the proposal.
From now on, in the event of a missed connection due to a delay, for example, passengers will be able to assert their rights on a journey booked with a single ticket, i.e. purchased in a single commercial transaction. This may be a direct link or a combination of several transport contracts for the same journey. However, the Commission is proposing not to apply these new rules where the planned journey time exceeds twelve hours.
On this point, one difficulty could concern the definition of the ‘single ticket’ and the rules determining which companies are liable in the event of delays or cancellations. The text specifies that railway undertakings will remain legally responsible, but will be able to delegate the processing of requests to intermediaries. In this case, passengers must be clearly informed of this service delegation when they purchase their ticket.
Ticketing reform. A second regulation, called the ‘Single Ticketing Package’, aims to reform distribution systems across Europe, so that travellers can plan their trip in a single transaction on the platform of their choice.
A study by the think-tank Transport & Environment (T&E) shows that, for the rail equivalent of the 30 busiest airlines, passengers can book a journey in a single go in only 20% of cases. The new legislation would make longer-distance journeys, beyond cross-border trains, more accessible.
“This is an essential step in encouraging people to travel by train, because this proposal will enable them to see the cheapest deals available”, says Victor Thévenet, T&E’s rail policy manager. “The major rail operators are already starting to develop standards for cross-border tickets using the OSDM system, but this does not create any legal obligations. But we cannot remain within a system of bilateral agreements”, he explained.
In addition, no later than one year after the entry into force of the regulation, online rail ticketing services considered ‘essential’ (including the platforms of incumbent operators such as SNCF Connect or Deutsche Bahn Navigator) will have to display all available services, not only for cross-border journeys, but also for national connections. In practical terms, for a journey between Madrid and Barcelona, Spanish company Renfe will have to display its own trains, as well as routes operated by its competitors from other countries.
This is probably the most sensitive point in the regulation. For the Commission, this measure is essential to create real market transparency. However, as the market opens up to competition, some incumbent operators fear that this obligation will be costly and potentially destabilising, leading to a loss of sales.
On the other hand, ECTAA, the association representing European travel agencies and tour operators, warned in a press release against the risk of increased market concentration by consolidating the distribution power of the incumbent operators, who are already highly visible to consumers.
Discussions are also likely to be tricky on the issue of commissions paid to independent distributors. For Mathieu Marquenet, co-founder of Kombo, “the real issue is not to force the incumbent operators to sell competing journeys on their platforms, but to remunerate fairly the sites that already sell [journeys from] all the operators”.
“Today, the levels of commission we receive from the major incumbent operators do not allow us to cover our distribution costs, whether in terms of advertising expenditure or bank card fees”, he explains.
Data sharing. This is why the proposal also ensures that the various distribution platforms benefit from ‘FRAND’ (‘Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory’) conditions, which implies in particular better sharing of data between the various distributors. All online ticketing service providers should have access to information about passenger requests, train timetables and the equipment and services available on board the carriages.
When a technical connection is established with an operator, an IT interface is used to query them, explains Mathieu Marquenet. “We then ask which trains are available on a request (‘look to book’). Prices are constantly changing according to the number of requests. We therefore have to make frequent enquiries of operators to be able to display an up-to-date price on our platform”.
In an interview with Agence Europe, Kai Tegethoff MEP (Greens/EFA, German), who is active on this issue, also believes that the heart of the reform lies in the obligation for operators to share this data, otherwise third-party platforms will not be able to sell tickets. “We need a balanced system, and we must also ensure that we do not create new dominant players in the ticketing market. We are calling for greater openness, but with clear safeguards”, warned the German politician.
Promoting multimodal links. The third pillar of the package, entitled ‘Multimodal Booking’, aims to ensure that the journeys displayed on the various distribution platforms are neutral and that rail is better integrated with other modes of mobility, by simplifying the planning and booking of combined journeys.
“When Multimodal Digital Mobility Services [MDMS] present transport products or a combination of transport products, they must do so in a neutral and exhaustive manner, without discrimination or bias”, states the European Commission’s proposal. They will also have to display information on at least one of the criteria listed in the legislation, such as journey time, the final price of the ticket or the CO2 emissions generated.
However, “this obligation is designed to be practical and proportionate. But it should not interfere with commercial freedom”, said Commissioner Tzitzikóstas.
It now remains to be seen how far the European Parliament and the Member States will agree to go with these obligations, particularly as regards the visibility of competing offers and the opening up of data. “I think a broad consensus has emerged in Parliament over the last few months on the need for this reform. The debate will likely focus on the scope of the regulation and its level of ambition”, sums up Kai Tegethoff. “We know which direction we want to go in, but we haven’t yet fully decided which train to take”.
Proposal for a regulation on rail passenger rights: https://aeur.eu/f/lwl
Proposal for a regulation on ticketing systems: https://aeur.eu/f/lwm
Proposal for a regulation on multimodal booking: https://aeur.eu/f/lwn (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)