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A Conservative shadow minister has called for action to prevent rail passengers being penalised when using Transport for Wales’ (TfW) new Pay As You Go (PAYG) scheme
The scheme, introduced last year, allows passengers to pay for journeys using a contactless tap-on and tap-off system.
However, this method is currently only available for Transport for Wales (TfW) and Cross Country services.
Passengers who use this payment scheme and then travel using a different train company could be forced to pay again for the correct fares.
Baroness Olivia Bloomfield, who is the shadow parliamentary-under secretary of state for Wales, raised her concerns with TfW this week.
Baroness Bloomfield, who sits in the House of Lords, said: “Given we are living in the age of digital I warmly welcome this new initiative, which will undoubtedly encourage more people to make greater use of our vital train service in Wales.
“However, I am concerned that some passengers, through no fault of their own, have faced being financially penalised because they were unaware that the payment scheme only extends to certain train operators.”
She explained: “For instance, I know of one person who used the Pay As You Go (PAYG) scheme at Newport to get to Cardiff but travelled using Great Western Railway, which does not accept the payment type.
“TfW needs to launch a more visible campaign to raise greater awareness of how this payment method actually works, before more people are impacted.”
In response, TfW said it was looking at ways to further expand and simplify the PAYG scheme.
A TfW spokesperson said: “More than 1.5 million journeys have now been made using our tap-in, tap-out PAYG system. It’s great to see so many customers embracing this convenient and simple way of travelling, a success supported by our digital campaigns that highlight the benefits and validity of the scheme.
“While PAYG isn’t currently accepted on Great Western Railway services, ongoing conversations have been in place between both parties since the scheme began, to explore how we can expand this popular scheme further and simplify the overall customer proposition.”
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