Campaign success – we helped save London’s Travelcard!
After a long-fought campaign, Campaign for Better Transport has successfully secured the future of the Day Travelcard – integral to the lives of so many in and around London.
Transport for London and Rail Operators announced on Tuesday that the Day Travelcard had been saved – bringing joy and relief to the millions who rely on the ticket each year. A London Labour government and a Conservative Westminster government found consensus on the Day Travelcard and our campaign, which brought together our supporters and figures from across the industry, was integral to ensuring the continuing acceptance of the ticket. So how did we do it?
Activating our supporters
We have many supporters who live in and around London – and rely on the Day Travelcard for their travel – so the first port of call for us was to tell them the Day Travelcard was under threat.
Decisions like these can often be missed – as they’re buried amongst other issues and conversations. Many of our supporters – who are passionate advocates of public transport – had no knowledge of this upcoming cliff-edge, so writing to them was a first priority.
After conversations with the Rail Delivery Group (the body that represents train operators), Transport for London and the Department for Transport – we realised that an agreement would need to be reached, and consensus achieved. We therefore decided to organise our supporters to write to their local councils and Members of Parliament to ensure that this decision was front and centre of minds.
Hundreds of people also wrote to us telling us how important the Travelcard was to them – which we shared with the various decision makers.
Two of our most powerful lines were:
“When my Scout group got the train to London, we were each given a Travelcard. I loved the day, and it was so memorable. Removing the Travelcard would make trips like this impossible.”
and
“I am not good with technology and usually buy my Travelcard at the rail station ticket office… It is just so convenient for older and disabled travellers.”
Poignant messages like these change people’s minds!
Lobbying government
The decision to withdraw the Day Travelcard was originally a Mayoral Decision – made by the Mayor of London and his office. We knew, after conversations with the team in City Hall and at Transport for London, that this was not something that was done lightly, nor did they want to abolish the card.
Decision makers told us that the withdrawal of the Day Travelcard was linked to the government’s funding deal with Transport for London – and so we knew exactly where to go next.
The ensuing weeks saw us meeting with the Rail Delivery Group, train operators, Transport for London and Ministers in the Department for Transport to ensure that a decision was made before the January 2024 deadline. Things were complicated further by hearing that technology systems would need to be updated before an even closer deadline.
We wrote to all Members of Parliament with a constituency either within the London boundaries, or within a 70-mile radius, letting them know that time was of the essence. On top of messaging from our supporters, the message got through to them.
We also wrote to all Local Authorities within a radius of London – urging them to discuss the matter with the Council Groups and write to the Department for Transport and the Mayor’s Office. We had Councils of all political stripes sign our joint industry letter expressing their concerns.
Informing industry
Our research showed that passengers were likely to scrap plans to go to London – which was a huge concern for businesses and tourism operators in our capital. We wrote to UKInbound, the trade body that looks after inbound tourism interests, to voice our concerns. From this, their members helped us with introductions to industry leaders to ensure that the Day Travelcard was being discussed in their meetings with government – and to get them to sign our industry letter to the Mayor of London.
Alerting the media
To highlight the value of the Day Travelcard, and ensure people were aware of the threat, we worked to get our message out in the media. We did some research which showed the impact that withdrawing the Travelcard would have on the cost of travel to London, and shared this with journalists, resulting in articles on the BBC, in the Standard and elsewhere. Our campaigners were interviewed for broadcasts on the BBC and ITV.
Campaign success!
Our multi-faceted approach worked, and the decision to reverse the withdrawal of the Day Travelcard was formally announced on 24 October – which will bring huge relief to the millions that rely on the card every single year. All sides, from different political persuasions found consensus, with a strong campaign led primarily by our supporters.
Long live the Day Travelcard!
