London’s next Mayor is urged to introduce a fairer compensation deal for rail passengers whose trains are delayed. Today, the transport user group London TravelWatch launches 10 polices to keep the capital moving over the next four years – and calls on all of the Mayoral candidates to pledge their support.

The group is calling for rail companies to be forced to pay out compensation when services are delayed by as little as 15 minutes. It would also like to see the next Mayor look at introducing road pricing on a wider scale in the capital than the current Congestion Charge.

At present rail companies are only obliged to refund passengers if their train is delayed by 30 minutes or more. But London TravelWatch policy director Tim Bellenger said: “In a typical urban area your rail journey may be less than 15 minutes, so at present the journey time could double and you are still not entitled to any compensation. A 15 minute threshold for paying out would be more fair.”

He added that refunds should be paid automatically back to rail users because smart tickets can already work out what time passengers pass through a gate line.

Introducing a road pricing scheme across the capital that tracks vehicles using satellites, for instance, would be of benefit Mr Bellenger believes as “congestion is not just confined to central London”.

To read the 10 point manifesto click here.

(Photo courtesy of CPG Grey and licenced for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)