Greg successfully secured an adjournment debate today to call on the Government to speed up the introduction of flexible ticketing - describing the current fares system as an "anachronism" that needs to be changed for the 21st century.
The current fares system makes it more expensive to travel three days a week than five and said this was indefensible for five reasons: Even before Covid, working patterns were changing to become more flexible; it penalises part-time workers who earn less; it penalises women, the old and the disabled who are more likely to work part-time; it goes against Government advice to "work from home if you can" to combat Covid - which is not viable if it is cheaper to travel five days a week instead of three - and it hampers the economic recovery, as new working patterns will be formed not by what is ideal for the business and the worker, but to conform to the antiquated fares system.
The Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, said the Government will be: "Considering how we can provide simpler, more flexible ticketing to deliver a better deal for passengers and deliver a deal for passengers that works in the new environment that they will be travelling in."