ii. The role of a passenger voice
Great British Railways will not be marking its own homework. Alongside the accountability measures available to the Secretary of State to drive improvements for passengers, and continued safety regulation by the Office of Rail and Road, a powerful new passenger watchdog – the Passenger Standards Authority – will independently monitor standards and champion improvement in service performance against a range of measures.
The new watchdog will consolidate the customer-focused regulatory and other functions of the Office of Rail and Road, Transport Focus and the Rail Ombudsman to bring a relentless focus within one independent body in the interests of rail passengers, alongside its responsibilities for other parts of the transport system.
In terms of rail, it will have the power to demand service improvement plans, inspect the performance of Great British Railways with information gathering powers and assess performance fairly and transparently against published data.
The functions that will be transferred and absorbed into the new watchdog include:
Office of Road and Rail
- Passenger assistance
- Passenger information
- Complaints and compensation codes of practice, monitoring and compliance
- Consumer law and investigation and enforcement
Transport Focus (in its entirety)
- Insight, surveys and reporting
- Consumer campaigns and advocacy
- Passenger rights and advice
Rail Ombudsman (in its entirety)
- Complaints resolution (alternative disputes resolution).
By bringing these functions and expertise together, passengers will have a one-stop- shop where their interests are protected, where they can get advice, have unresolved complaints addressed and where rights and standards are monitored and reported publicly and transparently.