Understanding passengers' needs is key to recovery

摘要

The rail industry needs to understand how it can support passengers as travel habits change following the pandemic, Trainline Chief Operating Officer Jody Ford claimed. Ford, who took over as Chief Executive Officer as this issue of RAIL went to press, told National Rail Recovery Conference delegates: "There is significant overlap between leisure and commuter travel, but their behaviour last summer was very different." Ford (pictured), who was due to take over his new role after the NRRC, said that competition for new commuters will result from more choices than just the car, citing Zoom as one example. "That's ultimately the result of new, normalised working from home. There is the benefit of office working against the friction of travel. We need to, as an industry, rapidly evolve our rail offering for commuters," he said.