Cash remains an important ticket payment option at UK railway stations, especially in most deprived areas, research finds

About The Authors

13th September 2024 11:44 - Transport and Distribution

Cash remains an important ticket payment option across UK railway stations but more so in the most deprived areas of England: According to a recent report by Transport Focus, cash is still very much a key payment option for ticket purchases at UK railway stations, most notable in the most deprived areas of the country. The study revealed that in nearly all stations surveyed in the sample in England’s most deprived areas, cash transactions accounted for 20-50% of ticket sales. In contrast, far fewer stations in the less deprived areas reported cash usage in this range and were far more likely to have a proportional case transaction of 20% of less.

The report used publicly available data from 429 stations to examine the number of tickets sold at ticket offices and frequency of cash purchases. Transport Focus relied on ticket sales data made available during last year’s ticket office consultation by operators such as Great Western Railway, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, and London North Eastern Railway. To explore the link between cash use and people struggling to make ends meet, ticket sales data was matched with deprivation data for each station’s local area.

Further findings highlighted a cash usage gap. Stations in the most deprived areas saw double the cash usage of those in the least deprived areas, with averages of 32% and 16% respectively. Areas such as Blackburn, Middlesborough, Rochdale, and St Helens were found to have the highest percentage of cash transactions overall in the report.

St Helens Central stood out as it saw almost half of its ticket office transactions paid with cash in 2023 (47%) and recorded nearly two times more ticket office transactions than online transactions (via apps such as Trainline). At almost all stations in the sample online ticket sales were greater than the ticket office sales, highlighting St Helens Central as an outlier. It wasn’t a coincidence that the areas surrounding the station were among the most deprived in England too.

The report summarised that it was key to ensure that cash continues to be a payment option at stations where it is still accepted. Transport Focus also suggested expanding access to rail products by enabling high street retailers, such as supermarkets, post offices, and newsagents, to sell tickets. This would provide more flexibility for people from areas where cash is still heavily relied upon, and where key rail products are not currently available for purchase using cash.

Other Transport and Distribution Research Findings

Other Latest Market Research Insights