Football supporters frequently miss out on the cheapest train tickets to watch their teams play, owing to last-minute fixture changes.
For the last two years, I have been speaking to fans, the Rail Delivery Group, the Premier League and the English Football League with the aim to establish a new Fans’ Fare Scheme seeking greater flexibility for football supporters. Often, matches are rescheduled, owing to TV or fixture clashes. This means pre-purchased tickets cannot be changed or in some cases, fans cannot travel at all.
Fans regularly get a raw deal when travelling away. For example, Newcastle fans often pay the most, because almost all of their games require a southbound journey via the notorious East Coast Mainline. This season alone, from Newcastle’s first five away games, they would have had to spend a minimum of £540 each on train tickets. Imagine then having to buy new train tickets as a result of the match being rescheduled for television.
In January, during Transport Questions, I called on the Department for Transport to include fans from all leagues in upcoming discussions on the proposed Fans’ Fare scheme. I was offered a meeting with the transport minister, which was then cancelled. This came as no surprise, given the number of trains that are cancelled each day.
This week, the Department for Transport gave the green light to our proposals to implement a Fans’ Fare scheme. The Government is finally listening to our proposals, but they must ensure that fans are part of the conversation.
The government’s approach however, has caused quite a stir, with the Football Supporters’ Federation and the English Football League - both of whom back the proposals - being excluded from the discussions. Instead, only the Premier League, British Transport Police and the Rail Delivery Group will be involved.
I am already hearing from fans regarding their concerns that the Department for Transport has left them out of these upcoming discussions - we believe supporters must be at the heart of the decision-making process. Without fans, football is nothing.
The Department for Transport have scored an own goal by refusing to include fan representatives. Premier League supporters often find fixtures rearranged for television, and with 400,000 fans travelling to matches in the English Football League each week, we believe they should be represented.
Later this month, I will be meeting with the transport minister, providing the meeting is not cancelled again at the last minute. Here, I will be demanding that fans’ groups and the English Football League should have a seat around the table for upcoming discussion on the implementation of the scheme – supporters must be at the heart of any discussion regarding their needs.
Quite frankly, there cannot be a half-baked approach to policies affecting supporters. Fans live with train nightmares each and every week – if the Government does not learn from supporters’ experiences, nothing will be achieved.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan is the Labour MP for Tooting