Our role
Who we are and what we do
Our video
An introduction to the role of Passenger Focus
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We are the independent passenger watchdog
We are an independent public body set up by the Government to protect the interests of Britain's rail passengers and from spring 2010, England’s bus passengers outside of London and coach passengers on scheduled domestic services. We are funded by the Department for Transport but our independence is guaranteed by an act of Parliament.
Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers. With a strong emphasis on evidence-based campaigning and research, we ensure that we know what is happening on the ground.
We use our knowledge to influence decisions on behalf of passengers and we work with the industry, passenger groups and government to secure journey improvements.
You can find out more about us by reading our Passenger Focus Corporate Plan 2009-2012 - Conference Edition.
What is Passenger Focus doing for me?
We’re here to put the interests of rail, bus and coach passengers first. We do this by:
Campaigning for improvements
- gathering research and information, like the National Passenger Survey, where 54,000 rail passengers give us their views about their rail journeys, so we understand the issues that matter to you
- working with government and the industry to ensure that the passenger voice is heard when making decisions about the future
- we focus on a number of key issues:
- fares and tickets
- quality and level of services
- investment.
Resolving complaints with rail companies
- if you make a complaint and you are unhappy with the response we can take up your complaint with the rail company involved.
Our history
We have existed in some form since 1947 when the Central Transport Consultative Committee (CTCC) and a network of Transport Users Consultative Committees were established as the passenger representative bodies. We were given extended powers in 1962 and again in 1968.
When the rail network in the UK was privatised in 1993 our committees were replaced with the Rail Users Consultative Committee (RUCC) Network, including the Central Rail Users Consultative Committee (CRUCC) as the national co-ordinating body. We were then sponsored by the Office of Rail Regulation. With further powers, we spoke up for passengers in the new era of private train operators.
In 2000 we became the Rail Passengers Council and Committees (RPC) and our sponsorship was taken over by the Strategic Rail Authority. The RPC Network was relaunched at the Rail Summit in May 2000.
In January 2004, Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, announced a review of the structure of the rail industry. We held a wide consultation amongst passengers, stakeholders and the industry so that our response to Government set out passengers’ priorities for the future of rail.
In July 2004 the Government published a White Paper entitled ‘The Future of Rail’. The White Paper stated the need for a more independent and focused rail passenger organisation that offered better value for money and achieved higher levels of passenger awareness. This included proposals to change the structure of the Rail Passengers Council and Committees.
A new GB-wide organisation would be set up and the regional Rail Passengers Committees would be abolished. The Secretary for State asked the then chairman of the Rail Passengers Council, Stewart Francis, to come forward with proposals on the development of rail passenger representation in Great Britain.
In November 2004 a Railways Act was introduced in the House of Commons. This provided some of the key details about the changes to the RPC. These included the dissolution of the eight Rail Passenger Committees and the reconstituting of the Rail Passengers Council as a GB-wide body. It was also announced that the Strategic Rail Authority was to be abolished and that our sponsorship would transfer to the Department for Transport.
The Railways Act received Royal Assent and became law in April 2005. Since 24 July 2005, there has been a new Rail Passengers Council which is the official, independent voice of all rail passengers. We are a single GB-wide organisation which replaces the previous Rail Passengers Council and regional Rail Passengers Committees. Passenger Focus is the operating name of this organisation.
In April 2008 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that our role would widen to include bus passenger representation in England. The Local Transport Act enables the Secretary of State to extend our remit through secondary legislation. We will be representing bus passengers in England, outside of London. Included in this remit are bus services and scheduled domestic coach journeys. We are expecting work to formally commence in April 2010.