The Youth on Track coalition, uniting youth organisations, consumer groups, and environmental NGOs, has addressed an open letter to European Union institutions, calling on them to raise the bar on their EU Passenger Package.
The letter describes the package as “a huge leap forward for rail passengers and climate friendly travel, which Youth on Track largely applauds the EU Commission for.” But ticketing has not kept pace with the growth of the rail network, the coalition says, describing booking systems that “are stuck in the stone age.”
Recent research by T&E found half of the EU’s busiest flight routes are “hard or impossible” to book on trains. That means “there’s a lot of work to be done to help young people easily travel by train with cheaper tickets and better rights,” the coalition said.
The EU Commission’s proposal goes in the right direction, the group argues, but with research showing that 71% of 15–24-year-olds blame high ticket prices for not choosing rail, the campaign says that improving visibility of the cheapest tickets is vital. “Being able to see all available journeys on major booking platforms will enable young people to access the cheapest journeys available,”
Secondly, Youth on Track supports transparency on carbon emissions, saying “young people are very aware of the climate impact of our travels,” and welcoming the mandate for planes, buses, trains, and boats to show greenhouse gas emissions data before passengers book.
Strengthened passenger rights, where transEuropean journeys can be treated as a through ticket from a reimbursement or assistance perspective would also help to build confidence, allowing young people to know they will not be left stranded, the open letter says.
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The group also wants to see discounted tickets and subscription tickets including youth discounts, made visible in the moves to give independent platforms access to operator tickets. It notes T&E research that found “the same tickets can be up to 6x more expensive depending on which platform you book on. We want to see youth discounts available on platforms, who often are better providers when travelling longer distances across Europe.”
In the months ahead, Youth on Track argues that the bloc needs to broaden the geographical scope of the ticketing proposal, going beyond the current situation otherwise “most of the rail alternatives for the top thirty most frequently flown international routes in the EU will remain difficult, or impossible to book.”
It also highlights the importance of enshrining passenger rights throughout the EU “regardless of whether we are booking with a single ticket. It is essential that Youth Discounts, or public transport passes (such as Climate Tickets which may require different booking mechanisms) still maintain passenger rights and the positive benefits that the EU Passenger Package embodies. Let’s protect passengers’ rights and climate friendly travel across the EU,” the group said.
The letter was signed by a range of Civil Society Organisations made up of youth NGOs (EU&U, Erasmus by Train e.V., European Youth Card Association, Generation Climate Europe, JEF Europe, World Scouting), consumers’ group (BEUC, European Passengers’ Federation), and environmental groups (T&E, Europe on Rail) aiming to leverage the quality of rail services in Europe to make it the most convenient way of travel across Europe, especially for young travellers.
