DSC criticises Virgin Trains for rise in fares for charity staff
Howard Lake | 13 August 2010 | News
The Directory of Social Change has called on Virgin Trains to rethink its changes to its CharityLines system which gives discounted peak fares to charity staff. According to DSC, the changes which come into effect from 13 August “will mean charities have to pay full fares for peak time trains, which can cost hundreds of pounds”.
CharityLine has been running for over 10 years, effectively enabling charity staff to travel on peak trains at off-peak prices. DSC cites the example of a fare on the 07.00 from Liverpool Lime Street to London costing £66 using CharityLine, and which will raise to nearer £250 after 13 August.
The impact of the change on charities is exacerbated by the expansion in the number of peak time trains. Afternoon weekday services from London to Liverpool which are now classified as ‘peak’ include all trains after 14:07 and before 19:07.
Jay Kennedy, Head of Policy at the Directory of Social Change, said: “the changes to CharityLine have been made with zero consultation and little notice for Virgin’s charity customers. Many charities have planned their travel budgets for this year based on the previous system and will now have to either curtail their travel, use other transportation, or find the extra money for fares.”
DSC has called on Virgin to reverse its decision. Kennedy added: “They should at least consider offering a far greater level of discount under the new system (at least 50%) for all valid charity customers, which should apply to all tickets including peak time trains.”
www.dsc.org.uk
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.