Just one in three commuters on Southeastern trains think their tickets are value for money, new figures have revealed.
The remainder said they were dissatisfied or did not have an opinion on the price of tickets for the service – which runs through Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge – in a survey by Transport Focus that took place in the spring.
And only 38 per cent of Southern commuters said their ticket was value for money.
Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells, said:
‘Southeastern passengers have endured a variety of problems over the past few months, so I’m not surprised to see their satisfaction ratings slip.
‘The full re-opening of London Bridge at the start of the year didn’t bring about the more reliable services people had hoped for, with assorted teething problems causing rather than reducing delays.
‘Passengers have also had to deal with out-of-order toilets and graffiti-covered trains, making journeys much less pleasant, and the recent introduction of new timetables also hasn’t gone smoothly,’ he added.
Southeastern saw overall satisfaction ratings for journeys fall 5 per cent since last autumn to 75 per cent.
The number of Southern commuters satisfied with their journey has dropped by 4 per cent to 69 per cent.
David Statham, Managing Director of Southeastern, said: ‘We’re obviously disappointed in this score but given the survey period covered a period of unusually severe winter weather, and restrictions that meant our onboard cleaning standards suffered, we understand that our passengers have held us to the higher standards that we had set leading up to this.
‘Southeastern successfully introduced the May 2018 timetable, but clearly there have been significant challenges on the wider railway. Wherever possible, we’re working together with our partners to deal with those issues.’
Mr Statham added: ‘Three quarters of Southeastern’s passengers are satisfied with our service – but we know that there’s always more we can and will do to deliver a better railway. That’s why we have set out a new plan with our partners today.’
