Rail can have its ‘Uber Moment’ – but only if passenger experience leads the way

The UK Department for Transport’s (DfT) announcement that new ticketing technology will be trialled across the Midlands and North is a huge moment for UK rail. The scheme trials a new way of rail ticketing, suggesting a future which does away from last-minute rushes at the ticket machine or struggling-to-load apps.

Instead, passengers are automatically charged the best fare at the end of the day’s travel – sparing the guesswork and rigidity of traditional ticketing. And with 500 people already signed up, there’s a clear appetite for change. But success won’t come from technology alone. The winners will be those who design every touchpoint around passenger needs – from sign-up to payment. 

Rolling ahead with the times

It may not feel like it when you’re stuck waiting on your delayed train on a rainy platform, but transport problems are often information problems in disguise. The biggest source of frustration for passengers isn’t always the journey itself, but how confusing, inflexible or outdated the systems around it feel.

Rebecca Crook, CEO, MSQ DX

The disruption of traditional taxis proves a simple truth: when someone reimagines a broken experience, entire industries have to follow.

What was acceptable yesterday – cash-only payments, hoping to flag one down, no choice of driver – becomes yesterday's business model.

Yet rail continues to make passengers work for it – decode our fares, pick your ticket, hope you got it right.

The blueprint for change is clear: make payment invisible, pricing transparent, and earn trust with every journey.

Unlimited contactless payments and 'best price guaranteed' models do exactly this. They're not just conveniences, they're trust-builders. And trust is something rail urgently needs to restore.

From station platforms to data platforms

Rail already has the raw materials to begin implementing change, but it needs to use these correctly. Most companies have a trove of data on travel patterns, location data and ticket history that can enable ticketing apps digital systems to work intelligently in the background.

But businesses must use this info correctly and responsibly. And passive data collection must translate into active benefits that remove uncertainty, automate the admin, and help passengers feel the system is doing the heavy lifting.

This doesn’t mean inventing entirely new infrastructure but instead applying existing technology in a way that feels human and useful. 

Don’t rip up the tracks

The rail industry doesn’t need to replace everything and start again to deliver a better passenger experience. What matters is making existing systems work harder for customers. Incremental improvements can be made. For example, layering new ticketing experiences on top of current infrastructure which can remove friction without the cost of upheaving the entire app.

Simplicity is important here. As Apple has shown, the best design is often the simplest. Rail’s digital platforms should require as little effort as possible from the user, reduce mental load, and quietly do the hard work in the background.

Smart transformation doesn't always have to mean replacing entire systems, it can unlock the value trapped inside them by redesigning the experience.

The power of certainty

This trial reveals an uncomfortable truth: uncertainty is a business killer. When passengers can't trust the fare system, they don't just choose a different ticket – they choose a different mode of transport entirely.

The inverse is equally powerful. Guarantee the best price, remove the guesswork, and watch hesitation turn into habitual use. This isn't a service upgrade, it's a commercial imperative. Every moment of fare anxiety is a lost customer, a missed journey, leaked revenue.

The technology exists. The appetite is proven. But here's what will separate winners from losers: the ability to translate these capabilities into experiences passengers actually trust. Get it right, and rail doesn't just catch up – it leaps ahead. Get it wrong, and watch another industry get "Ubered" while clutching its legacy systems.

The clock is ticking. Not because the technology is complex, but because passenger patience isn't infinite. 

Read the original article in futureRAIL