2021-10-02 12:26:33 +0100
To: Jacqueline Starr, CEO Rail Delivery Group
Let 26-30 year-olds get a railcard without a smartphone
Please allow 26-30 year-olds to get a railcard like all other eligible age-groups - without needing a smartphone.
Why is this important?
The new 26-30 railcard was made available to the public at the start of 2019. However, unlike all other railcards - including the 16-25 and senior railcards - it is available 'digital only'. This means that only 26-30 year-olds possessing an Apple iPhone or Google Android mobile 'phone who download the railcard app can get one. It seems unfair to assume that people of this age-group must have a smartphone, or to require them to get one, when people of other age-groups eligible for a railcard are able to use a physical, paper or plastic railcard instead.
As a 26 year-old without a mobile 'phone, I find access to nearly all services and opportunities is quite straightforward without one, and believe that this should remain the case in future. I'm no Luddite, I just don't feel that I want or need a mobile. When I was 25, this certainly didn't stop me having a 16-25 railcard. I can see no reason why I should be barred from getting the new railcard now I'm 26 and struggling just as much to afford rail fares.
Not everyone aged 26-30 has a mobile 'phone, and we shouldn't be expected to become customers of Apple or Google - both of which are huge multinational companies with a lot of power and influence as it is - in order to take advantage of the chance to have affordable rail fares. Young people are already struggling to afford the growing expense of travel, which is why the new railcard was introduced in the first place. Please don't expect us to pay hundreds of pounds for a smartphone in order to get it! I'm petitioning for the right to choose to get a physical railcard instead, just like everyone else who's entitled to one.
As a 26 year-old without a mobile 'phone, I find access to nearly all services and opportunities is quite straightforward without one, and believe that this should remain the case in future. I'm no Luddite, I just don't feel that I want or need a mobile. When I was 25, this certainly didn't stop me having a 16-25 railcard. I can see no reason why I should be barred from getting the new railcard now I'm 26 and struggling just as much to afford rail fares.
Not everyone aged 26-30 has a mobile 'phone, and we shouldn't be expected to become customers of Apple or Google - both of which are huge multinational companies with a lot of power and influence as it is - in order to take advantage of the chance to have affordable rail fares. Young people are already struggling to afford the growing expense of travel, which is why the new railcard was introduced in the first place. Please don't expect us to pay hundreds of pounds for a smartphone in order to get it! I'm petitioning for the right to choose to get a physical railcard instead, just like everyone else who's entitled to one.
