2017-07-24 12:54:01 +0100
To: Rail Delivery Group (formerly ATOC)
Train Companies to offer refunds to be donated to The Samaritans.
Each year several hundred people die by committing suicide in front of a train. After the inevitable disruption these incidents cause , millions is paid out in "refunds" by the train operating companies to delayed passengers across the network. Normally these are paid in rail travel vouchers, cash or cheque, however I would like the addition of an extra option. That option would be : Donate to Samaritans.
Why is this important?
The Samaritans have a long standing partnership with the railways, working together on suicide prevention techniques, and are entirely run on donations. Any suicide has a devastating effect on the families of the person involved, and also on the train crew and emergency services who deal with everything after the event. I feel that having the Samaritans as an extra option on the refund form would maybe make people think a little, and help the Samaritans prevent future incidents. I know of several people who donate their refunds to the Samaritans (bravo!) however at present they have to claim, wait till they receive it, then make a donation a week or three down the line.. Some people whilst good intentioned may forget to donate or just not think about why they got the refund at that point...
I believe that donating directly from the refund form would hugely increase the donations to the Samaritans and could help reduce the number of suicides in the future. This would be of comfort to the families of those with troubles, and also benefit the railway, of which the Samaritans have a long standing partnership with.
