Rail ticket office staff are using e-learning to get to grips with a new ticketing system.
The programme, Fares Made Simple (FMS), is provided on CD-Rom and via the internet, and gives online lessons on the simplified fares structure which will have three categories: advance, off-peak and anytime. Railcard holders will also get discounts.
Staff will be trained to offer travellers the ticket that best suits their needs.
E-learning specialists Ptarmigan and Brightwave won the contract to provide the training which is delivered either in training rooms or at learners’ desks. Neither would give the value of the deal.
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Ptarmigan project manager Stuart Newing-Davis said: “Product and subject knowledge can be conveyed very effectively through e-learning. The Association of Train Operating Companies wanted to take a step forward in the design of the e-learning they provide the rail industry and with the targeted use of video and instructional and interactive design they have achieved that.”
It takes 90 minutes to complete the programme, which is followed by an assessment to check staff knowledge and understanding of the latest ticketing system. FMS will be fully operational by September, replacing a complex system which has been running since the 1960s.
