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WiFi On-Train Means Commute Time Should Count as Part of Working Day, Argues New Study
(04 Sep 2018, BWCS Staff)Britain’s long-suffering commuters should be able to count time spent working on WiFi-enabled trains as part of their working day, according to a new study by the University of the West of England. The Bristol-based academics reported on a survey of 5,000 passengers which formed one of the first major studies on the impact of on-train WiFi in the UK.
Dr Juliet Jain, Dr Billy Clayton and Dr Caroline Bartle examined the uptake of free WiFi on two of Chiltern Railways' major routes - London/Birmingham and London/Aylesbury - to see how passengers use free internet provision on their journeys. Traditionally, the government has been more concerned about the benefits of free WiFi for business travellers, but the research team believe that the impact on commuters may be more important.
Over a 40 week period in 2016-17, Chiltern Railways increased the amount of free WiFi available to its customers on its mainline route, and around 3,000 customers were surveyed. Results show that by the end of the 40 weeks, commuters had made the most of the rise. On the Birmingham to London route, the proportion of commuters connecting to the free WiFi rose from 54% when 20MB was offered to 60% when 125MB was offered. In comparison, connection by mobile data fluctuated around 48%.
Interviews with customers revealed why internet access was as important for commuters as business travellers. Many respondents expressed how they consider their commute as time to 'catch up' with work, before or after their traditional working day. This transitional time also enabled people to switch roles, for example from being a parent getting the kids ready for school in the morning to a business director during the day.
BWCS and others have long argued that the addition of reliable, fast internet access on trains should help to smooth out passenger bottlenecks as commuters feel able to travel later, if they can effectively work on the train. The University of West of England researchers looked to Scandinavia to see how commuting time could be measured differently and found that in Norway some commuters are able to count travel time as part of their working day.
Dr Juliet Jain commented: “If travel time were to count as work time, there would be many social and economic impacts, as well as implications for the rail industry. It may ease commuter pressure on peak hours and allow for more comfort and flexibility around working times. However, it may also demand more surveillance and accountability for productivity.”
Alan Riley, Customer Services Director at Chiltern Railways, said: “We were pleased to help with this research; it has reinforced how WiFi on trains increases productivity.”
Trains would also have to offer a good working environment including tables, power, space and good continuous connectivity for internet and phone calls, which would need investment from train operators and telecoms industries.
Meanwhile, the UK Government has issued a Call for Information connected to the Trans Pennine Initiative and aimed at improving on-train passenger connectivity. The move follows last year’s announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Autumn budget, that there would be funds provided to build a 5G Trials and Test Bed at the Rail Innovation Development Centre (RIDC) at Melton Mowbray and to conduct a mobile connectivity trial along the Trans Pennine route (full story here www.Traincomms2018.com ).
As ever, on-board WiFi, trackside networks, the growing market for passenger WiFi services and on-board entertainment will be the main subjects of BWCS’s WiFi on Trains Conference 2019. For more information on next year’s conference please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com
The 2018 conference was sponsored by Icomera, Nomad Digital, Fluidmesh, 21Net, RADWIN and BAI Communications.
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