TfW Staff Get £1m Bonus Boost for Ticket Scanning Success

Transport for Wales train staff have been awarded £1 million in bonuses linked to ticket scanning, marking a 60% increase from the previous year 📈

The incentive scheme, which rewards staff based on how many tickets they scan, has helped boost revenue from £148m to £174m as passenger journeys rose by 19.1% in 2024-25. Staff now scan more than a million tickets each month.

TfW says the scheme not only raises revenue but cuts down on fraud, as unscanned tickets can be used to claim refunds for up to four weeks after a journey. The operator claims to be the industry leader in ticket scanning.

The details emerged in TfW’s annual report, which revealed that severe weather can cost the rail operator up to £500,000 per day. Chief executive James Price’s salary increased to between £240,000-£245,000, whilst finance director Heather Clash earned £175,000-£180,000.

Despite receiving £920m in Welsh Government funding and generating £214m from passengers, Transport for Wales made a £32m loss for the year, covered by drawing from reserves. Total expenses rose to £827m, up from £741m last year.

The report highlighted risks including potential delays to bus franchising in Wales due to funding shortages and resources. Reliability improved on the Wales and Cross Borders line to 75% of services running on time, whilst Core Valley Lines achieved 85.7% punctuality 🚂

However, TfW admitted passengers on the Coryton line “received poor service” during the year.