Making paying less of a pain

There are some things that passenger transport service providers could learn from the unlikely sectors of insurance

Mark Cartwright is a founder Director of Centaur Consulting Limited, a Surrey-based company which provides strategic technology and policy services. He is a mathematician by training, and a Chartered Engineer. Mark began his professional life in the academic world, where he taught mathematics at the Universities of Oxford and Nottingham.

Mark Cartwright is a founder Director of Centaur Consulting Limited, a Surrey-based company which provides strategic technology and policy services. He is a mathematician by training, and a Chartered Engineer. Mark began his professional life in the academic world, where he taught mathematics at the Universities of Oxford and Nottingham.

Insurance companies now offer user-friendly packages of cover for home and car tailored to individual customer needs and circumstances and billed accordingly.

Insurance companies now offer user-friendly packages of cover for home and car tailored to individual customer needs and circumstances and billed accordingly.

Energy suppliers do likewise with combined gas and electricity service offers and customer-focused tarifs, all presented in itemised billing met by a single payment. It is a far cry from the days of the coin and the slot meter. Why cant paying for transport services be equally straight forward and transparent?

Energy suppliers do likewise with combined gas and electricity service offers and customer-focused tarifs, all presented in itemised billing met by a single payment. It is a far cry from the days of the coin and the slot meter. Why cant paying for transport services be equally straight forward and transparent?

The insurance industry isn’t often looked upon as a paragon of retail virtue, so you might think it a bit odd if I suggest that those in the passenger transport business could learn a thing or two from that sector. But let’s see if I can persuade you.

The proposition is my recurring concern: the reward from genuine customer focussed thinking.

Once a year I fill in a form for my car insurance. It asks me to confirm some things about me (age, length of driving licence, etc), the...