The Problem: Commuter trains are over-crowded and many people face long commutes to work each day.
The Solution: Help staff work on trains and count that work towards their daily hours.
I read an article last year which suggested people that work on trains, for example sending emails or writing presentations, should have that work recognised as part of their daily 7.5 hours.
A very sensible proposal, and one which could tie-in with public transport planning to reduce the pressure on rush-hour commuter trains.
There are many work tasks that can be completed outside the office, and indeed many tasks that should be completed outside the office to make sure when people are in the same place they are free to collaborate, rather than working on their own. Trains are potentially therefore a perfect space.
If staff were allowed to begin their day working on the train commuting to work, they could choose to travel off-peak to make sure they had a seat and were not on an overcrowded train, which would help to reduce the demand for peak commuter services.
For example, staff could choose to go to the office early and leave early, perhaps getting on an hour-long train to work at 7am and back again at 2pm, enabling them to complete a 7-8 hour work day and still be home while it was light in winter, all the while reducing demand for peak services and making better use of off-peak trains.
That would not only free up more downtime for staff, but would also help to move people off peak services – train companies could even start offering guaranteed seats on off-peak services to those who booked them to make sure they could work. With work phones, people have mobile data they can use to access the internet securely and not have to rely on train WiFi.
If working on trains became widely recognised as work, it could massively overhaul the housing market, too. Since the commute to work would, in effect, no longer exist as it would be work, people could live longer distances from their workplaces and commute in by train, reducing housing pressures in cities such as London.
It would also help run-down towns and rural communities re-generate, as existing rail lines through them could receive more trains, or new rail lines could be built, to entice working people out from the cities, re-generating places all around the UK.
Many people are already allowed to work from home, so it seems sensible that working on a train is recognised, too.
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