Life after a Railcard ?

[Techniquest]

I shouldn't be saying this as I'm not decades away from a Senior Card, but it seems crazy that people are able to use them to go to work particularly on Buses as I believe the old "9.30" restriction has gone in most areas.

Surprised it hasn't been jacked up to 65.....but perhaps therein lies an answer somewhere

Not in my corner of the universe, passholders can still travel before 0930 if they pay half fare. Mind you, I've not seen any OAPs using them to travel to/from work, but other passholders do use them for going to/from work. Usually the same sort of people who benefit from Working Tax Credit too, so a lot better off than me as a result but of course, still moan how hard up they are!

 

[ModernRailways]

These fares are even cheaper than I used to get with my Railcard

I've noticed a lot of TOCs doing this recently. A lot of advance railcard tickets can be bought cheaper without a railcard. I was looking at going to Peterbrough and on my railcard it would have been £75, without railcard it would have been £45. This was First Class advances both ways!

 

[rebmcr]

If they're concerned about overloading and/or losing revenue in the peak, why not just introduce an Off Peak Railcard, or a Weekend Railcard?

I've noticed a lot of TOCs doing this recently. A lot of advance railcard tickets can be bought cheaper without a railcard. I was looking at going to Peterbrough and on my railcard it would have been £75, without railcard it would have been £45. This was First Class advances both ways!

I was under the impression that the railcard simply applied a discount. Are you absolutely certain that the allocation didn't run out as part of your initial enquiry?

 

[Deerfold]

I shouldn't be saying this as I'm not decades away from a Senior Card, but it seems crazy that people are able to use them to go to work particularly on Buses as I believe the old "9.30" restriction has gone in most areas.

Surprised it hasn't been jacked up to 65.....but perhaps therein lies an answer somewhere

If you're talking about ENTCS passes, outside of London there's few areas allow widespread use before 0930.

The age at which you can get one is creeping up in line with the age at which a female can claim the State Pension. It will reach 65 in November 2018 and continue util it gets to 68 sometime around 2024.

 

[Butts]

If you're talking about ENTCS passes, outside of London there's few areas allow widespread use before 0930.

The age at which you can get one is creeping up in line with the age at which a female can claim the State Pension. It will reach 65 in November 2018 and continue util it gets to 68 sometime around 2024.

Lets hope the Railcard stays at 60

 

[Deerfold]

Lets hope the Railcard stays at 60

I suspect it will.

National Express who have no legal obligation to offer a coachcard have kept theirs at 60.

 

[Butts]

Ah well that's me "back on the wagon" without a Railcard and travelling 1st Class on East Coast for 3 days out in October at a total cost of just over £50!

Trips to Alnmouth , Morpeth and Newcastle from Falkirk

Two Breakfasts, One Lunch and Three "All Day" included for my fifty sovs.

Considering a 1st Class Single from Falkirk to Edinburgh is more than most of my "journey legs" this is an absolute bargain.

East Coast please send me more 50% off codes

 

[infobleep]

You need to travel a lot to make a saving with this technique.

Actually you don't. Two friends of mine and their daughter came over from Germany to visit for 5 days in 2012. I traveled with them for 2 of the 5 days, meaning we got 4 for 2 group train tickets.

For the other 3 days, when they all travelled without me, it was cheaper for them to buy a friends and family railcard even though it was never used again for the whole year, than to pay the full price tickets! Not massively cheaper but still cheaper. Had they stayed for two weeks or travelled everywhere during those 5 days without me, the savings would only have increased.

The furthest they travel was from Guildford to Hastings and back and that included the use of split ticketing to reduce the costs.

Travel costs for 1 person is one thing but when 1 person is paying for 3 people, it soon starts to mount up. This is why the friends and family was useful even for very short periods of travel.