Railair discount for SWR staff

[iorhgaoerighao]

Evening all. We are looking to get the railair coach from woking to heathrow. how do we buy the priv rate tickets? Google says we buy normal tickets on the coach so am i correct in saying that the priv rate ones can be bought there too?

thanks in advance!

 

[Flange Squeal]

Buy on board from driver. It's £3.

 

[iorhgaoerighao]

Buy on board from driver. It's £3.

amazing! thanks for that. any limitations?

 

[Flange Squeal]

amazing! thanks for that. any limitations?

Not to my knowledge - just a case of showing them your staff pass. If they have trouble locating it on the machine, then for reference it comes up as a 'TOC Staff Day Rover', however I've not had any issues buying them lately. I think since the route started calling at Woking, rather than just Guildford, they've probably encountered a lot more staff passes so know what they are looking for now! It's valid for one day so obviously you'll need to buy another if returning by coach also, but still not bad for £6 return.

 

[iorhgaoerighao]

Not to my knowledge - just a case of showing them your staff pass. If they have trouble locating it on the machine, then for reference it comes up as a 'TOC Staff Day Rover', however I've not had any issues buying them lately. I think since the route started calling at Woking, rather than just Guildford, they've probably encountered a lot more staff passes so know what they are looking for now! It's valid for one day so obviously you'll need to buy another if returning by coach also, but still not bad for £6 return.

Agreed, £6 return is not bad at all!
i'll keep that info in mind in case but judging by what you're saying, it'll be fine. just a shame it's not available online...
thanks again for the reply

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Just to add, I would advise you to use caution when trying to purchase one of the £3 TOC staff day rover tickets from the drivers on the RA2 - and treat being able to pay the £3 fare as a bonus, rather than an expectation - particularly if you're travelling with someone else.

As you may be aware, family and friends travelling with you are also entitled to the £3 fare, however in my many experiences of using the RA2, around half the time I seem to run into issues with clueless drivers with an attitude that I would certainly get pulled up for if I used in my job.

Even with the letter of authority from SWR, which we had been instructed by the union reps at my depot to show to the RA2 drivers (as it is a known issue that the drivers like to refuse the discount), some still outright refuse to issue the discount, and if you argue with them enough, they may offer you the "railcard rate" tickets at £7.

I've complained to First Bus countless times about this (and the generally poor service on the RA2) but nothing is ever done about it, and I've now given up with using them unless absolutely necessary, as having to argue your way to a discount you're entitled to puts a bad taste in your mouth for the rest of the day.

I'm not saying all of this to "burst your bubble" (for want of a better term), but I just don't want you to get your hopes up if you end up in a similar situation.

And I mean no disrespect to the RA2 drivers, as I have encountered some fantastic ones, but unfortunately there are a handful who behave with an attitude I'm astounded they can get away with.

I wish you all the best and hope that it does work out well for you.

 

[Cesarcollie]

Just to add, I would advise you to use caution when trying to purchase one of the £3 TOC staff day rover tickets from the drivers on the RA2 - and treat being able to pay the £3 fare as a bonus, rather than an expectation - particularly if you're travelling with someone else.

As you may be aware, family and friends travelling with you are also entitled to the £3 fare, however in my many experiences of using the RA2, around half the time I seem to run into issues with clueless drivers with an attitude that I would certainly get pulled up for if I used in my job.

Even with the letter of authority from SWR, which we had been instructed by the union reps at my depot to show to the RA2 drivers (as it is a known issue that the drivers like to refuse the discount), some still outright refuse to issue the discount, and if you argue with them enough, they may offer you the "railcard rate" tickets at £7.

I've complained to First Bus countless times about this (and the generally poor service on the RA2) but nothing is ever done about it, and I've now given up with using them unless absolutely necessary, as having to argue your way to a discount you're entitled to puts a bad taste in your mouth for the rest of the day.

I'm not saying all of this to "burst your bubble" (for want of a better term), but I just don't want you to get your hopes up if you end up in a similar situation.

And I mean no disrespect to the RA2 drivers, as I have encountered some fantastic ones, but unfortunately there are a handful who behave with an attitude I'm astounded they can get away with.

I wish you all the best and hope that it does work out well for you.

Crumbs. Sounds as bad as the railway at not having any knowledge of which tickets are and aren’t valid…….

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

If you work for First Group/SWR, you can use the special £8 bus weekly ticket for unlimited travel on RailAir too, if that works out better. Depends how often you're using it.

 

[iorhgaoerighao]

Just to add, I would advise you to use caution when trying to purchase one of the £3 TOC staff day rover tickets from the drivers on the RA2 - and treat being able to pay the £3 fare as a bonus, rather than an expectation - particularly if you're travelling with someone else.

As you may be aware, family and friends travelling with you are also entitled to the £3 fare, however in my many experiences of using the RA2, around half the time I seem to run into issues with clueless drivers with an attitude that I would certainly get pulled up for if I used in my job.

Even with the letter of authority from SWR, which we had been instructed by the union reps at my depot to show to the RA2 drivers (as it is a known issue that the drivers like to refuse the discount), some still outright refuse to issue the discount, and if you argue with them enough, they may offer you the "railcard rate" tickets at £7.

I've complained to First Bus countless times about this (and the generally poor service on the RA2) but nothing is ever done about it, and I've now given up with using them unless absolutely necessary, as having to argue your way to a discount you're entitled to puts a bad taste in your mouth for the rest of the day.

I'm not saying all of this to "burst your bubble" (for want of a better term), but I just don't want you to get your hopes up if you end up in a similar situation.

And I mean no disrespect to the RA2 drivers, as I have encountered some fantastic ones, but unfortunately there are a handful who behave with an attitude I'm astounded they can get away with.

I wish you all the best and hope that it does work out well for you.

Balls, just been charged £7. Gonna argue with the driver once we arrive at Heathrow. He said the price went up but it seems now he was talking ****.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

Receipt.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

Balls, just been charged £7. Gonna argue with the driver once we arrive at Heathrow. He said the price went up but it seems now he was talking ****.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

Receipt.

Receipt hopefully attached this time...

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Balls, just been charged £7. Gonna argue with the driver once we arrive at Heathrow. He said the price went up but it seems now he was talking ****.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

Receipt.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==


Receipt hopefully attached this time...

That's interesting. That's certainly the correct ticket, as the £7 ticket I've been charged in the past had been titled something like "Railcard single".

Perhaps the price has now increased to match the Railcard fare, but I'm not aware and we haven't been told anything at my depot.

The times I referred to in my post, the TOC Staff Day Rover fares definitely were £3, and I was charged the Railcard fare, so perhaps the driver was correct in your case today.

I'll private message you the letter from SWR if you wish to use that to politely ask the driver when you get to Heathrow.

 

[iorhgaoerighao]

That's interesting. That's certainly the correct ticket, as the £7 ticket I've been charged in the past had been titled something like "Railcard single".

Perhaps the price has now increased to match the Railcard fare, but I'm not aware and we haven't been told anything at my depot.

The times I referred to in my post, the TOC Staff Day Rover fares definitely were £3, and I was charged the Railcard fare, so perhaps the driver was correct in your case today.

I'll private message you the letter from SWR if you wish to use that to politely ask the driver when you get to Heathrow.

Thanks appreciate that.

Maybe it has gone up. Interesting considering its £33 return... Not much of a discount.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

For reference, £16.50 return each so £2.50 equivalent rover ticket discount doesn't seem right. My partner doesn't want me making a fuss and has asked me to email them instead. Shame but probably the right thing to do.
The driver is driving like he stole the coach and had a whinge about the weight of our bags. They are large bags with clothes. Hardly carrying bricks in them. Regardless, I'll come back with whatever reply I get

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

Thanks appreciate that.

Maybe it has gone up. Interesting considering its £33 return... Not much of a discount.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Oct 2024 ==

For reference, £16.50 return each so £2.50 equivalent rover ticket discount doesn't seem right. My partner doesn't want me making a fuss and has asked me to email them instead. Shame but probably the right thing to do.
The driver is driving like he stole the coach and had a whinge about the weight of our bags. They are large bags with clothes. Hardly carrying bricks in them. Regardless, I'll come back with whatever reply I get

After filling it out twice and getting the same error. I'll try again later.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

For reference, £16.50 return each so £2.50 equivalent rover ticket discount doesn't seem right. My partner doesn't want me making a fuss and has asked me to email them instead. Shame but probably the right thing to do.
The driver is driving like he stole the coach and had a whinge about the weight of our bags. They are large bags with clothes. Hardly carrying bricks in them. Regardless, I'll come back with whatever reply I get

Sending them an email may be a good thing to do. Whilst email complaints seem hopeless at trying to improve the service, the customer service team are usually pretty helpful and have usually refunded me when I've been overcharged (again, not sure if that was the case this time, but worth an enquiry).

Sorry to hear about your poor experience, all pretty standard for the RA2 in my experience. Hopefully your return journey will be better.

 

[iorhgaoerighao]

Sending them an email may be a good thing to do. Whilst email complaints seem hopeless at trying to improve the service, the customer service team are usually pretty helpful and have usually refunded me when I've been overcharged (again, not sure if that was the case this time, but worth an enquiry).

Sorry to hear about your poor experience, all pretty standard for the RA2 in my experience. Hopefully your return journey will be better.

Looks like it's now £7. Dog**** discount.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Oct 2024 ==

Confirmation that the price is now £7.

It's £11 single and £16.50 return so depending on the trip, the weekly ticket online may be cheaper.