• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Greater Manchester Fares Simplification

Status
Not open for further replies.

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,373
Location
London
In the absence of proper fares reform, which we all know is “too hard”, this is the inevitable tinkering to pave the way for contactless ticketing.
The silly Avanti-only undercutting fares from Wilmslow to Manchester remain, but that’s because Wilmslow isn’t in Greater Manchester so nothing changes.

But could Wilmslow be incorporated into Greater Manchester for ticketing purposes? Glossop, for example, isn't in Greater Manchester but the Rail Ranger (for example) is valid there. Bus tickets are valid to both Glossop and Wilmslow:


Many, many years ago Manchester Airport was appropriated by Greater Manchester or its predecessor, despite being pretty much in Cheshire, so the fares “reform” can at least apply to trains there.

That was in 1974 when Greater Manchester was created. How is that any different to Stockport and Altrincham, for example, being transferred from Cheshire to Greater Manchester?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
But could Wilmslow be incorporated into Greater Manchester for ticketing purposes? Glossop, for example, isn't in Greater Manchester but the Rail Ranger (for example) is valid there. Bus tickets are valid to both Glossop and Wilmslow:
Yes for pay as you go purposes, but that will still imply a very large price increase over today. No for GM Rail Ranger purposes.
 

Krokodil

Established Member
Joined
23 Jan 2023
Messages
6,524
Location
Wales
Some of us, not just rail enthusiasts, are capable of knowing when we have a ticket for a specific operator/journey and can identify the correct train. I'm not sure why we should pay more to aid those who don't read what is in front on them on their ticket or on the screen.
So you're happy to pull the ladder up and watch visitors get stung for boarding the late-running xx:33 with a ticket for the xx:37 to Manchester Airport? Just as long as you get a few pence off on a short journey...
 

TUC

Established Member
Joined
11 Nov 2010
Messages
5,021
Everyone says that they want fares to be simplified and then when they are everyone moans.

Go figure.
'Everyone' doesn't. In these days of ticketing websites there is much less need for simplification, as long as you read what the site tells you.
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
No, but when anything “bad” happens, such as afternoon peak restrictions, suddenly they apply to Wilmslow as well anyway.
It's not all bad. Transport for Wales introduced their dedicated season tickets recently. Shame about their persistent inability to run the trains!

Also, they've introduced them for Alderley Edge - Manchester which I find utterly hilarious.
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,373
Location
London
Almost any form of ticket simplification is bound to have losers. The plethora of bus tickets within Greater Manchester was swept away by bus franchising, but some people ended up paying more than before.
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
So you're happy to pull the ladder up and watch visitors get stung for boarding the late-running xx:33 with a ticket for the xx:37 to Manchester Airport? Just as long as you get a few pence off on a short journey...
Some are a few pence. Others are a meaningful percentage. It doesn't make sense to generalise, especially when you're talking about something that's not happening. Indeed the season ticket has only just been made available for the first time the other week.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

Almost any form of ticket simplification is bound to have losers. The plethora of bus tickets within Greater Manchester was swept away by bus franchising, but some people ended up paying more than before.
The number of weekly tickets that was available for less than £21 or four weekly for £87.40 (inflated to 2025 prices) was very, very minor. The £2 unlimited single almost entirely mitigated the day ticket increases to £5, because again there were almost no day tickets cheaper than £4. So in that case nearly everyone pays less or the same today. It's very niche to find anyone who pays more.

However, in this case, nearly everyone will pay the same or more, because only people genuinely going one way will save e.g. staying overnight, taking a taxi or getting a lift in the other direction. Not all of those people will save either because currently a large portion of them will use an Advance, which an option being removed.
 
Last edited:

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,373
Location
London
This discussion is quite similar to other recent ones concerning the effect of boundaries on bus services. We really need to be better at doing transport that takes into account where people actually travel and not create artificial barriers caused by lines on a map.
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
This discussion is quite similar to other recent ones concerning the effect of boundaries on bus services. We really need to be better at doing transport that takes into account where people actually travel and not create artificial barriers caused by lines on a map.
I agree strongly. Unfortunately the English system of local government essentially leaves a vacuum of any kind of local accountability in non-Metropolitan, non-London authorities. Many such authorities are basically broke through a deliberate policy of defunding them that's gone on for decades. Even financially healthy ones have legal duties to provide certain services which Parliament dumps on them while refusing to adequately fund. Transport (except very limited cases such as children accessing certain schools) isn't one of those duties.
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,373
Location
London
The number of weekly tickets that was available for less than £21 or four weekly for £87.40 (inflated to 2025 prices) was very, very minor. The £2 unlimited single almost entirely mitigated the day ticket increases to £5, because again there were almost no day tickets cheaper than £4. So in that case nearly everyone pays less or the same today. It's very niche to find anyone who pays more.

The biggest losers were those who used corridor-specific tickets such as those on Rochdale Road and through Salford. There are also some people who now need two tickets to travel across the boundary because one of their routes was taken over by the Bee Network but the other one is run by someone else. For example, people who had Arriva only tickets for trips like Chorley to St Helens. I agree with you that these are somewhat niche, and I'm certainly not saying the Bee Network was a bad thing, but it does need to be acknowledged.
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
The biggest losers were those who used corridor-specific tickets such as those on Rochdale Road and through Salford. There are also some people who now need two tickets to travel across the boundary because one of their routes was taken over by the Bee Network but the other one is run by someone else. For example, people who had Arriva only tickets for trips like Chorley to St Helens. I agree with you that these are somewhat niche, and I'm certainly not saying the Bee Network was a bad thing, but it does need to be acknowledged.
I agree with you if you're saying that it was a proportionate approach to what's often called simplification, acknowledging that a very small slice of people do indeed have to pay more for the same, while the train approach isn't that. But it seems that you're not saying that, I'm not sure?
 

td97

Established Member
Joined
26 Jul 2017
Messages
1,556
Looking at brfares, the losers seem to be ordinary commuters buying anytime return tickets, who are now subject to an out-of-cycle fare increase of 10-20p.
Railcard holders with pre-10am restrictions may benefit through Anytime single at half the price of return, so that the evening return ticket can have Railcard applied (effectively a 1/6 discount on the return journey). But this is not enough to mitigate the loss of on the day Advances.

Also concerning is the loss of pricing control on busy services. Northern did modestly apply Advance pricing incentives to encourage passengers onto longer services (e.g. Clitheroe to Rochdale 4 carriages rather than Blackburn to Rochdale 2 carriages), but the new lower anytime single price does not serve to incentivise this
 
Last edited:

sefyllian

Member
Joined
14 Jan 2013
Messages
138
Wilmslow is likely to be in the pay as you go area.

Surely Wilmslow would need to be within the “simpler fares” area for that to work?

And the map above is the official National Rail map of where those fares will take effect, so definitely not Wilmslow (this year, at least).
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,373
Location
London
I agree with you if you're saying that it was a proportionate approach to what's often called simplification, acknowledging that a very small slice of people do indeed have to pay more for the same, while the train approach isn't that. But it seems that you're not saying that, I'm not sure?

I'm basically saying that anomalies caused by unusually cheap tickets that existed previously mean that some people will inevitably pay more. The Bee Network bus rollout was accompanied by increased subsidy, meaning that a lot of people pay less or the same and only a few people pay more. It is more difficult in the rail situation because there isn't additional subsidy and some of the fares being removed were artificially low.
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
I'm basically saying that anomalies caused by unusually cheap tickets that existed previously mean that some people will inevitably pay more. The Bee Network bus rollout was accompanied by increased subsidy, meaning that a lot of people pay less or the same and only a few people pay more. It is more difficult in the rail situation because there isn't additional subsidy and some of the fares being removed were artificially low.
I don't think anyone suggests the fares are artificially low apart from you though. The Wilmslow - Manchester fare was arguably artificially high, and is being increased by 1/3. That's the issue.

All changes to fares are in the context of net subsidy reduction, as that's the highest priority for DFTO operators. However, none of them are willing to admit that in public and instead use "simplification" talk to try to cover it up.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==

Surely Wilmslow would need to be within the “simpler fares” area for that to work?

And the map above is the official National Rail map of where those fares will take effect, so definitely not Wilmslow (this year, at least).
It's already been pointed out that fares are being adjusted outside the area which gets the 'benefits'.
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
What about the various Advance fares between the airport and city centre?
All advance tickets are set at market rates by definition, so all this shows is how overpriced the flexible tickets are. If they weren't, the Advance tickets would never be bought by anybody.
 

Mcr Warrior

Veteran Member
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
17,151
Also, they've introduced them for Alderley Edge - Manchester which I find utterly hilarious.
Since when did TfW start "serving" Alderley Edge? Must have missed that! And how does a TfW season ticket (or return) from Alderley Edge to/from Manchester work? How do you get back?
 

Watershed

Veteran Member
Associate Staff
Senior Fares Advisor
Joined
26 Sep 2020
Messages
16,570
Location
UK
Since when did TfW start "serving" Alderley Edge? Must have missed that! And how does a TfW season ticket (or return) from Alderley Edge to/from Manchester work? How do you get back?
They serve it on Sundays. So it's pretty much useless.
 

jfollows

Established Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
10,075
Location
Wilmslow
Since when did TfW start "serving" Alderley Edge? Must have missed that! And how does a TfW season ticket (or return) from Alderley Edge to/from Manchester work? How do you get back?
On Sunday morning, eg 1W01 09:30 Crewe to Manchester.
And Sunday evening the other way, 1K72 22:30 Manchester to Crewe.
I don’t think they’ll be selling any!
 

Starmill

Veteran Member
Joined
18 May 2012
Messages
27,143
Location
Bolton
Since when did TfW start "serving" Alderley Edge? Must have missed that!
As above it's a handful of trains a week, mostly towards Manchester. There's a couple of morning ones to Manchester on weekdays and a lunchtime one on Saturdays in the new timetable, but there aren't any back. They did used to have a Sunday afternoon one from Manchester but I don't think that's run for a while now.

It's a work of fiction. You just can't get back, except Sunday night.
 

jfollows

Established Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
10,075
Location
Wilmslow
As above it's a handful of trains a week, mostly towards Manchester. There's a couple of morning ones to Manchester on weekdays and a lunchtime one on Saturdays in the new timetable, but there aren't any back. They did used to have a Sunday afternoon one from Manchester but I don't think that's run for a while now.

It's a work of fiction. You just can't get back.
Oh yes, at 06:46 (too early) and 08:47 (too late) on weekdays.
 

Djgr

Established Member
Joined
30 Jul 2018
Messages
3,256
This discussion is quite similar to other recent ones concerning the effect of boundaries on bus services. We really need to be better at doing transport that takes into account where people actually travel and not create artificial barriers caused by lines on a map.
The good folk of Wilmslow fought long and hard to be on the other side of this articificial boundary.
 

jfollows

Established Member
Joined
26 Feb 2011
Messages
10,075
Location
Wilmslow
The good folk of Wilmslow fought long and hard to be on the other side of this articificial boundary.
I was living in Poynton at the time and I well remember the “keep Poynton in Cheshire” campaign which was similarly successful. The funny thing today is the people who live in Hale (and probably don’t have to pay the bills) who think they are in Cheshire when they’re not.
My parents were not on the side of the campaign, as I don’t think I’d have been had I been a bit older at the time.
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,373
Location
London
The good folk of Wilmslow fought long and hard to be on the other side of this articificial boundary.

The boundary shouldn't matter for transport purposes and from the car travel point of view they essentially don't. A drive from Wilmslow to somewhere in Greater Manchester is just as easy now as it would be if Wilmslow happened to be inside the boundary. So if the boundary doesn't matter for car travel then it shouldn't matter for public transport either.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top