Am I Missing Something? LM/Midland Metro Ticket

[CheesyChips]

I went to the ticket office at Rowley Regis a few days ago to buy tickets for a very short journey which was Rowley Regis to Trinity Way on the Midland Metro, changing at The Hawthorns.

I asked what the cheapest single fare would be and the ticket office guy told me there was a "through ticket" for £6.60 which I knew to be the exact price of the Network Daytripper and figured (correctly) that he was just going to sell me that ticket, which would have been valid for the journey.

I quickly looked up the cost of the single metro fare from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way and then asked for the price of the ticket from Rowley Regis to The Hawthorns. The two individual tickets were, in total, over £1 cheaper.

The guy behind the counter was adamant that the Daytripper was the 'better' ticket and me buying two tickets was in some way 'strange' or 'wrong'.

I know this is just £1, but given that I asked for the cheapest ticket, I was only able to get the cheapest combination through my very limited knowledge of tickets.

My concern is ticket office staff selling tickets that are not the best value for the journey.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't see how the Daytripper is the 'better' ticket. Would anyone care to enlighten me?

 

[OwlMan]

The ticket office at Rowley Regis is a National Rail (London Midland) office and does not sell metro tickets. The only ticket he could sell you for that journey was a Daytripper. He also had no reason to know the metro fare.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ticket office staff are obliged to sell the cheapest *one* ticket for your journey. They are not required to consider splits as it would be prohibitively time-consuming, however they are meant to issue splits specifically requested by passengers provided they are valid for the journey intended.

 

[sheff1]

... however they are meant to issue splits specifically requested by passengers provided they are valid for the journey intended.

Not if the split involves a tram only ticket. Asking for a Midland Metro ticket at Rowley Regis is no different to asking for a bus ticket for onward travel from The Hawthorns.

If the OP feels there should be through single tickets from National Rail stations in the West Midlands to individual Metro stops they need to take this up with Network West Midlands. I am pretty certain they will say the existing Daytripper ticket is all that is really needed for the traffic on offer.

 

[AlterEgo]

I went to the ticket office at Rowley Regis a few days ago to buy tickets for a very short journey which was Rowley Regis to Trinity Way on the Midland Metro, changing at The Hawthorns.

I asked what the cheapest single fare would be and the ticket office guy told me there was a "through ticket" for £6.60 which I knew to be the exact price of the Network Daytripper and figured (correctly) that he was just going to sell me that ticket, which would have been valid for the journey.

I quickly looked up the cost of the single metro fare from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way and then asked for the price of the ticket from Rowley Regis to The Hawthorns. The two individual tickets were, in total, over £1 cheaper.

The guy behind the counter was adamant that the Daytripper was the 'better' ticket and me buying two tickets was in some way 'strange' or 'wrong'.

I know this is just £1, but given that I asked for the cheapest ticket, I was only able to get the cheapest combination through my very limited knowledge of tickets.

My concern is ticket office staff selling tickets that are not the best value for the journey.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't see how the Daytripper is the 'better' ticket. Would anyone care to enlighten me?

What you're missing is that staff should not proactively offer split tickets. They are obliged only to offer the cheapest one ticket for your needs, which is what was correctly offered.

If you yourself request the splits then they are obliged to sell them.

However as already noted they can't sell the tram ticket anyway.

 

[island]

Ticket offices don't need to offer splits, but should sell them if requested (and if they can retail the ticket required, which in this case it appears they can't).

 

[Starmill]

It's very rare for there not to be a Metro add on fare!

For Tyne & Wear Metro it's H665 METRO T&W ALL ZN or H638 METRO T&W ZONE A
For London Tramlink it's H673 TRAMLINK (or tickets routed TRAMLINK 1, 2, 3 or 4)
For Manchester Metrolink it's 0451 MANCHESTER CTLZ (or a lettered zone) or G234 METROLINK CITY (or a named stop) or a ticket routed METROLINK CTLZ
For Nottingham Express Transit it's K845 NOTTINGHAM TRAM
For Sheffield Supertram it's K392 SHF SUPERTRAM


There are probably more. Unusual for Midland Metro not to have one.

Edit: I knew there was something in there about Midland Metro through tickets. I was right, there is. For example 1097 JEWELLERY QUARTR to K934 METRO CITY HOP. £2 return and route MID METRO ONLY. Goodness only knows where they are for use.

A further edit: G041 METRO ZONE A, G045 METRO ZONE D and G046 METRO ZONE E tickets are available from Birmingham Stations, Jewellery Quarter or The Hawthorns. Presumably these are the add-on tickets and the intention here is for the customer to be sold a ticket to their interchange point, and then the ticket to their relevant Metro Zone.

Perhaps somebody would like to check iKB to see if these tickets are still current and what the full details are.

I don't know how much a single from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way was - perhaps it was £3.20 for the stage 2 single? If so looks like this fare may have been available.

 

[CheesyChips]

Not if the split involves a tram only ticket. Asking for a Midland Metro ticket at Rowley Regis is no different to asking for a bus ticket for onward travel from The Hawthorns.

Yes it is different, because Plusbus tickets exist.

 

[sheff1]

Yes it is different, because Plusbus tickets exist.

There is no Plusbus ticket available in conjunction with a Rowley Regis to The Hawthorns ticket.

 

[CheesyChips]

Split ticketing doesn't come into the matter as it's a separate network, I understand that.

My quibble is that when I presented him with my alternative he was somehow dismissive of it. I didn't expect him to do anything other that acknowledge that one number was higher than the other.

I understand that the Midland Metro is distinct from NR, but I would expect those working in ticket offices near interchange points to have a rough idea of what's going on.

 

[CheesyChips]

There is no Plusbus ticket available in conjunction with a Rowley Regis to The Hawthorns ticket.

I didn't say there was. I was making the point that onward bus connections facilitated by Plusbus are something ticket offices are familiar with.

 

[Starmill]

There is no Plusbus ticket available in conjunction with a Rowley Regis to The Hawthorns ticket.

But there may be a Midland Metro add-on, as I have just pointed out.

There may in fact not be, and these fares have been 'retired' and are not for issue, but there is no way for me to know that without access to the current version of knowledgebase (which is what the ticket office would have!)

Split ticketing doesn't come into the matter as it's a separate network, I understand that.

You're correct that split ticketing isn't relevant. Add-on tickets, whether issued on one coupon (such as a ticket from Crewe to Metrolink City for a journey to Piccadilly Gardens Metrolink), or on two coupons such as a ticket from Crewe to Caernarfon (Bangor to Caernarfon bus add-ons must be issued in addition to a ticket to Bangor for this) are most certainly not split ticketing - quite the opposite, in fact.

I'm not sure why so many people have mentioned it.

 

[sheff1]

I was making the point that onward bus connections facilitated by Plusbus are something ticket offices are familiar with.

I do not understand the point you are trying to make. I can buy a West Midlands Plusbus ticket at Sheffield ticket office. I cannot buy a single bus (or Metro) ticket for a journey from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way. In the same way you can buy a Daytripper at Rowley Regis ticket office but not a single bus or Metro ticket.

 

[Starmill]

I cannot buy a single bus (or Metro) ticket for a journey from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way.

How do you know that!? Did you do any research before responding to this thread?

 

[sheff1]

How do you know that!? Did you do any research before responding to this thread?

Sheffield booking office cannot sell a single ticket from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way.

 

[Starmill]

Sheffield booking office cannot sell a single ticket from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way.

And how did you come to that conclusion, exactly? In light of my post that I have highlighted to you 3 times that explains that this fare appears to exist in the fares database, for use in the context.

This does not say that Sheffield booking office can sell this ticket, but it rather suggests that they might be able to, doesn't it? And you haven't presented any evidence to the contrary?

 

[sheff1]

.....

 

[sheff1]

And how did you come to that conclusion, exactly? In light of my post that I have highlighted to you 3 times that explains that this fare appears to exist in the fares database, for use in the context.

This does not say that Sheffield booking office can sell this ticket, but it rather suggests that they might be able to, doesn't it? And you haven't presented any evidence to the contrary?

It is rather hard to produce evidence of such a negative. I certainly have no intention of using a phone to record an interaction at Sheffield booking office where I ask for a ticket from The Hawthorns to Trinity Way.

When an image of such a ticket is uploaded here, I will withdraw my statement. Until then I stick by it.

 

[causton]

The fare shown above is available for sale in my booking office, which is neither near Sheffield nor the West Midlands! :P

If you want a picture I may be able to convince someone to sell me one, then refund it...

 

[OwlMan]

There are no through fares from National Rail to the Midland Metro.
The fares noted above from Jewellery Quarter, The Hawthorns and Snow Hill are from the interchanges and are historical (they were used for metro customers before paying on-board became the method of payment)

iKB
Midland Metro

• Contact
• Route Map
• Fares

• Discounts & Concessionary Travel
• Ticketing
• Public information

Interchange stations

• Birmingham Snow Hill
• Jewellery Quarter
• The Hawthorns
• Wolverhampton

Tram line running between Wolverhampton and Birmingham City Centre via Wednesbury and West Bromwich.
Contact

Travel West Midlands
PO Box 3565
Birmingham
B1 3JR
Telephone: 0121 254 7272
email: t.b.c.
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Route Map



Visit http://nxbus.co.uk/the-metro (redirects to an external website).
Back to top
Fares

Through fares from National Rail are not available although several ‘n-train’ products are available. Full details are shown on the Network West Midlands page.
In addition, PLUSBUS (+BUS) day tickets for Birmingham, Jewellery Quarter, The Hawthorns and Wolverhampton are valid for travel throughout the entire length of the Midland Metro – see the PLUSBUS website for more information.
For details of tram-only fares, visit the Midland Metro website (redirects to an external website)..
Back to top
Discounts & Concessionary Travel

For details of tram-only discount fares and concessions, visit the Midland Metro website (redirects to an external website).
Back to top
Ticketing

Not applicable as through fares are not available. See the Network West Midlands page to view the ‘n-train’ products.
Details on how to issue a PLUSBUS ticket.
Back to top
Public information

http://nxbus.co.uk/the-metro
Back to to

 

[dvboy]

Sorry for the late reply to this thread, but hopefully I have some answers.

The tickets mentioned by Starmill are not "through tickets" or "add-ons"; they are singles or returns in their own right, and can still be sold as far as I am aware. They were created so that they could be sold from London Midland's ticket vending machines at The Hawthorns, Jewellery Quarter and Snow Hill. They were very handy before card payments were accepted on board, but I expect even then they were not very commonly purchased, even at the the ticket offices at these three stations. See attached for an example of a single and a return I have found from two years ago.

The zones A, D and E are for station groups between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. I can't remember which stations are in which groups but there is a sticker on the ticket machine at Jewellery Quarter which shows which zone to select for each station. There used to be zones B, C and F* as well until fares were simplified last year. The "city hop" fare from JQ is to any station eastbound towards Grand Central, it's only available from JQ as it's only valid from there.

AFAIK, you can't buy a "through ticket" - to use the OP's example - from Rowley Regis to Trinity Way, you would have to buy a ticket to The Hawthorns, and then a separate ticket from there to Metro Zone D (or on board the tram).

Plusbus is valid on trams, but you can't buy Plusbus with a ticket for travel between two stations both in the West Midlands.

The informationOwlMan posted is inaccurate in referring to "n-Train" products as this is the name for train-only season tickets issued by TfWM. The appropriate products are the "nNetwork One Day" or off-peak "nNetwork Daytripper", both valid on trains, trams and buses.

(*note the attachments are JQ to Zone F which no longer exists, and it also shows route "Any Permitted" which I believe has since been amended to MID METRO ONLY according to brfares.com)