Chiltern "mainline" booking page

[sammyg901]

Spotted this today

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/content/mainline-flexible-fares?step=1

Pretty good attempt at simplifying the booking process I thought !

 

[Deerfold]

Spotted this today

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/content/mainline-flexible-fares?step=1

Pretty good attempt at simplifying the booking process I thought !

So long as you're going to or from London on that line, then perhaps.

And if you're going Birmingham to London it does a very good job of not showing any other operator's fares Or any advance tickets. Perhaps an oversimplification.

 

[CyrusWuff]

So long as you're going to or from London on that line, then perhaps.

And if you're going Birmingham to London it does a very good job of not showing any other operator's fares Or any advance tickets. Perhaps an oversimplification.

That'd be because the whole raison d'être of it is for buying walk-up tickets for Chiltern's "Mainline" services to/from London, as is clearly stated on the page linked to by the OP.

 

[Deerfold]

That'd be because the whole raison d'être of it is for buying walk-up tickets for Chiltern's "Mainline" services to/from London, as is clearly stated on the page linked to by the OP.

True - so long as you know enough about tickets to realise what that means.

I'm not sure it's clear to the average punter that there may well be cheaper advance fares available. It mentions advance fares at the bottom of the page, but not that they could well be cheaper.

I'm not quite sure why it wouldn't allow railcards to be used either.

So should we have a site like this for every major flow in the country? Would that make the booking process "simpler"?

 

[bnm]

"Fatal error" whatever search criteria I use.

And a horrible interface.

 

[PermitToTravel]

True - so long as you know enough about tickets to realise what that means.

I'm not sure it's clear to the average punter that there may well be cheaper advance fares available. It mentions advance fares at the bottom of the page, but not that they could well be cheaper.

I'm not quite sure why it wouldn't allow railcards to be used either.

So should we have a site like this for every major flow in the country? Would that make the booking process "simpler"?

Isn't this exactly the same problem as non-impartial station ticket offices, with the alleviating factor of being able to easily choose to purchase tickets from another website, rather than having to go and find a suitable ticket office?

 

[maniacmartin]

I can understand why Chiltern have done this. 'Ordinary' passengers find the likes of WebTIS too confusing and can feel overwhelmed with all the options. This could be one reason why the Trainline's interface is so popular, and why RedSpottedHanky changed to the awful new interface that seems to hide all information.

A lot of passengers don't understand which tickets are booked train only, and how much flexibility they have on some walkup tickets issued with reservations. They just want to see the "best price" and click it. Of course we are enthusiasts and want to see all the options so we can make an informed choice

 

[Deerfold]

A lot of passengers don't understand which tickets are booked train only, and how much flexibility they have on some walkup tickets issued with reservations. They just want to see the "best price" and click it. Of course we are enthusiasts and want to see all the options so we can make an informed choice

But surely the answer to that is better information, not hiding any details of advances - and not explaining anywhere on the page that they may be the cheapest option.