Could all railcards be merged into one?

[Howardh]

There must be at least a dozen various railcards, some pax may hold several! Reading the replies to my thread r/e Brighton/Gatwick/London; made me wonder why we can't have one card with a strip which contains all your details so a "freedom pass", "bus pass" and "senior card" couldn't all be in one place? maybe with a QU code so you can read it on your PC/phone to remind yourself when each individual part expires? And that giver the conductor your details?

Of course, that might happen but I'm not aware of it.

 

[Chester1]

There could be consolidation. There seems to be little obvious reason to have separate 18-25 and 26-30 railcards. The terms of use and acceptance are almost identical and the digital only format of the latter would be acceptable for a combined 18-30 railcard.

 

[Hadders]

Not this again. We had a thread on this just last week! There are some very good reasons for different restrictions on railcards.

Disabled Persons Railcard offers discounted fares at all time, quite rightly in my opinion.
18-25 Railcard offers discounted fares at all times subject to a £12 minimum discounted fare before 10:00 (except in July and August). This is extremely useful for young people at the start of their careers, who might not earn much and might not be able to afford to pay out for an annual season ticket. Also, in many cases railcard discounted tickets can work out cheaper than buying a season ticket (e.g. Stevenage to London Terminals)
Senior Railcard has restrictions in London and the South East which prevents them being used by commuters. A worker aged 60+ commuting into London regularly is likely to be better off financially than a young person with an 18-25 railcard.
Family & Friends and Network Railcard are essentially a leisure products and more heavily restricted with a minimum fare and more onerous time restrictions

 

[telstarbox]

I was pleased to find recently that the Network Railcard is now available via a smartphone app.

 

[David Goddard]

Agree with Hadders on here, but I do think that the 16-25 and 26-30 could be merged into one, and more generally it would be good if certain things were harmonised (ie where there are time restrictions or min fares, make them all 0930/£12)

 

[AM9]

Agree with Hadders on here, but I do think that the 16-25 and 26-30 could be merged into one, and more generally it would be good if certain things were harmonised (ie where there are time restrictions or min fares, make them all 0930/£12)

What benefit would arise from introducing a minimum fare for Senior Railcards?

 

[JonathanH]

Agree with Hadders on here, but I do think that the 16-25 and 26-30 could be merged into one, and more generally it would be good if certain things were harmonised (ie where there are time restrictions or min fares, make them all 0930/£12)

Why? The July / August easement on the 16-25 railcard makes total sense and it is appropriate for that easement not to apply for 26-30 year olds. You could argue perhaps that the boundary between 16-25 and 26-30 should change but I don't see why you think it should be removed completely.

What benefit would arise from introducing a minimum fare for Senior Railcards?

I'm not sure the poster was advocating that. They said that where a restriction applies it could be harmonised.

The OP wasn't actually advocating harmonisation of terms for railcards in any case, merely that the physical card could be the same to avoid the need to carry multiple cards (including things which aren't 'railcards' like bus passes) and the existing discounts / provisions continue to apply. All of the responses are technically about harmonisation of terms.

 

[David Goddard]

I'm not sure the poster was advocating that. They said that where a restriction applies it could be harmonised.

Correct, I was suggesting that where there are time restrictions (such as the earliest time that the railcard can be used) or a minimum fare then it should be the same across all railcards. Certainly not advocating bringing in restrictions where they dont exist.

So we presently have (all are Mondays to Fridays)
*Two Together - cant be used before 0930
*Network - cant be used before 1000, then a minimum fare of £13 thereafter
*16-25 and 26-30 - minimum fare applies before 1000, of £12

So the harmonisation I suggested was that the time becomes 0930 for all, and the minimum fare becomes £12 for all.
People in groups may have railcards of different types, and so if all cards had the same restrictions it reduces any differences which disuade travel.