Does "acceptance" last all day?

[rdwarr]

I normally travel Stevenage to Blackfriars on a season ticket changing at King's Cross / St. Pancras. Let's say that the wires are down one morning so I decide to drive to Luton and get the train from there. My ticket is accepted because of the disruption.
By the time I come home in the evening everything is running smoothly to Stevenage BUT my car is at Luton so I still need to go back there. Would that cause a problem or does this happen often enough to be accepted without question.
If the fact that Luton and Stevenage are served by the same TOC makes a difference, let's say I go to Hertford East instead and get a Greater Anglia train to Liverpool Street.

 

[Haywain]

You would have to ask the relevant operators, but in general ticket acceptance is limited to the time of disruption and a short period afterwards.

 

[CatfordCat]

That's an interesting question.

I've seen examples of where there's planned closures, car park ticket acceptance as well as train ticket acceptance along other lines will be allowed.

Usually with short term disruptions, there will be a message along the lines of "X line is now back to normal, acceptance of tickets on Y and Z lines is now ended"

There's also the question of whether you'd get the same answer in the evening than you did in the morning...

 

[Hadders]

Common sense should say that you can travel to Luton in the evening however this isn't always evident on the ground.

As others have said it should be raised with the TOC. Maybe something for a 'Meet the Manager' session.

 

[MichaelAMW]

There's a related question, which is the matter of an outward journey being heavily delayed when you're on two Advance singles. E.g. I go to Birmingham from London for 5 hours and I'm three hours late arriving owing to wires down, let's say. Do I get three hours' grace on the return if I need to spend more than the remaining two hours to complete my business?

 

[CC 72100]

You would have to ask the relevant operators, but in general ticket acceptance is limited to the time of disruption and a short period afterwards.

Correct, a 'End of Acceptance' message is sent out via the relevant channels to frontline staff, although any customers 'in the system' at that point and so on another operator's train are able to continue their journey.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Correct, a 'End of Acceptance' message is sent out via the relevant channels to frontline staff, although any customers 'in the system' at that point and so on another operator's train are able to continue their journey.

And so I potentially have to pay to retrieve my car. Not really on, is it? Acceptance should in my view last all day for those who made an outward journey during the disruption.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

When I have seen messages for this kind of acceptance they have usually ended with "please be aware that some passengers may need to return the same way to retrieve their vehicles".

 

[CC 72100]

And so I potentially have to pay to retrieve my car. Not really on, is it? Acceptance should in my view last all day for those who made an outward journey during the disruption.

And at that point you speak to a staff member and explain your predicament.

There is no need for Acceptance to last all day when an incident has been resolved... 6 hours after the original problem, why would it be needed for the majority of people?

For those who suddenly find themselves at the wrong station due to travelling that morning in the disruption it is a bit different - a conversation with a staff member should suffice. But no need for carte blanche acceptance.

 

[dcsprior]

I decide to drive to Luton and get the train from there.
[...]
BUT my car is at Luton

Is driving to Luton in the morning a guarantee that your car is there in the evening?

 

[Bletchleyite]

When I have seen messages for this kind of acceptance they have usually ended with "please be aware that some passengers may need to return the same way to retrieve their vehicles".

This makes sense.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

For those who suddenly find themselves at the wrong station due to travelling that morning in the disruption it is a bit different - a conversation with a staff member should suffice. But no need for carte blanche acceptance.

It might as well be. If there is an issue at Milton Keynes and there is acceptance from Aylesbury, who other than a basher is going to go back to Aylesbury in the evening if their car isn't there? People by and large won't take the mick. Trust them, and don't leave them having to faff about asking staff.

And if one basher gets good value for money out of an easement, who on earth cares? Bashers are a tiny minority of passengers.

 

[CyrusWuff]

This situation is covered in the "Good Practice Guides" for Passenger Information, produced by ATOC's Passenger Information Strategy Group:

Period of Amnesty

Tickets must be accepted throughout the day in order to allow passengers to make their return journeys – as some passengers may have parked their car at a different station in order to avoid the disruption and disruption has ended. An example of this would be:

Passenger holds a ticket from Banbury to Marylebone but is advised - as an option - to drive to Oxford and catch the train into Paddington. On returning later the same day, the passenger must not be charged when they return to Oxford.

If the customer is returning on a different day to that when the disruption occurred, TOC staff must check with their Control whether tickets were being accepted and endorse the back of the passenger's ticket.

Whether this has been briefed out to front line staff or not is a different matter entirely, of course.

 

[Bletchleyite]

And of course unnecessary stress caused by "ticket acceptance has ended" when according to that it hasn't.

 

[Haywain]

Whether this has been briefed out to front line staff or not is a different matter entirely, of course.

I suspect that the number of front line staff that are aware of that is minute. Indeed, I doubt many managers of front line staff are aware of it. That is hardly surprising when many front line staff don't seem able to understand ticket acceptance even during a disruption event. And yes, East Midlands Trains, I am looking at you - although you won't be alone in this.