First Capital Connect Daysave

[ashworth]

Does anyone have any experience of using one of these tickets?

I do know that they can only be purchased at a small number of Tourist Information Centres and not online or at any station.
How do they work regarding purchasing in advance and date of travel etc?

I'm staying in North London for a week in June and wondered about using one to travel up to Kings Lynn or to visit Cambridge. In the past I've usually purchased Southern Daysave Tickets and visited the south coast but I thought this would be a change.

For example, I am down in London for a day in May. Would I be able to purchase one from the Greenwich Tourist Information Centre to be used approx 5 weeks later or do you have to buy them on the day of travel?

At only £16 for the day it seems quite good value.

 

[Wolvercoter]

I think it's only valid on the Thameslink route which rules out Cambridge and King's Lynn. I just checked the FCC website which confirms this.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

The Thameslink Daysave ticket has always been a bit of an enigma. In 25 years of using the Thameslink route I have never yet met anyone who has purchased one. For many people, making a trip to one of the few outlets that sell them negates any saving you may make from using one. If you are heading South the Southern Daysave and Downlander tickets offer better value and heading North a day return (and if there are a few of you a Groupsave ticket) are less. Only really worth it if you are heading from points North of Radlett to points South of Croydon.

 

[ashworth]

I think it's only valid on the Thameslink route which rules out Cambridge and King's Lynn. I just checked the FCC website which confirms this.

Thanks. I've just found it on the website and can now see that.
I think I will stick to a Southern Daysave as usual then.
Last year I had a 7 day Southern Daysave which was even valid at peak times and found this exceptional value.

 

[johnnycache]

When i worked at Thameslink we created this product. It was sold in very large numbers at Bedford Tourist Information Centre where, being at the end of the route, it offered the best value. The main market was either for trips to Brighton or as a cheaper alternative to the Midland Main Line (now EMT) service to London. The product seems to have been left unchanged with the merging of the Thameslink and WAGN franchises so looks a bit of an anachronism now. When I moved to Southern we created the same concept there but also have peak, season and carnet versions.

 

[dzug2]

Presumably you can buy from the TIC by post - given enough time?

 

[lewisf]

I've used one that I bought on a bus in Brighton to go to Bedford. I did get a funny look handing a bus ticket to the RPI!

 

[johnnycache]

The fact that you can buy one on a bus in Brighton is also a throw back to the days of Go-Ahead ownership as Brighton and Hove Buses are in the Go-Ahead Group. You can buy both Thameslink and Southern Daysave at the Old Steine Travel Shop in Brighton run by Brighton and Hove Buses. You can also buy them both on buses.

 

[stut]

Rather bizarrely, I believe you can also buy them in Sandy and Greenwich TICs.

 

[danbushell]

i've bought it before at Luton TIC.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

St Albans TIC

When there was a through weekend service , I know people who used to buy it for Brighton and Gatwick trips.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Rather bizarrely, I believe you can also buy them in Sandy and Greenwich TICs.

..but not at any Thameslink station or from any ticket machine. Who is the ticket actually aimed at ?