GWR Website Ticket Purchase Issue

[Parham Wood]

My wife who has not bought a train ticket in maybe twenty years tried to buy a Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff day return for a Saturday in November. She did not want to install the app so opted to have the ticket posted. The website required her address to be entered which was accepted and she continued to the option to have a posted ticket. At this point the address page appeared again with the postcode she entered missing. She entered the postcode and basically the system looped back to the choose ticket delivery option (I think) and on the next page requested the postcode again. No way could she get out this loop so she gave up and purchased via the app. Anyone else had this issue?

She has put the ticket in her phone wallet so I assume she can access it without an internet connection when required to show it.

I also thought the information about ticket validity was poor when trying to buy on the website. She wanted an open ticket for the day but first you have to select a departure train time. Then there is an option of Off Peak Day Return, Standard Return and I think Off Peak Open Ticket. Anyhow there is little information about when the off peak day return is valid. A help link goes to a general page about GWR off peak validity but it is not specific to the route, it seems to imply once you select your journey the system will ensure you have a valid ticket type. It did say off peak valid all day weekends with a caveat to check some other website. Since she was offered a off peak day return with no option to select a return date that she could see the assumes the ticket is valid for all trains. Generally I though the whole experience very poor.

 

[bkhtele]

Off peak day return for the above journey is valid at anytime on Saturday. If the ticket is in her google/apple wallet it will be available without an Internet connection. Make sure she has both outward & return part of her ticket saved to her wallet as she will need both parts for her journey. If it is the GWR website that she used you may want to report the fault to GWR or other supplier e.g. trainline. She will need to ensure her phone does not run out of charge (perhaps take lead & changer) I am not sure if GWR also now send a pdf of the tickets if so she could print off both barcode as a backup.

 

[Parham Wood]

Off peak day return for the above journey is valid at anytime on Saturday. If the ticket is in her google/apple wallet it will be available without an Internet connection. Make sure she has both outward & return part of her ticket saved to her wallet as she will need both parts for her journey. If it is the GWR website that she used you may want to report the fault to GWR or other supplier e.g. trainline. She will need to ensure her phone does not run out of charge (perhaps take lead & changer) I am not sure if GWR also now send a pdf of the tickets if so she could print off both barcode as a backup.

Many thanks. I have reported issue to GWR. She has printed a pdf with barcode.

 

[125Spotter]

To your point on restrictions and when the ticket is valid, if any such restrictions apply, a restriction code or similar will be printed on the ticket, which can be looked up on National Rail Enquiries to determine the bounds of validity of the ticket. It is only with reference to the restriction text that one can understand what a ‘off-peak‘ or similar words mean for the journey to be carried out.

As background, which you may find of interest, there are other ways to look this up from data, which you shouldn‘t need to know (and a less complex ticketing system would certainly make more accessible to the typical passenger), but which you may find academically interesting:

• Search for fares for a ‘flow’ (meaning a pair of origin and destination) at brfares.com, which references the live fare data for all rail journeys in the UK. Here is your wife’s Off-peak Day Return from Temple Meads to Cardiff Central: https://www.brfares.com/!faredetail?orig=BRI&dest=CDF&rte=824&tkt=CDR
• The site will list any restriction codes applicable to the tickets, and the accompanying text of the restriction. In this case you can see the restriction code W1 is applicable but it only applies on Mondays to Fridays as bkhtele has said above.

In general, understanding of restrictions, ticket types and their validity varies widely, even among members of the rail industry who ought to know better about ticket validity. For example, read around these forums for a while and you will find complaints about common misconceptions as to ‘trains’ being peak/off-peak, whereas in reality it is the journey that is peak or off-peak as determined by the ticket type held by the passenger, and the origin and destination of the journey. Looking up the restriction codes printed on the ticket or on the e-ticket in the phone app is the best course of action to verify validity of the train(s) intended to be taken.

GWR staff are generally well trained, especially on long-distance services, and this is a very common ticket/routeing, so your wife will be fine for her return journey.

 

[Parham Wood]

To your point on restrictions and when the ticket is valid, if any such restrictions apply, a restriction code or similar will be printed on the ticket, which can be looked up on National Rail Enquiries to determine the bounds of validity of the ticket. It is only with reference to the restriction text that one can understand what a ‘off-peak‘ or similar words mean for the journey to be carried out.

As background, which you may find of interest, there are other ways to look this up from data, which you shouldn‘t need to know (and a less complex ticketing system would certainly make more accessible to the typical passenger), but which you may find academically interesting:

• Search for fares for a ‘flow’ (meaning a pair of origin and destination) at brfares.com, which references the live fare data for all rail journeys in the UK. Here is your wife’s Off-peak Day Return from Temple Meads to Cardiff Central: https://www.brfares.com/!faredetail?orig=BRI&dest=CDF&rte=824&tkt=CDR
• The site will list any restriction codes applicable to the tickets, and the accompanying text of the restriction. In this case you can see the restriction code W1 is applicable but it only applies on Mondays to Fridays as bkhtele has said above.

In general, understanding of restrictions, ticket types and their validity varies widely, even among members of the rail industry who ought to know better about ticket validity. For example, read around these forums for a while and you will find complaints about common misconceptions as to ‘trains’ being peak/off-peak, whereas in reality it is the journey that is peak or off-peak as determined by the ticket type held by the passenger, and the origin and destination of the journey. Looking up the restriction codes printed on the ticket or on the e-ticket in the phone app is the best course of action to verify validity of the train(s) intended to be taken.

GWR staff are generally well trained, especially on long-distance services, and this is a very common ticket/routeing, so your wife will be fine for her return journey.

Thank you. However it does not appear to be a simple matter to look up the restriction code on the NR website. Certainly it is not a one click option. GWR should have an easy to see link that goes directly to the code, at least we didn't see one only a link to the NR website. Very poor. I wonder how people who are not computer literate manage and also why there are not standards laid down by the Government for such sites. Our rail travel industry is very poorly led in my opinion.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Since she was offered a off peak day return with no option to select a return date that she could see the assumes the ticket is valid for all trains.

The key word is "day" ie valid on one day only, so specifying a return date is redundant. In some circumstances, London commuter area being an example, return time can be relevant on weekdays.

 

[yorkie]

Many thanks. I have reported issue to GWR

Please let us know how you get on.

Our rail travel industry is very poorly led in my opinion.

It is, from the TOC side, certainly. But that's where we come in; our ticketing website has been designed by, and is supported by, people who not only travel by train but actually pay for their train travel through normal retail channels. It may be worth buying from our site next time, and if you have any feedback, we will guarantee that it will be looked at and taken seriously.

 

[Parham Wood]

I have had a quick response from GWR. Apparently the system goes into a loop if the user takes too long. I have replied requesting that a time out message should be displayed instead.

 

[redreni]

I have had a quick response from GWR. Apparently the system goes into a loop if the user takes too long. I have replied requesting that a time out message should be displayed instead.

GWR's website and app appear to be extremely buggy.