Have ticket restrictions become unusable for the general public?

[HurdyGurdy]

So restrictions have reached the point of becoming unusable for the railway's system(s)

In the example of an Off Peak ticket from Lowestoft, the restriction text CZ defines easements which effectively override the general "not before 09:00" departure time.

You would think it would be easy enough for that kind of thing to be represented as data which booking engines could recognise. But the data records only allow departure times to be defined for all stations or a set of specific stations (and/or by TOC and/or day of the week and/or between two dates). That being the case, the only way of coding that easement would be to have a separate data record for each individual station where a ticket with restriction code CZ is valid. The departure time being that shown in the easement for each station listed there and 09:00 for all the others.

The data would then align with the text. But the work involved in coding all such restrictions in that way would be significant.

 

[Watershed]

In the example of an Off Peak ticket from Lowestoft, the restriction text CZ defines easements which effectively override the general "not before 09:00" departure time.

You would think it would be easy enough for that kind of thing to be represented as data which booking engines could recognise. But the data records only allow departure times to be defined for all stations or a set of specific stations (and/or by TOC and/or day of the week and/or between two dates). That being the case, the only way of coding that easement would be to have a separate data record for each individual station where a ticket with restriction code CZ is valid. The departure time being that shown in the easement for each station listed there and 09:00 for all the others.

The data would then align with the text. But the work involved in coding all such restrictions in that way would be significant.

It would be possible to add an easement in the restriction data, meaning that travel on specific services (e.g. the 08:50 from Lowestoft) is permitted. GA already do this for several of their restriction codes, e.g. 1A for some of their Off-Peak Returns to/via London Terminals (see here for an example), so clearly they know how to do this. They just haven't bothered to do it for CZ.

 

[AngusH]

I thought Trainline did that? You could check which services the ticket you'd bought was valid on, against the actual running data.

I haven't seen or used the trainline system so if it does then well done trainline.

I think it is tied to a ticket bought through them though?
I can't see it accessible on their site for general use. (If there is a way I'm most interested in using it!)



I'm interested in a general system that can be used on any ticket and by all equally.

In particular I want a system where the barrier staff and the customer both have access to the same system, primarily to reduce conflict.
"Sorry the computer says no, check for yourself" -> "Computer does say no, I'll come back when my ticket is valid"
or "are you sure this is invalid, the computer says yes" -> "so it does, my error sorry, please board"

(slightly optimistic in tone maybe, but how I would like such interactions to be)

 

[TUC]

To avoid having to set individual fares for every possible combination of stations, some stations are "related to" another station for pricing purposes.

In the old paper fares manuals this was indicated by saying "Unless specific fares are shown use prices to/from <Station>" against the relevant station.

On BRFares, it's indicated by the use of Clusters.

For example, fares between Westbury and Brighton are priced between a Westbury cluster (which also includes Avoncliff, Bradford on Avon, Dilton Marsh, Freshford, Frome, Trowbridge and Warminster) and a Brighton cluster (which also includes Aldrington, Falmer, Hove, London Road Brighton, Moulsecoomb and Preston Park.)

So in that example, Avoncliff would be said to be related to Westbury, and Hove would be related to Brighton.

I get that, but I would ask those who wrote that restriction how they expected most of the public to understand it? Do they even put a 'public understanding' filter in their heads when writing such restriction?

 

[yorksrob]

The silver lining of all this complexity is that those in the know, such as readers of this forum, can often pay less than passengers who buy the ticket offered by the TOCs. Some have even been able to monetise their knowledge by selling tickets and taking a cut of the savings.

I wonder how many of the restrictions have been introduced to try to stop this happening and, arguably, be fairer as well as maximise revenue for the TOC/Treasury?

Even then its thin gruel compared to the majority of journeys, where there seems to be little way of mitigating pricey fares.