Megatrain London to Nottingham/Derby fare increase...

[dadadrummer]

It appears that Megatrain have increased their fares from London to Nottingham/Derby. All the £1 and most of the £7 fares have disappeared and now start at either £9 or £13. As such, the cheapest return from London to Nottingham has jumped from £3 to £23 (evidently £3 is too good to be true!). I understand the £1 adverts were banned back in March but didn't think it would lead to a fare increase. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[extendedpaul]

It appears that Megatrain have increased their fares from London to Nottingham/Derby. All the £1 and most of the £7 fares have disappeared and now start at either £9 or £13. As such, the cheapest return from London to Nottingham has jumped from £3 to £23 (evidently £3 is too good to be true!). I understand the £1 adverts were banned back in March but didn't think it would lead to a fare increase. Has anyone else noticed this?

There was a query about this on Megabus Twitter recently and the reply was that £1 tickets are now allocated at random on both coach and train services. There is some truth in this on Megabus, although still first ticket sold and not at all on many routes, but it has never been the case on Megatrain and I doubt it is now.

As you probably know the Megatrain tickets go on sale at midnight 45 days in advance and they were cut back over the years to just one @ £1 on each service. By 2 minutes after midnight the £1 tickets were usually all sold. I haven't tried at exactly midnight myself recently ( have you ?) but because as you say the £1 adverts are now prohibited there is no incentive for Megatrain to offer them or indeed any at a sub £10 level

 

[richardderby]

they definitively have stopped the £1 fares on megatrain, i have looked several times over the last few weeks, and even at midnight when they release the tickets, there are only ever £7 or £9 tickets available now. I have a priv, but find East Midlands trains expensive, so i will go back to using the London Northwestern service changing at Tamworth, less than half the price for a super off peak return, and still under 2 hours to Derby.

 

[some bloke]

Megabusplus (St Pancras to East Midlands Parkway then bus to, for example, Doncaster, Bradford or Hull) still has some tickets for £4.25.

 

[suzanneparis]

removed

 

[yorkie]

Is it possible to join a megabus journey part way through? Could I buy a return from Doncaster to London but get on (and off) the train at Leicester?

Thanks for any help

I doubt the gateline at Leicester will be happy to let you through without further charge.

(The Conditions of Travel do entitle them to charge you the difference between the fare paid and the cheapest fare that would have been valid for the journey made, though it wouldn't surprise me if they tried to charge even more than that)

 

[bb21]

Is it possible to join a megabus journey part way through? Could I buy a return from Doncaster to London but get on (and off) the train at Leicester?

Thanks for any help

No, you are not allowed to do that officially.

Last I heard they issued tokens when people got off the coach at East Mids Parkway. Not sure if they still do as that was quite a while ago. They may also void the booking if you did not check in on the coach, which is another tactic I have heard to stop abuse.

There is no chance you will be allowed through the gateline at Leicester.

 

[suzanneparis]

removed

 

[bb21]

Joking aside.

You will probably be arrested in that case. There is a BTP office at the station so they aren't exactly that far away.