My idea to set train fares 'as the crow flies'

[Mark24]

Should fares be changed on the straight line distance between your start and end point of a journey, even if your train has to has to travel a longer round about journey to complete the trip?

For example Oxford and Milton Keynes is about 35miles apart, but due to the 1960s line closures this journey has to be made via London taking 2½ hours and costing £58 for the privilege.

In an age where we need to encourage people out of their cars and onto a rail network that doesn't easily reach the places it used too, is this something the powers that be should be looking into?

 

[yorkie]

Sounds like a great idea to me

If I wish to travel from Glasgow to Mallaig, I will be sure to purchase a ticket from Kyle to Mallaig and start short in Glasgow.

As for Radyr to Cardiff... book to Coryton!

Bargains to be had all round.

 

[telstarbox]

How much is the Oxford to Milton Keynes coach?

 

[Mark24]

I think it's about £25-£30 and yes on this example it's an alternative solution. Maybe Oxford to Northampton would have been a better example.

 

[Bevan Price]

Should fares be changed on the straight line distance between your start and end point of a journey, even if your train has to has to travel a longer round about journey to complete the trip?

For example Oxford and Milton Keynes is about 35miles apart, but due to the 1960s line closures this journey has to be made via London taking 2½ hours and costing £58 for the privilege.

In an age where we need to encourage people out of their cars and onto a rail network that doesn't easily reach the places it used too, is this something the powers that be should be looking into?

I wonder if anyone does travel by rail between Oxford & Milton Keynes?

 

[jon0844]

Something major is going to eventually happen to fares, and there are going to be winners and losers.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Interesting idea and not without merit. But it would have to accompanied by a removal of all and any break of journey/start short concessions to avoid introducing a whole new set of anomalies.

 

[NorthOxonian]

How much is the Oxford to Milton Keynes coach?

I assume you're referring to the Stagecoach X5.

A single is £9, a day return is £13.70, a period return is £14.40. These figures are cheaper for students (£6.85/£10/£11), and for £15 you can buy a day ticket covering local services in Oxford and many other buses (including to Northampton). The journey is fine for travelling to MK with a good journey time, but it's less competitive for travel to Cambridge.

 

[Tio Terry]

Ticket pricing is used as a rather blunt tool to regulate demand on peak time services, remove that and you create a whole new set of problems to solve, many of which would take many years and huge investments.

On the other hand, I quite like the idea of a Kings Cross to Euston trip via Edinburgh and Glasgow with a price based on distance!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This would basically be a nationwide zonal system wouldn't it?

 

[Western Lord]

In an age where we need to encourage people out of their cars and onto a rail network that doesn't easily reach the places it used too, is this something the powers that be should be looking into?

Ah, the old "encourage people out of their cars" scenario. If only 5 per cent of car journeys tried to transfer to rail, the rail network would be swamped. There is no conceivable rail network that could cope with a transfer of car journeys to rail of any significance. The only way to get people out of their cars would be to stop them travelling at all.