Railcard discount on board the train

[Deerfold]

The fact that the top poster on this forum is in fact the Fares Advisor with over 23000 posts speaks volumes!!!

I could spend a week on this topic but lets start with something simple.

There are currently 5 types of National Railcard which cater for a cross section of the population........the only ones that are not catered for are single travellers between the ages of 25 and 65.

I would suggest we get rid of all current railcards, and replace them with 1 single one which entitles the traveller to 33% off fares after 9.30pm....the cost of the card to be the same at £30.

As you point out , off peak should be the same everywhere - ie after 9.30am

I'm assuming you mean both of those to be 9.30am?

That'll disadvantage the many Northern fares which currently have an off-peak time of after 0430.

It'll make the first train you can get from Edinburgh to London on an off-peak ticket the 0930 instead of the 0548.

This'll mean lots of people will start splitting their tickets at the first station they pass after 0930 - making their ticketing more complicated.

 

[Merseysider]

The fact that the top poster on this forum is in fact the Fares Advisor with over 23000 posts speaks volumes!!!

I could spend a week on this topic but lets start with something simple.

There are currently 5 types of National Railcard which cater for a cross section of the population........the only ones that are not catered for are single travellers between the ages of 25 and 65.

I would suggest we get rid of all current railcards, and replace them with 1 single one which entitles the traveller to 33% off fares after 9.30pm....the cost of the card to be the same at £30.

As you point out , off peak should be the same everywhere - ie after 9.30am

I agree that the lack of a national railcard is something this country needs have a discussion about. I also agree that there are many intricacies to the fares and ticketing system that are not immediately obvious.

However, to your average Joe buying a walk-up from A to B every morning, it's simple and it works and that's what matters. He doesn't care nor need to know about about all the little restrictions, loopholes and rules which make ticketing so fascinating to some.

When people fall foul of the rules, that is when they claim that train ticketing is too complicated. When one successfully travels 500 times a year without incident on the railways, they wouldn't describe ticketing as complicated. The system is only complex if you want it to be.

To those on this forum who put time into working out what's cheaper, where to split, finding anomalies etc, it seems complicated at first but there is a pattern to the chaos.

 

[Moonshot]

I agree that the lack of a national railcard is something this country needs have a discussion about. I also agree that there are many intricacies to the fares and ticketing system that are not immediately obvious.

However, to your average Joe buying a walk-up from A to B every morning, it's simple and it works and that's what matters. He doesn't care nor need to know about about all the little restrictions, loopholes and rules which make ticketing so fascinating to some.

When people fall foul of the rules, that is when they claim that train ticketing is too complicated. When one successfully travels 500 times a year without incident on the railways, they wouldn't describe ticketing as complicated. The system is only complex if you want it to be.

To those on this forum who put time into working out what's cheaper, where to split, finding anomalies etc, it seems complicated at first but there is a pattern to the chaos.

U just admitted there is chaos, so you are somewhat shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[Merseysider]

U just admitted there is chaos, so you are somewhat shooting yourself in the foot.

I didn't come here looking for a petty squabble.

 

[Moonshot]

I didn't come here looking for a petty squabble.

Like I said, tickets are overly complicated ....i see this every day. I also see the evidence from the likes of Passenger Focus

 

[Merseysider]

Like I said, tickets are overly complicated ....i see this every day. I also see the evidence from the likes of Passenger Focus

Then why not take time to improve your understanding of them instead of throwing around blanket statements? You haven't mentioned which particular aspect of ticketing you find 'overly complicated'.

If there's something I find complicated or don't understand I learn about it rather than moan about it.

But anyway, the TT has only just been released so unfortunately it looks like quite some time before DfT/ATOC engage in serious discussion about a national railcard.

 

[yorkie]

Can I suggest that a proposal for simpler Railcards (which I would agree with) be posted in a dedicated thread?

A proposal for simplifying off peak tickets would also be best placed in a dedicated thread. I'm not going to try to move all the posts across, as some posts span different questions and it would be a nightmare, but any further polite discussion on that topic can go in Suggestion for Off Peak to be the same everywhere please.