Ranger & Rover Tickets - Shrouded in Secrecy

[Llandudno]

There are probably hundreds of great value Ranger and Rover tickets available throughout the UK, but many are shrouded in secrecy with little or no marketing.

I get that many of the products could be described as niche and may only appeal to enthusiasts but there are many very useful tickets that really need better exposure.

Some examples are:

North Wales Day Rover Ticket, split into four different travel zones valid on bus and train
Derbyshire Wayfarer, apart from the long standing rail and bus version there is now a bus only version for just £8



There is no publicity for the above products apart from a brief mention hidden away on the appropriate website. No leaflets, posters on buses, bus stops or rail stations. No social media posts or advertising on Facebook, Twitter etc.

What other useful ranger and rover tickets are out there that would be useful to the general travelling public (not just enthusiasts) but have little or no marketing?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I regularly use the Cheshire, Lancashire and West Midlands Rangers, and have used others (eg Lincs) for specific trips.
It's odd that there isn't one for Yorkshire.
I've also used a Strathclyde Daytripper (a PTE ticket). to bash around Glasgow, but I gather that no longer exists.

 

[Farigiraf]

I've only seen Anglia Plus advertised on GA's website, it's a great offer and sometimes even comparable in price with a hare fare*(which they advertise lots, so I don't understand)

*For journeys with more changes, for example Cambridge to Lowestoft= CBG-NRW £10 Hare + NRW-LWT ~15 return vs Ranger which is £26 And I get to use the east suffolk line

On the other hand Lowestoft station's lovely gift shop owned by the Community rail partnership has put up a big sign advertising Wherry Lines rangers next to the ticket office

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Used a 'Derbyshire Wayfarer' (bus/train version) only last week. Even the ticket clerk was struggling to find it / issue it.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Think it's probably worth linking the railrover website http://railrover.org/ for anyone who hasn't seen it.
Has all the rovers on it.

I do find it interesting that most rovers are basically not advertised at all, although at least now with Northern's ticket machines offering them, people with spare time can take a look.

 

[A S Leib]

I regularly use the Cheshire, Lancashire and West Midlands Rangers, and have used others (eg Lincs) for specific trips.
It's odd that there isn't one for Yorkshire

The sheer size of Yorkshire would be my guess. West Yorkshire (DaySaver Train), South Yorkshire (Connect+) have their own and most of East Riding of Yorkshire's covered by the East Yorkshire Round Robin. Admittedly that only explains the absence of day rangers and not rovers, whilst there's Freedom of the South West, Heart of England (West Midlands region), East Midlands Rover, North West Rover, Explore Wales Pass and Spirit of Scotland. On the other hand the North East Rover covers all of Yorkshire except Hebden Bridge plus Settle - Carlisle and the North East (£120 for 4 in 8 days or £140 for 7 days without a railcard), so there's probably not a massive market in a Yorkshire one separate from that.

 

[Iskra]

The Coast and Peaks rover is pretty good considering the price of a ticket from Sheffield to Holyhead, so if you use it for that journey and one other day you will pretty much have broken even with 2 days validity still spare

I also like the South Pennine Day Ranger and the Derbyshire Wayfarer is very useful on saving money on the Sheffield-Burton/Uttoxeter corridors.

 

[A S Leib]

A return ticket for the full length of the Ffestiniog Railway is £44; assuming you're not massively bothered about only going one way (or you want to do Conwy Valley / North Wales Coast as well as the Cambrian) the Ffestiniog round robin's £42.30 (or £47.60 from Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool) without a railcard. It's also good value compared to e.g. the £51 for an off-peak return from Telford to Llandudno Junction, especially as it doesn't have any peak restrictions unless you're using a Two Together railcard.

The Southern DaySave is cheaper than some return fares as well e.g. £23.50 against £36.50 for an off-peak day return from Victoria to Worthing, but isn't valid until 10:00 instead of 09:30 and I don't think the off-peak day return has evening restrictions whilst the DaySave can't be used at Croydon, Clapham or London terminals in weekday evening peaks.

 

[DaventryRabbit]

As an interesting aside, do anyone have any insight into weather Rovers and Rangers are used (in any regularity) by anyone OTHER than Enthusiasts?
I can see how, for example, how Walkers in the Peak District might use the Derbys Wayfarer if, say, walking between Stations etc..or making multiple trips but do any Tourists or Holidaymakers (Domestic and International) use, say, a 7 Day North West Rover?

 

[A S Leib]

As an interesting aside, do anyone have any insight into weather Rovers and Rangers are used (in any regularity) by anyone OTHER than Enthusiasts?
I can see how, for example, how Walkers in the Peak District might use the Derbys Wayfarer if, say, walking between Stations etc..or making multiple trips but do any Tourists or Holidaymakers (Domestic and International) use, say, a 7 Day North West Rover?

There are some rovers which I doubt are used by international visitors much due to the lack of flexibility and relatively high cost compared to interrail passes e.g. ~£170 for a four day Interrail pass against £99 for the North of England City Experience (off-peak TPE trains only, no Sheffield, Lake District, Edinburgh or Glasgow).

 

[Farigiraf]

As an interesting aside, do anyone have any insight into weather Rovers and Rangers are used (in any regularity) by anyone OTHER than Enthusiasts?
I can see how, for example, how Walkers in the Peak District might use the Derbys Wayfarer if, say, walking between Stations etc..or making multiple trips but do any Tourists or Holidaymakers (Domestic and International) use, say, a 7 Day North West Rover?

A thing of the past now but I've seen ticket offices recommending them to people: There were some people who wanted to do lots of coastal branch lines in Norfolk and asked for a return ticket to each of them separately but instead they got a rover

 

[AdamWW]

A thing of the past now but I've seen ticket offices recommending them to people: There were some people who wanted to do lots of coastal branch lines in Norfolk and asked for a return ticket to each of them separately but instead they got a rover

I had a booking engine (I forget which now) once offer me a rover instead of a return ticket since it was actually cheaper, which surprised me but was very useful.

 

[BrianW]

There are probably hundreds of great value Ranger and Rover tickets available throughout the UK, but many are shrouded in secrecy with little or no marketing.

I get that many of the products could be described as niche and may only appeal to enthusiasts but there are many very useful tickets that really need better exposure.

Some examples are:

North Wales Day Rover Ticket, split into four different travel zones valid on bus and train
Derbyshire Wayfarer, apart from the long standing rail and bus version there is now a bus only version for just £8



There is no publicity for the above products apart from a brief mention hidden away on the appropriate website. No leaflets, posters on buses, bus stops or rail stations. No social media posts or advertising on Facebook, Twitter etc.

What other useful ranger and rover tickets are out there that would be useful to the general travelling public (not just enthusiasts) but have little or no marketing?

I think it's a consequence of privatisation and parochialism. For example the GWR website lists only those within it's own 'area' and the All Line Rover

GWR Rovers and Rangers tickets | Book online | Great Western Railway

Unlock unlimited travel across the West with Rover tickets and Ranger tickets. Explore new destinations and save on your journey. Book direct here.

www.gwr.com

IIRC GWR pocket timetables failed to show XC services.
The All Line Rover is a product of Network Rail, where comprehensive access to Rangers and Rovers is provided.
I understand the move to ticket machines and impending loss of ticket offices pressages the loss of these very desirable and useful tickets. PreCovid and with a more reliable railway I made extensive use of them

 

[Farigiraf]

I think it's a consequence of privatisation and parochialism. For example the GWR website lists only those within it's own 'area' and the All Line Rover

GWR Rovers and Rangers tickets | Book online | Great Western Railway

Unlock unlimited travel across the West with Rover tickets and Ranger tickets. Explore new destinations and save on your journey. Book direct here.

www.gwr.com

IIRC GWR pocket timetables failed to show XC services.
The All Line Rover is a product of Network Rail, where comprehensive access to Rangers and Rovers is provided.
I understand the move to ticket machines and impending loss of ticket offices pressages the loss of these very desirable and useful tickets. PreCovid and with a more reliable railway I made extensive use of them

It's still odd that they haven't made rangers purchasable by ticket machine yet

 

[CyrusWuff]

As an interesting aside, do anyone have any insight into weather Rovers and Rangers are used (in any regularity) by anyone OTHER than Enthusiasts?

West Mids Day Rangers are fairly popular, but the majority of Rover and Ranger purchases tend to be staff and enthusiasts in my experience.

 

[AdamWW]

It's still odd that they haven't made rangers purchasable by ticket machine yet

Some machines do now, don't they?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Some machines do now, don't they?

Northern's do, as I mentioned in #5

 

[AdamWW]

Northern's do, as I mentioned in #5

So you did.

 

[Farigiraf]

Some machines do now, don't they?

Northern's do, as I mentioned in #5

Does anyone know if/when stations in the south will introduce them?

 

[Western 52]

Rovers are certainly used by non-enthusiasts. My 88 year old mother is using the all Wales rover next week to visit family members.

 

[JonathanH]

Does anyone know if/when stations in the south will introduce them?

There aren't a lot of rovers available to passengers in the South East. London Overground ticket machines sell some of them.

 

[A S Leib]

There aren't a lot of rovers available to passengers in the South East. London Overground ticket machines sell some of them.

And GWR (and I think SWR?) sell theirs online, and it's the same for the Southern DaySave, so that just leaves the Kent Rover, Anglia Plus and I think the c2c senior ranger which can only be bought from ticket offices (or on-board after unstaffed stations).

 

[6Gman]

A thing of the past now but I've seen ticket offices recommending them to people: There were some people who wanted to do lots of coastal branch lines in Norfolk and asked for a return ticket to each of them separately but instead they got a rover

The booking office at Crewe recommended a West Midlands Day Ranger to me rather than a Day Return when I explained my journey.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Wigan to Buxton is cheaper on a GM Wayfarer.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Wigan to Buxton is cheaper on a GM Wayfarer.

Surprisingly so. £20.70 Off Peak Day Single vs £16.20 for the GM Wayfarer.

 

[A S Leib]

An off-peak return from Swindon to Penzance (£115.30) is only slightly cheaper than a 3 in 7-day Freedom of the South West (£123.50).

 

[trainJam]

West Midlands PTE ticket (so no railcard discounts) rather than a pure rail ticket
For those without railcards, it can be cheaper to get a Daytripper than a return. Many tickets have restriction codes which state if fare is more a daytripper should be issued e.g. G1

 

[AdamWW]

West Midlands PTE ticket (so no railcard discounts) rather than a pure rail ticket
For those without railcards, it can be cheaper to get a Daytripper than a return. Many tickets have restriction codes which state if fare is more a daytripper should be issued e.g. G1

Yes - that's how I found out about the daytrippers!

But only by reading the restriction code, not by it actually being implemented.

 

[Alex365Dash]

It's odd that there isn't one for Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire has SYConnect+, whilst West Yorkshire has WY DaySaver Train tickets available.

The former is also valid on bus and tram services, whilst the latter has a variant (WY DaySaver Bus & Train) also valid on bus services.

 

[Rover]

railrover.org has a facility where you can select a station and see which rovers/rangers are valid at that station