Roundabout Ticket (Glasgow)

[simonm]

Not strictly Rail but Rail and Subway. This ticket allows travel on both. But as I found out recently, they don't issue them at Subway stations. I had to pay a single subway fare from my station to the nearest "British Rail" (sic) station (Partick) to buy it. When I went to use the Subway despite both systems using the same type of ticket with the magnetic strip in the same place they had to issue me with a special subway roundabout ticket! What on earth is going on??

 

[MidnightFlyer]

The magnetic strip ona Subway ticket is much wider...

 

[Flying Snail]

AFAIK they are not compatible systems.

It's the same with Daytripper tickets, obviously the scratchcard is not compatible with any barriers. On NR there are gateline staff so no problem, on the subway you have to show the ticket at the ticket office window for each trip and they issue a subway single to get through the unmanned barriers.

 

[CarterUSM]

AFAIK they are not compatible systems.

It's the same with Daytripper tickets, obviously the scratchcard is not compatible with any barriers. On NR there are gateline staff so no problem, on the subway you have to show the ticket at the ticket office window for each trip and they issue a subway single to get through the unmanned barriers.

So does that mean that a passenger who purchases a return to Glasgow subway from myself or a booking office cannot actually use the ticket issued to operate the gates on the subway?

 

[142094]

So does that mean that a passenger who purchases a return to Glasgow subway from myself or a booking office cannot actually use the ticket issued to operate the gates on the subway?

Not sure about that but when I had a Roundabout ticket bought from Central, I was given a Subway-compatible ticket at Buchanan Street and the rail ticket was stamped with a red S in a circle.

 

[reb0118]

So does that mean that a passenger who purchases a return to Glasgow subway from myself or a booking office cannot actually use the ticket issued to operate the gates on the subway?

I've never had any negative feedback on this - & I've sold loads.

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Not sure about that but when I had a Roundabout ticket bought from Central, I was given a Subway-compatible ticket at Buchanan Street and the rail ticket was stamped with a red S in a circle.

i had the same at Partick but they said that the SPT subway one could be used all day. The roundabout that i brought was Rail Settlement Plan stock which was printed as though it was a single from Glasgow Ctrl/QST. it confused 3 Scotrail Ticket Examiners's, a XC Train Manager and a First Glasgow Raillink 398 bus driver

 

[CarterUSM]

I've never had any negative feedback on this - & I've sold loads.

Yeah, me too. I just thought it would defeat the purpose of it in the first place if you had to queue for a subway ticket to get through the gates anyway.

 

[David Goddard]

We bought a couple of the Roundabout tickets last year. Nowhere on the publicity (or at the NR ticket office where we bought them) did it say that the NR issued ticket would not work in the Subway barriers.

On changing to the Subway at Partick, we asked at the Subway ticket office and they issued two further "Zonal" tickets on Subway stock. These work for multiple entry all day, there is no need to get a new one for each trip. The magstripe is the same width, so probably, as Flying Snail says, incompatible systems. Both the NR and Subway tickets were stamped with a red S, I assume to stop you acquiring further tickets on each system later in the day.

The NR issued ticket, as Tom says, is printed as an Off Peak Day Single, with "From" as issuing station and "To" as "Roundabout". It will be for this reason, I assume, that it will not open the barriers anywhere else on the NR system, as we found out when we tried to enter at Queen Street. Had they set it up as a day ticket (like the West Midlands Daytripper) then it would probably work the NR gates.


Just looked up the ticket on the website, which states:
"Tickets can be purchased from any staffed ScotRail station, from on-train ticket staff or from any SPT Travel Centre"
Clearly the uninitiated traveller is expected to know the difference between a Ticket Office and a Travel Centre. Why they can not sell one from an ordinary ticket office is beyond most of us.

I take it that the encoding incompatability also contributes to the reason why a through NR ticket is not valid for use on the Subway to transfer, between Central & Queen Street, for example.

 

[Flying Snail]

I take it that the encoding incompatability also contributes to the reason why a through NR ticket is not valid for use on the Subway to transfer, between Central & Queen Street, for example.

The lack of a subway station at Central is probably more likely the reason TBH.

In the time it takes to get from Queen St to Buchannan and wait for the first train you would have walked to Central. There is also the free bus link for those who don't want to walk it.

 

[A60K]

I believe several of the SPT Travel Centre offices have closed as well - I think Hillhead was the only one in a Subway station and it's gone.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I believe several of the SPT Travel Centre offices have closed as well - I think Hillhead was the only one in a Subway station and it's gone.

St Enoch's is in the Subway station and survives - it was quite busy on Monday!