Split ticket / excess query?

[ehopkinson]

Hi All

I have a monthly (sometimes longer) season ticket from Weston-super-Mare to London, split at Didcot Parkway. this of course, limits the trains I can get to those which stop at Didcot. it means currently the earliest I can get into Paddington is 08:45. if I want to get there earlier I do sometimes drive to Bristol parkway where I can get a 06:00 train (but not the 06:30 because of the didcot split).... making sense so far?

so, i'm curious what would happen if I wanted to get a train that didn't stop at didcot? do I pay an excess? if so, how much might it be and how best to do it? I want to weigh it against the hassle (and expense) of driving to parkway for occasional trips

any help appreciated, thanks
Em

 

[OwlMan]

You would need to buy a single from the stop before Didcot to the stop after Didcot (probably Swindon - Reading)
Swindon - Reading would cost £34.80, if you did this at least once per week it would be cheaper to change to a through season ticket.

See below for a cheaper method provided you buy the ticket before travelling.

 

[furlong]

Anytime Day Single Didcot to Reading £ 9.20 to combine with season ticket to Didcot, then switch to Didcot-London season ticket at Reading?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
(This is a grey area as the relevant condition 19 is drafted poorly. It covers two "or more" tickets, but 19(b) only considers one pair of those tickets.)

 

[ehopkinson]

sorry, clearly need more coffee..... but i'm still confused :/

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Owlman is correct, Condition 19(c) states that one ticket can be a season ticket (or leisure pass) and the other(s) not. Therefore the 'bridging' ticket would need to be between stations the train stops at.

 

[Haywain]

I think it can be reasonably argued that to use a (London bound) train not stopping at Didcot you need a (non-season) ticket from Didcot to the next station stop, ie Reading, where you can then legitimately transfer back to another season ticket. This is because you can only take advantage of condition 19(c) with one season ticket.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I think it can be reasonably argued that to use a (London bound) train not stopping at Didcot you need a (non-season) ticket from Didcot to the next station stop, ie Reading, where you can then legitimately transfer back to another season ticket. This is because you can only take advantage of condition 19(c) with one season ticket.

You'd have to argue that the two seasons were NOT used for the same journey and that might be difficult (or counter-productive) if you remain on the same train.

 

[Haywain]

I disagree. If the train stops at a point where any two tickets join then Condition 19(b) applies at that point.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

19. Using a combination of tickets

You may use two or more tickets for one journey as long as together they cover the entire
journey and one of the following applies:

(a) they are both Zonal Tickets unless special conditions prohibit their use in this
way. The Ticket Seller will, if you ask, advise you whether you can use a Zonal
Ticket in combination with another ticket.

(b) the train you are in calls at a station where you change from one ticket to another;
or

(c) one of the tickets is a Season Ticket (which for this purpose does not include
Season Tickets or travel passes issued on behalf of a passenger transport
executive or local authority) or a leisure travel pass, and the other ticket(s) is/are
not.

So you can use two or more tickets for one journey provide one of the three applies. So you can't use both (b) and (c) for one journey.

 

[Haywain]

I am aware of what the condition says, but your opinion is clearly different to mine.

 

[bb21]

I think what hairyhandedfool is getting at is that a lot of people on this forum would insist that the trip from Weston to London in the OP's case would be one journey, especially if considered in some contexts (forget about the OP's tickets for a moment), and following from that the OP would be using two season tickets for this journey and not just one, thereby making Condition 19(c) irrelevant.

I make no comment on this subject. Argue away.

 

[yorkie]

I am aware of what the condition says, but your opinion is clearly different to mine.

Haywain's opinion is a common sense interpretation of the conditions.

However, to ensure that the ticket is accepted, and to avoid confusion by only showing the relevant tickets, I'd only show the first Season and the Didcot-Reading ticket, when the tickets are requested to be shown between Weston-super-Mare and Reading.

This goes against my general advice, but is what I'd do in this particular scenario!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

I am aware of what the condition says, but your opinion is clearly different to mine.

Nowt to do with opinion on my part, just reading it as it is written.

 

[ehopkinson]

hadn't realised it would cause such controversy thanks for the help

 

[maniacmartin]

I would read the rules Haywain's way - you can have 2 'journeys' back to back and get the Didcot to Reading ticket.

However, if there was a delay, I don't believe you could then complain or get any compensation if you are late into Paddington as it is not a single journey in NRCoC terms

 

[LexyBoy]

For the sake of five minutes you could always get off at Reading and get the following train (though you'd probably forefit your seat). Alternatively, to be incontrovertibly valid, Didcot-London is slightly cheaper than Swindon-Reading at £30.60 single.

In practice I'd think that most guards would be fine with using a Didcot-Reading ticket as described (if there was a ticket check after Reading, and they remembered you), whilst those that wouldn't would simply maintain that you must use a train that calls at Didcot. I'm not going to get into the debate of how we define a 'journey' again.

BTW, you can get to London slightly earlier (0833) without a new ticket by taking the 0547 from Weston, changing at Temple Meads and Swindon.

 

[furlong]

And that is the poor drafting I referred to. You can't have it both ways. If you insist on a precise reading, you have one through journey, (c) doesn't apply but (b) does, and it is satisfied:

(b) the train you are in calls at a station where you change from one ticket to another;

a station (Reading) where you change from one ticket (Didcot to Reading) to another (Didcot to London season).

There are no constraints on any further places where you change tickets if you consider it as one journey - (b) is satisfied at Reading and that is sufficient. If you consider it as two journeys, then you get to apply (c) to one journey and (b) to another.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

And that is the poor drafting I referred to. You can't have it both ways....

Who wants things both ways? It certainly isn't me, and I don't think it is the railway.

....If you insist on a precise reading, you have one through journey, (c) doesn't apply but (b) does, and it is satisfied:

(b) the train you are in calls at a station where you change from one ticket to another;

a station (Reading) where you change from one ticket (Didcot to Reading) to another (Didcot to London season).

There are no constraints on any further places where you change tickets if you consider it as one journey - (b) is satisfied at Reading and that is sufficient. If you consider it as two journeys, then you get to apply (c) to one journey and (b) to another.

I see where you are going with that, but I don't think I can agree with it.

 

[maniacmartin]

furlong, I think you'd struggle to find anyone who wouldn't interpret 19(b) to mean:
"at every station where you change tickets, the train must make a scheduled call;"

 

[Flamingo]

Haywain's opinion is a common sense interpretation of the conditions.

However, to ensure that the ticket is accepted, and to avoid confusion by only showing the relevant tickets, I'd only show the first Season and the Didcot-Reading ticket, when the tickets are requested to be shown between Weston-super-Mare and Reading.

This goes against my general advice, but is what I'd do in this particular scenario!

And hope it is not my train you are on after Reading...

 

[ehopkinson]

lol, noted

Well I certainly have a headache now, but do appreciate all the insight, just not sure I'm any less confused thanks for the tip on changing at Swindon, that could help... And in future I might just get a straight through, think its only about 200 difference anyway... And a lot less stress

Thanks all