TfW Family tickets

[AY1975]

Transport for Wales announced at the beginning of November that it had introduced new Family tickets. However, the TfW web page at https://tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/rail/ticket-types/family-ticket appears to give contradictory information about these.

In the FAQs at the top of that page:

Can children travel free anytime with a Family ticket?

Yes. Children (under 16) can travel free anytime, including peak hours with a Family ticket.

But further down the page we have:

1.1 Age 5-10 - Under 11s Anytime

1 Description​

• Up to 2 children aged 5 to 10 can travel for free on Transport for Wales Rail services (in standard class accommodation only) when travelling with a full or discounted standard class fare-paying adult (aged 16+).

1.2 Age 11-15 - Under 16s Off-Peak​

Terms and Conditions:

1 Description​

• Up to 2 children aged 11 to 15 can travel for free on Transport for Wales Rail services (in standard class accommodation only) when travelling with a full or discounted standard class fare-paying adult (aged 16+) between the hours of 09:30 and 16:00 and after 18:30, Monday to Friday and any time Saturday and Sunday.

Thus, at the top of the page it seems to imply that accompanied children of any age under 16 can travel with an adult using one of these tickets at any time, including in peak hours, but further down the page it seems to indicate that only children aged 10 or under can do so in peak hours and for 11 to 15 year olds it's off-peak only.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Transport for Wales announced at the beginning of November that it had introduced new Family tickets. However, the TfW web page at https://tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/rail/ticket-types/family-ticket appears to give contradictory information about these.

In the FAQs at the top of that page:


But further down the page we have:

Thus, at the top of the page it seems to imply that accompanied children of any age under 16 can travel with an adult using one of these tickets at any time, including in peak hours, but further down the page it seems to indicate that only children aged 10 or under can do so in peak hours and for 11 to 15 year olds it's off-peak only.

It's two different things.

Family Ticket is an "8A" restricted Off Peak return, available in 1+1, 1+2, 2+1, 2+2, 2+3 & 2+4 variants; it's valid on any operator relevant to the route and is available to purchase through all normal ticket retail channels. That's what the FAQ in your first quote was refering to.

The second part you quoted is refering to the the free (accompanied) child tickets, which were already available. It is these tickets which have an off-peak restriction for 11-15 year olds. These are only available from a booking office or conductor and are only valid on TfW services. They remain useful for adults with season tickets or advances who are travelling with children - if they know about them - they're not the most "visible" of tickets (due to not showing up on ticketing apps/websites) so many people don't know about them and unnecessarily purchase a child ticket.