West Mids Daytripper Add-on and Plus

[paddington]

In a few days I need to take a train from Birmingham to Warwick and back, then to Rugeley and back, on the same day, after 0930.

It seems that Warwick is covered by the Daytripper PLUS while Rugeley requires the Daytripper ADD-ON. I can find no information about the price of the ADD-ON or any maps, only text descriptions.


Yesterday I visited Birmingham for the first time and after some difficulty I managed to buy a Daytripper PLUS, which I expected to cost £9.60. The ticket clerk had not heard of this before and after phoning a manager he managed to sell me a £6.90 ticket on blue stock, and in another transaction a £2.70 ticket on orange stock.

The orange ticket says DYTRIPPER ADD-ON & DAYTRIPPER PLUS. Does this mean it is both the ADD-ON and the PLUS ticket, i.e. it can be used for both of my planned journeys? If not, why on earth does it say ADD-ON as well?

Why does Rugeley have its own special ticket given that it is more or less the same distance from Birmingham as the other destinations the PLUS ticket is valid to?

 

[30907]

The lower add-on (+£1.50) for Rugeley makes reasonable sense in itself - I imagine that most people would buy it for day trips FROM rather than TO that area (apologies if I have underestimated the delights of Landywood et al).
The PLUS area is much bigger and contains one or two significant tourist destinations!

I assume from the wording on your ticket that the PLUS add-on price is intended to include the ADD-ON add-on (if you get my meaning!) and therefore it is undoubtedly valid.
However, I agree with you that it could be made clearer.

 

[paddington]

I assume from the wording on your ticket that the PLUS add-on price is intended to include the ADD-ON add-on (if you get my meaning!) and therefore it is undoubtedly valid.

Well that's the thing, if it was undoubtedly valid, why wouldn't they say the PLUS is also valid to Rugeley, and for example on this page https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/tickets-fares/network-west-midlands-tickets why is the PLUS listed *above* the ADD-ON (which sort of implies the ADD-ON is more expensive and has greater validity)

Anyway I think there aren't any barriers in the extended areas except at Coventry... however RPIs and BTP were out in force yesterday!

 

[Shrewbly]

I *think* it works like this - the PLUS gives the Warwick add on, the main Daytripper ticket covers zones 1-5. If you then look at the rail zones map Rugeley is off in its own unnumbered zone, which has a footnote saying that ntrain tickets for zone 5 are also valid for the lump that extends out to Rugeley, (even though it's not zone 5). Which would seem to suggest that you have Rugeley covered, BUT an nnetwork ticket may not be considered the same as an ntrain ticket, so the extra validity would then not apply. In which case you would have to buy an additional (£3.80) ticket from the boundary of zone 5 to Rugeley to be on the safe side. I didn't think that the plus or add on could be separated from the main ticket, but as your experience today suggests otherwise, there may be another way to do this. And whether you run into anybody who actually knows for sure is anyone's guess...

It would appear that the national ticketing system was just not complicated enough for Network West Midlands!