Why are day ranger tickets not available online?

[RyanOPlasty]

I have recently travelled using day ranger tickets, but I found the ticket purchases to be frustrating.
My local station does not sell some of them, or the ticket office may not be open so I have first to make a journey to a station where I can buy the day ranger.
In most cases the train that I use to get there would have taken me into the day ranger zone but I have then to wait 30 minutes or an hour for the next one.

Is there any technical reason why these cannot be bought online?

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's simply because they are small in number and sales, and so the cost of designing a specific means of selling them online would exceed the benefit of doing so.

They are available from some TVMs for example those operated by Northern.

 

[RyanOPlasty]

It's simply because they are small in number and sales, and so the cost of designing a specific means of selling them online would exceed the benefit of doing so.

They are available from some TVMs for example those operated by Northern.

Thanks for that. Is there a way to determine which other ticket machines may sell them?

 

[Haywain]

They are available from some TVMs for example those operated by Northern.

And those operated by LNER. Possibly also Chiltern.

 

[CyrusWuff]

And those operated by LNER. Possibly also Chiltern.

All three TOCs have now had the sale of Rover tickets and Ranger tickets enabled on their Arrive (formerly Flowbird) TVMs.

Also the sale of Boundary Zone tickets and sale & activation of Flexi Seasons.

 

[NorthWestRover]

Only on the day of travel on Northern TVMs which can be frustrating but better than nothing.

 

[stadler]

TVMs at London Overground stations sell the following ranger and rover tickets (and have done so since 2012):

All Line Rover 7 Day STD Class
All Line Rover 7 Day 1ST Class
All Line Rover 14 Day STD Class
All Line Rover 14 Day 1ST Class
Kennet Day Ranger 1 Day
Kent Rover 3 Day
North Downs Day Ranger 1 Day
Oxfordshire Day Ranger 1 Day
Thames Branches Day Ranger 1 Day
Thames Rover 3 Day
Thames Rover 7 Day

London Overground started selling them at TVMs in 2012 and were the first TOC to do so. They sold rangers and rovers at TVMs almost a decade before any other TOC started to do so. Certainly very useful for when ticket offices are closed.

 

[Obar123]

On Greater Anglia you can't buy them from a TVM or online, but you can buy them from any ticket office or the guard on the train. GA seem to be much more relaxed than other operators (northern) about boarding and then buying a ticket from the guard. I even had one guard tell me to buy tickets on the train as they then get some commission!

 

[Trainlog]

Whilst I have sympathy with the OP, that doesn't sound fun when the ticket offices are closed and there is no way of buying them at your local station. However, from the rover tickets I have done outside of heritage railways and London zones 1-6, it's fair to say I prefer the buy on the day option over an online one.

• Southern day save (rover)

Unecessary 4 day wait from purchasing said rover ticket, and only available online in a unobvious part of Southern railways site. Last gripe with it is that you have to print them off with the codes to the annoyance of the people behind you at the ticket machine.

It is a brilliant ticket, though, the whole of the Southern railway network for around £23 can't be argued with.

• Devon or Cornwall rovers (done both of them on different days)

Walk up to ticket office, ask for said ticket, and I am free to travel within the restrictions of those tickets. No messing around with online booking systems, no unnecessary 4 day waits, just get on the train and enjoy your day.

But I do agree, rovers of all descriptions should be an obvious choice on a ticket machine and should be as easy to obtain as a London zones 1-6 ticket at any relevant station to the rover ticket.

 

[childwallblues]

My local station at Broad Green currently does not have a ticket office but has a TVM located on the Liverpool bound platform. Travelling towards Wigan North Western I will buy my ticket on the train and if I require it the conductor will sell me a Lancashire Day Ranger.

 

[AY1975]

And those operated by LNER. Possibly also Chiltern.

And Avanti West Coast, albeit only usually those rover and ranger tickets that are local to the area where the TVM is located.

Only on the day of travel on Northern TVMs which can be frustrating but better than nothing.

AFAIK at present that's the case for all four operators whose TVMs sell rover and ranger tickets (Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, LNER and Northern).

I've also noticed that most Welsh rover and ranger tickets don't seem to be available from TVMs operated by any of the above mentioned TOCs. LNER TVMs sell Scottish but not Welsh rovers and rangers, and Northern ones don't seem to sell most Scottish ones either.