Travel Vouchers

[Notters]

I don't think "what about the people who have paid for parking and coaches" is a particularly valid one.

This is next season we're talking about, not this one. As far as I'm aware no one has paid for parking tickets or coaches for next season, so are not being charged. Come July they will be buying season tickets that include the park and ride. They then have the choice to pay extra for parking or coaches if they wish, but they will be doing so knowing they already have P&R vouchers. It will be their choice to pay extra for alternate arrangements to those included in the season ticket.

It's not like the club are forcing people to pay extra this year for vouchers when they have already sorted their travel arrangements.

But the club will still need (approximate figures):

6,000 people to park on site;
4,000 people to walk or cycle;

...and there will be around 4,000 OAPs who don't have to pay for travel.

However you look at it around half of the crowd should not have to pay for travel.

 

[pasty]

But it's not a case of not taking advantage of it. If you live next to the stadium, or have an OAP bus pass, or already have a travel card for work which covers your journey, or are one of the 6,000 people arriving by private car (who make the use of public transport possible for everyone else), then you CANNOT "take advantage" of it.

But as I said, if the travel is included free within the cost of the seaston ticket, what does it matter if you don't use it?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Will the travel element will be loaded on to the season ticket card? Or will a separate travel card be issued? Or will it be paper vouchers?

By the time next season comes round, B&H Buses and Southern will probably have developed their card reading technology to the point that most public transport users in the Brighton area will be using the 'Oyster' card system for most of their other journeys. There's no reason why football trips should be excluded.

 

[tgretton87]

Depends on how you look at it really. "Your season ticket is going to cost £xxx and will include free travel". Boom tish, you are not paying for something you don't want, merely not taking advantage of something that is included free in the cost of your ticket.

This


I dont always get public transport but you have to include travel in the costings of your ST. When I got my ticket I couldnt believe that it wasnt. Train from Shoreham to Falmer averages at £4.50. If every season ticket had a £10 pound charge then that would be the way forward even if you only ever used public transport once or twice.

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

Surely they only need to take the vouchers of people as they filter the queue through the gate at Brighton station? They already do this slow enough for it to be possible.

yes,but not everybody travelling to falmer comes from brighton station and at other stations there is no staff to check tickets at all,and to check vouchers/tickets as you leave falmer is a recipe for disaster,its so much easier to just count people off and onto trains at falmer and charge the club accordingly.

 

[Geriatric Seagull]

Why not include the cost of a pie and pint in the price of a ticket? I know a lot of people might not want one, but to follow the "logic" of some of you on here, that doesn't appear to matter!

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Will the travel element will be loaded on to the season ticket card? Or will a separate travel card be issued? Or will it be paper vouchers?

By the time next season comes round, B&H Buses and Southern will probably have developed their card reading technology to the point that most public transport users in the Brighton area will be using the 'Oyster' card system for most of their other journeys. There's no reason why football trips should be excluded.

Roger French of B&H Buses seems to think that B&H Buses and Southern will have their systems "buddied up" by mid 2012. No reason to think why BHAFC smartcards cannot be integrated by that time too.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

yes,but not everybody travelling to falmer comes from brighton station and at other stations there is no staff to check tickets at all,and to check vouchers/tickets as you leave falmer is a recipe for disaster,its so much easier to just count people off and onto trains at falmer and charge the club accordingly.

Every station will have card readers to count passengers. The experience of London Underground stations is that using card readers to record the start and end of every passenger journey is not over-burdensome.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Roger French of B&H Buses seems to think that B&H Buses and Southern will have their systems "buddied up" by mid 2012. No reason to think why BHAFC smartcards cannot be integrated by that time too.

... provided the season tickets are ITSO compatible.

Sorry to be such a nerd, btw.

 

[Acker79]

But the club will still need (approximate figures):

6,000 people to park on site;
4,000 people to walk or cycle;

...and there will be around 4,000 OAPs who don't have to pay for travel.

However you look at it around half of the crowd should not have to pay for travel.

Maybe, but it will be a choice. Just like it was a choice this year for people to pay a very high amount of money for parking tickets instead of using the park and ride, cycling, walking, regular buses, etc., showing that there are plenty of people who choose to spend more than they have to for the chance to park near by.

I'm not arguing against the idea that some people are being charged for a service they don't need (cyclists, walkers - for whom it didn't apply at withdean either), I'm just saying that no one has paid for coaches or parking for next season yet, and when it comes the time for paying for that, they will already have their season tickets, and will know they don't have to as they have P&R included, thus they will be making an informed choice of their own if they want to use coaches/parking instead, not having it forced on them by the club.

During the withdean years, were oaps charged for the park and ride? I remember their free travel being noted with some surprise this year, so presume it wasn't, so is it included this year by choice (which would mean it might not be free for them next year), not law?

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

Every station will have card readers to count passengers. The experience of London Underground stations is that using card readers to record the start and end of every passenger journey is not over-burdensome.

having not been to london for years i cannot really comment,however do they not use a turnstile type system where you have to scan the card to get into the station.not all stations on the seaford to brighton line have these type of turnstiles to get onto the station so again not possible unless southern revamp all there stations.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

... provided the season tickets are ITSO compatible.

Sorry to be such a nerd, btw.

From tomorrow the Stagecoach Grimsby buses are using the smartcard readers on top of the ticket machines for national concessionary passes , 2 years ahead of schedule.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

having not been to london for years i cannot really comment,however do they not use a turnstile type system where you have to scan the card to get into the station.not all stations on the seaford to brighton line have these type of turnstiles to get onto the station so again not possible unless southern revamp all there stations.

You don't need turnstiles if you have a system (like Oyster) that penalises people for failing to get their card checked at both ends of the journey. People will seek out the card reader, rather than just walk past it.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

From tomorrow the Stagecoach Grimsby buses are using the smartcard readers on top of the ticket machines for national concessionary passes , 2 years ahead of schedule.

Grimsby proving itself to be way behind Brighton and Hove - yet again.

 

[Easy 10]

What ? How does having to pay for something you don't need make it a better match day experience ?

What else do we subsidise we might not use ?

Vicente's wages ?

 

[e77]

If the smartcards are compatible with the trains and buses next season, just bring in the travel 'vouchers' as an opt out system, i.e it is added to your card unless you tell the club you don't want it.

 

[Beach Hut]

Every station will have card readers to count passengers. The experience of London Underground stations is that using card readers to record the start and end of every passenger journey is not over-burdensome.

That depends on whether the user waves their card over it and not foolproof to fraud

 

[Beach Hut]

If the smartcards are compatible with the trains and buses next season, just bring in the travel 'vouchers' as an opt out system, i.e it is added to your card unless you tell the club you don't want it.

Another sensible option

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Another sensible option

Is it? Bit of a crush going through Falmer station on a matchday as it is, without forcing people to swipe to exit the stadium.

 

[8ace]

Why should they all have to pay for a travel voucher as well when not using it ?

I had to for 10 years at Withdean.