[Albion] Albion to launch matchday travel scheme review

[Weststander]

The club is snookered, back to basics wrong place without infastructure. More busses? Where to park them? Roads cant cope. Can only improve trains more carriages would help. Trains Falmer to Lewes arriving where only first few carriages fit on platform is a mess; could maybe sort stuff like that out that arguably wont cost money. How many fans physically leave travelling post match towards Woodingdean? Maybe some scope there but really its the train or even more strain coming/going. A few more bike racks will be drop in ocean. Everything goes back to a sh1tty sardine train service. I fail to see what the club can do. The train service have always held the upper hand.

There was no other place suitable though. Transport issues for some the one downside.

Exacerbated by the success of the club and team, 31,600 every home game “is the stuff of dreams”.

 

[drew]

Am I right in thinking that Southern just have a management contract rather than a franchise and therefore their income is a fee from the government so aren't bothered about ticket income or for that matter, levels of service.

As for the review, guessing it is looking at cost savings. Unfortunately, there needs to be an improvement of the service, more buses for the park and ride, particularly Mill Rd, more train services if there can be (although I think people will help themselves if they don't all rush of for the trains at the final whistle). Bennetts field returning to service would help. I'm guessing the reference to legislation is the planning permission that required a travel scheme.

Where they might help themselves is better data collection. I'm guessing there is very vague info about how ,many use the trains and local buses.

 

[dazzer6666]

There was no other place suitable though. Transport issues for some the one downside.

Exacerbated by the success of the club and team, 31,600 every home game “is the stuff of dreams”.

Yet our transport is really no worse than many other PL or championship grounds most of the time. Being able to get home within 60-90 mins leaving after the final whistle when living c12 miles away isn’t unreasonable or abnormal.

 

[Giraffe]

The way it’s worded suggests they may be looking to de couple the travel scheme from the ticket, recognising that there are many groups who don’t use the train travel. They can therefore look to reduce ticket prices for those groups but still with some upside for them. Seems reasonable to me.

Why should some pay for car parking and effectively some of the other travel?

Suspect the relationship between club and southern plays into this as well. Paying them a vast sum of money that may be under utilised (partly due to strikes etc) has not helped I am sure.

 

[Hamilton]

Wonderful.

We’ll all have to show our tickets at the station gates. Yeah, right!

 

[Weststander]

Yet our transport is really no worse than many other PL or championship grounds most of the time. Being able to get home within 60-90 mins leaving after the final whistle when living c12 miles away isn’t unreasonable or abnormal.

The “utopia” of city stadia:

Villa Park - unless you leave 5 minutes early, that dump of an area becomes one vast traffic jam, trying to make its way to that M-Way link.

Molyneux and SJP … it’s nice that you can head off in any direction like the Goldstone, but we sit out the protracted chaos by heading to a restaurant for a meal.

Anfield - huge queues for a good system of matchday buses, so we just walk the 2.5 miles downhill to Lime Street or similar.

Emirates and WHL - well documented that the local stations are hell post match, so folk trek elsewhere.

 

[Hamilton]

The way it’s worded suggests they may be looking to de couple the travel scheme from the ticket, recognising that there are many groups who don’t use the train travel. They can therefore look to reduce ticket prices for those groups but still with some upside for them. Seems reasonable to me.

Why should some pay for car parking and effectively some of the other travel?

Suspect the relationship between club and southern plays into this as well. Paying them a vast sum of money that may be under utilised (partly due to strikes etc) has not helped I am sure.

It’s about how manageable that is.

Sometimes I have got the train. Sometimes I have ridden my bike. Sometimes I have got a bus. Sometimes Mrs H has dropped me off in the car.

Often, I’ve no idea how I will get there until the day in question.

I certainly don’t sit about worrying about whether some fans are getting a better deal than me. I pay my money and remember we’re all a community.

Of course, it will be the less well off fans that suffer more from any price changes.

Remind me how much Aaron Connolly was on?

 

[jackalbion]

The club is snookered, back to basics wrong place without infastructure. More busses? Where to park them? Roads cant cope. Can only improve trains more carriages would help. Trains Falmer to Lewes arriving where only first few carriages fit on platform is a mess; could maybe sort stuff like that out that arguably wont cost money. How many fans physically leave travelling post match towards Woodingdean? Maybe some scope there but really its the train or even more strain coming/going. A few more bike racks will be drop in ocean. Everything goes back to a sh1tty sardine train service. I fail to see what the club can do. The train service have always held the upper hand.

Is there any football ground in the country that doesn’t have a shitty sardine service to it? Like what are people expecting, seats for all on every train, that just isn’t realistic.

 

[dazzer6666]

The “utopia” of city stadia:

Villa Park - unless you leave 5 minutes early, that dump of an area becomes one vast traffic jam, trying to make its way to that M-Way link.

Molyneux and SJP … it’s nice that you can head off in any direction like the Goldstone, but we sit out the protracted chaos by heading to a restaurant for a meal.

Anfield - huge queues for a good system of matchday buses, so we just walk the 2.5 miles downhill to Lime Street or similar.

Emirates and WHL - well documented that the local stations are hell post match, so folk trek elsewhere.

Yep, all of that

Bournemouth - club car park can take at least 45 mins to exit, traffic outside is rammed.
Leicester - traffic jams in all directions after 30 min queue to exit car park
Manchester - forget trying to move a car within a mile or two of either ground for an hour after the game
Saints - can be ok - as long as you park 30 mins walk away
WHU - walk MILES to get back to the underground
etc…….

It is what it is, as someone once said

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

To ne honest after a fairly shitty year or so of park and ride queues, train delays and strikes, service to and from the Amex has been very good since the World Cup.

 

[jackalbion]

Am I right in thinking that Southern just have a management contract rather than a franchise and therefore their income is a fee from the government so aren't bothered about ticket income or for that matter, levels of service.

As for the review, guessing it is looking at cost savings. Unfortunately, there needs to be an improvement of the service, more buses for the park and ride, particularly Mill Rd, more train services if there can be (although I think people will help themselves if they don't all rush of for the trains at the final whistle). Bennetts field returning to service would help. I'm guessing the reference to legislation is the planning permission that required a travel scheme.

Where they might help themselves is better data collection. I'm guessing there is very vague info about how ,many use the trains and local buses.

The placement student at my work is doing his dissertation on the train service to our ground (along with two others) funnily enough, I’m doing an interview for him next week as I’ve been to all three by rail.

There cannot be more train services without a massive signalling upgrade sadly. The contract Southern have means it does matter about both of those, levels of service are stipulated within the contract, and have to be maintained. Every single match day the service on the line is increased to two extra trains per hour above that requirement, so the idea on here that Southern are providing the bare minimum just isn’t true.

 

[dazzer6666]

To ne honest after a fairly shitty year or so of park and ride queues, train delays and strikes, service to and from the Amex has been very good since the World Cup.

True that….have needed to go via Lewes the last few games, the train service has been very good. Usually back in Lewes well before 5.30 despite queuing on the bridge initially as we don’t rush off on the final whistle.

 

[jackalbion]

The “utopia” of city stadia:

Villa Park - unless you leave 5 minutes early, that dump of an area becomes one vast traffic jam, trying to make its way to that M-Way link.

Molyneux and SJP … it’s nice that you can head off in any direction like the Goldstone, but we sit out the protracted chaos by heading to a restaurant for a meal.

Anfield - huge queues for a good system of matchday buses, so we just walk the 2.5 miles downhill to Lime Street or similar.

Emirates and WHL - well documented that the local stations are hell post match, so folk trek elsewhere.

Coventry - Brand new train station built next door, but West Midlands railway can’t provide a safe service so it’s closed every match day.

Manchester United - Tram Queues are a nightmare packed in like sardines

Manchester City - The Same

 

[Weststander]

To ne honest after a fairly shitty year or so of park and ride queues, train delays and strikes, service to and from the Amex has been very good since the World Cup.

Mill Road greatly improved.

Sept/Oct started having to get to the top 90 mins before KO.

Now that gets us to games half hour early.

 

[Weststander]

Yep, all of that

Bournemouth - club car park can take at least 45 mins to exit, traffic outside is rammed.
Leicester - traffic jams in all directions after 30 min queue to exit car park
Manchester - forget trying to move a car within a mile or two of either ground for an hour after the game
Saints - can be ok - as long as you park 30 mins walk away
WHU - walk MILES to get back to the underground
etc…….

It is what it is, as someone once said

I bet it’s easy to get away from MK Dons home league games, if so, #BarberOut.

 

[RexCathedra]

 

[jackalbion]

View attachment 157529

 

[portlock seagull]

Just as a casual observer I think the subsequent posts all originate from your first post on greedy millionaires …I’ll now go back to observing

…and misinterpreting greedy millionaires meant Tony too. Moreover the context of the discussion was taking money OUT of the game, not putting IN, so they compounded their misinterpretation with a 2nd mistake because Tony will never fit into the first category. Thereafter they just got angry and started blithering on about spare parts and tomato boxes but by then they were so far down the wrong path it wasn’t worth going after and besides, it was quite amusing.

In summary, I was perhaps too subtle. Football must ever make more money because there are many already very wealthy individuals wanting more and more and more…it’s endless, insatiable. In a word, greed.

 

[portlock seagull]

The way it’s worded suggests they may be looking to de couple the travel scheme from the ticket, recognising that there are many groups who don’t use the train travel. They can therefore look to reduce ticket prices for those groups but still with some upside for them. Seems reasonable to me.

Why should some pay for car parking and effectively some of the other travel?

Suspect the relationship between club and southern plays into this as well. Paying them a vast sum of money that may be under utilised (partly due to strikes etc) has not helped I am sure.

I think it’s a naive assumption to believe ticket prices will go down for some if travel is decoupled from ticket price. When have ticket prices ever come down in football? They’re about 300% more than inflation since PL formed or something aren’t they? More likely is ticket prices will remain same or a smaller increase, and everyone makes their own travel cost arrangements depending on mode of transport. Which means a higher matchday cost for majority on top of an already expensive ticket and other costs should you wish to pay them. I think P&R will become itemised chargeable too; higher price to pay for cars with one fan in, less if you just use the buses without parking, Mill Lane travel cost more than Racecourse because further etc etc. This announcement is the thin end of the wedge for me, it’s clear change is afoot and the only thing I’m 100% sure of is no fans will get cheaper tickets as a result of and the majority will pay more overall to watch the Albion. However the ballon is squeezed.

 

[Weststander]

View attachment 157530

Good picture quiz

Selhurst Park?