Is it time to ditch the whole travel malarkey?

[ATFC Seagull]

Personally I get a good deal out of it and I'm surprised so many people reckon they don't.

Also, wasn't it part of the planning regulations, and therefore if we withdrew it it could affect the license of the stadium? I could be wrong here as a couple of people who know their stuff have already posted on this thread and not mentioned it.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Agreed.

From a purely selfish point of view, it should be scrapped as I already have to buy a train ticket to Lewes from Eastbourne and it really isn't much less than a ticket to Falmer, even paying the extra 50p would be cheaper than paying whatever the subsidy I pay is.

Not to mention tickets will be cheaper, which the club would put a positive spin on.

I've got mates who travel from Eastbourne and they've always insisted that the "triangle" seems very unfairly stretched Westwards.

 

[MissGull]

Maybe I'll get the club to start refunding my petrol money and wear and tear for the shoes I wear for the distance I walk to the club.

Scrap the travel.

 

[Brovion]

I've got mates who travel from Eastbourne and they've always insisted that the "triangle" seems very unfairly stretched Westwards.

You've put your finger on one of the problems, there's always going to be winners and losers. Even with the current system people who walk/cycle moan that they're subsidising everybody else (And I used to moan like crazy about that when we were at Withdean!) I personally wouldn't mind them scrapping it and knocking a fiver off the ticket price to cover my bus fare, but I accept that's a very selfish attitude. And of course they wouldn't knock a fiver off the tickets.

And like you I thought there was some planning constraint meaning we had to have a subsidised travel scheme in place. Happily admit I may well have mis-understood if one of the ITK people wants to put me straight.

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

IF say the ground was built in Brighton and Hove I highly doubt we would have subsidized travel, so having free travel between Brighton and Falmer would cover that extra cost.

 

[Return of the Rev]

Personally I get a good deal out of it and I'm surprised so many people reckon they don't.

Also, wasn't it part of the planning regulations, and therefore if we withdrew it it could affect the license of the stadium? I could be wrong here as a couple of people who know their stuff have already posted on this thread and not mentioned it.

As a fan its not if i get a good deal out of it,the issue is does it hold my club back financially,i made it to Goldstone ok then to the Priestfield and finally to withdean i'm sure i could make it to falmer.

 

[spring hall convert]

Would it not be possible to go back to that outdated system of get yourself along to game? Would be quite happy if free travel,p/r and special buses came to an end.Keep my £50 and stick it in the tin for players,i think the club have got themselves into a no win situation and the £50 x 22,000 would put a few quid back into the clubs hands.
Would anyone stop coming if they had to use and pay for public transport
What do reckon pups

Isn't one of the problems, that it would be close to impossible to ensure that all those traveling from Brighton had purchased tickets without causing pretty major delays?

 

[Return of the Rev]

Isn't one of the problems, that it would be close to impossible to ensure that all those traveling from Brighton had purchased tickets without causing pretty major delays?

ok then the club hand over the £50 a person to the railway bunch who let people travel within the portslade,aldrington,hove,pp,london rd,moulsecoomb lewes network just dump all the other travel arrangements.

 

[Hillian1]

Isn't one of the problems, that it would be close to impossible to ensure that all those traveling from Brighton had purchased tickets without causing pretty major delays?

Yes, that is why the travel should only be subsidised for that part of the journey. I have traveled on the train from Wivelsfield to Lewes and Burgess Hill to Brighton and there is nothing to stop tickets being checked on these journey's.

It makes perfect sense, and will save the club a bloody fortune.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Would the club refund the £50 or drop season ticket prices next season? I'd be very surprised.

Would having to pay your own travel impact how many people could afford to go? Almost certainly.

For those reasons I hope they don't ditch it. Lower attendances, less spending in the stadium. Would price more fans out which shouldn't be encouraged.

 

[folkestonesgull]

The planning permission will have included a requirement for a travel plan which seeks to encourage other modes of transport other than driving to the ground. The whole transport assessment for the stadium will have been based on certain assumptions about how fans will get to the ground....and to make sure that these methods are preferable to driving to the stadium or area around it there have to be incentives otherwise people will just jump in their cars - subsidised rail and buses or park and ride.
If these subsidies werent in place the travel assessment may have shown the stadium in this location to be unacceptable in principle or alternatively the club would have had to spend more money upgrading junctions all over brighton. There may also be penalties in the travel plan if the targets are not being met.

I am fully supportive of the way transport or park and ride costs are covered in your ticket. Im not a season ticket holderbut when I do get tickets I ;ve found the train and park and ride both work really well and are relatively hassle free if you chill out.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I don't think people should underestimate what a delicate position the club is in at the moment with regards to keeping supporters.

Seaon tickets are expensive but a lot of people will be able to justify the cost because they know it includes travel. These supporters coming from further away are the sort the Albion need to keep. There are also lots of people at the moment who, whether we like to admit it or not, ARE coming because of the relative value against Premie League football.

Short term, cutting the transport might help financially. But far better to give these supporter who are perhaps new to coming to the Albion regularly a chance to bed in and become hardened supporters. Exactly the same with the young generation which has come to The Amex in such high numbers. Make it harder/more expensive for parents to bring along their kids and you risk losing a lot of youngsters back to Premier League clubs.

We have gone from around 6,000 to around 26,000 in a short time. This isn't all because of the new ground but rather a combination of the new ground and relative value for money. The ground isn't a novelty anymore and, if you remove the value for money/affordability, you will remove a lot of fans almost as quickly as they returned.

That said, I cannot understand the argument people use when saying Brighton to Falmer should be free because the train company couldn't handle the tickets. Have these people never been to London?

 

[folkestonesgull]

You have to remember the cost of tickets includes the transport subsidy, which is of benefit to the club as it attracts fans from a wider area. The club arent losing out, nor are the majority of fans. The only people who lose out are those whose transport costs if purchased privately are less than the subsidy, which is bound to be a small % due to the huge reduction in transport cost the club would have been able to negotiate with the train and bus companies...

 

[folkestonesgull]

isnt the £50 relating to additional subsidised services offered to season ticket holders beyond those already included with match day tickets?

 

[ATFC Seagull]

As a fan its not if i get a good deal out of it,the issue is does it hold my club back financially,i made it to Goldstone ok then to the Priestfield and finally to withdean i'm sure i could make it to falmer.

I don't think it's really holding the club back though? The supporters cover the cost of it, and the club obviously get a MASSIVE discount with what they pay out to B&H buses and Southern. Ticket sales are great and it probably encourages more people to come earlier, stay on later and drink and spend money in the ground. To non regulars it also comes accross as a massive goodwill gesture - I know loads of people who've bought tickets who are very impressed when they find out they will also get out to the ground and back for free.

Also, maybe this makes me a terrible fan, but given the several thousands I already spend on the Albion every season, if they were to knock £50 of my season ticket and tell me to sort out my own transport, it would be hell freezing over before I phone them and tell them to keep it for players.

(Oh and I'll give you the Goldstone, but personally I always travelled for free to Gillingham and Withdean as well...)

 

[Commander]

Would it not be possible to go back to that outdated system of get yourself along to game? Would be quite happy if free travel,p/r and special buses came to an end.Keep my £50 and stick it in the tin for players,i think the club have got themselves into a no win situation and the £50 x 22,000 would put a few quid back into the clubs hands.
Would anyone stop coming if they had to use and pay for public transport
What do reckon pups

The club should never have mentioned the transport levy in the first place. They should have just included the £50 in the price of the season ticket and said you get free travel inside the zone, and everyone would have been fine with it. Their mistake was trying to get people to buy vouchers, and then announcing that a £50 charge was going on top of the ticket price for it. They should have never mentioned any figures, and just said the season ticket costs this much and you get free travel. Much simpler and less people would have found an issue with it.

 

[Titanic]

Paying approx £2 to park and ride to the ground - name another club where parking is so cheap?

I'm pretty sure Southampton's excellent park and ride scheme is £10 a car. Which for me would be £1.42 per person.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I quite like it that car drivers, bus riders, cyclists and walkers are subsidising my train journey.

I hope it annoys them for every second of every day

 

[Bognor Bystander]

I'm pretty sure Southampton's excellent park and ride scheme is £10 a car. Which for me would be £1.42 per person.

But Southampton also has available plenty of local street parking for which I stuck a fiver in a meter and walked 10 mins to the ground last season... I hasten to add it was a treat for my nephew and I didn't enjoy it (much) although Scum did beat Chelski and it was a nice sunny day !

 

[Return of the Rev]

the club should never have mentioned the transport levy in the first place. They should have just included the £50 in the price of the season ticket and said you get free travel inside the zone, and everyone would have been fine with it. Their mistake was trying to get people to buy vouchers, and then announcing that a £50 charge was going on top of the ticket price for it. They should have never mentioned any figures, and just said the season ticket costs this much and you get free travel. Much simpler and less people would have found an issue with it.

agreed big gaff!