Is it time to ditch the whole travel malarkey?

[Commander]

agreed big gaff!

Had to happen sometime

 

[Return of the Rev]

had to happen sometime

We are more alike than you think,i also have a hat like yours

 

[8ace]

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.

The fact that they didn't have the vouchers ready at the start of the season didn't help either.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

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.

Just like at Withdean then?

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.

Yep, just like at Withdean.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Can we have a return to pay on the gate as well
regards
DR

 

[Brovion]

Just like at Withdean then?



Yep, just like at Withdean.

Indeed. I remember us having a small disagreement over that very subject! But you're right, no matter how it's dressed up, either as a separate charge like now or 'free' travel like at Withdean everybody still knows the club are subsidising it. Personally I think the Withdean system was better as the club tried to hide the cost and just lumped it in with the general running costs. I was very disappointed when it didn't continue at Falmer when I could finally take advantage of it!

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

The fact that they didn't have the vouchers ready at the start of the season didn't help either.

A minor issue in what was a fundamentally flawed plan due to the assumed reliance on the 3rd party transport operators to 'police' the system when they're already being guaranteed a flat rate per match attendee. Large numbers of fans deliberately didn't buy vouchers but continued to use the travel in the full knowledge that this would cost the club money; in a way, this is not dissimilar to the situation with the street parking in Coldean and Moulsecoomb which has cost the club £ x thousands and resulted in the annual CPZ maintenance costs being met by us all from the increased transport charge.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

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.

what a muggy reply commander , ripping fans off more like it.
regards
DR

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Indeed. I remember us having a small disagreement over that very subject! But you're right, no matter how it's dressed up, either as a separate charge like now or 'free' travel like at Withdean everybody still knows the club are subsidising it. Personally I think the Withdean system was better as the club tried to hide the cost and just lumped it in with the general running costs. I was very disappointed when it didn't continue at Falmer when I could finally take advantage of it!

Didn't you suggest that anyone living outside BN1/2 should be banned from Withdean, or something like that?

Tbh, I'm not bothered how the transport cost is dressed up and I don't benefit directly either. I do think that to abolish it isn't feasible as it would undermine a fundamental premise on which the original and subsequent stadium developments have been approved by the various Lab/Cons/Green administrations and HMG - ie active promotion of alternative modes of transport to the motor car.

 

[Brovion]

Didn't you suggest that anyone living outside BN1/2 should be banned from Withdean, or something like that?

Tbh, I'm not bothered how the transport cost is dressed up and I don't benefit directly either. I do think that to abolish it isn't feasible as it would undermine a fundamental premise on which the original and subsequent stadium developments have been approved by the various Lab/Cons/Green administrations and HMG - ie active promotion of alternative modes of transport to the motor car.

I think you're confusing me with The Major! I don't think I'd have said anything like that, not even in jest. No, as I walked to the stadium I wanted to be able to exchange my travel vouchers for hot dogs. Still seems reasonable to me!

Agree with your second paragraph, I thought that was the case.

 

[8ace]

Having no free travel would make no difference at all to me or any of my mates.
The fact that train tickets are sometimes bought to come into town early or a sherbert taken to the ground attest to this.
None of us would drive to the game instead either.

 

[SeagullSongs]

i have a rail season ticket to London, so technically i could get away with travelling for free to Falmer (via a rather odd route to London via Lewes) and back. So, for me the subsidy doesn't help. However, i am mindful that there are many people who rely on this to get there.

I think I agree that the only bit that needs to be free is the section from Brighton -> Falmer and Lewes -> Falmer where the sheer volume of people precludes ticket checks.

On a matchday the trains are packed as far away as Worthing. Not once has anyone even attempted to check my ticket in the 2 years travelling by train.

Saying that, it wouldn't surprise me if the club reduced the zone for free travel.

 

[RexCathedra]

In the future, all stadia will look like this:



One ticket -- one fan -- one car -- no moaning.
Bugger the planet -- this is football we're talking about.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Not sure if this is mentioned anywhere else, but I've just found out, and subsequently booked travel from Shoreham-by-Sea for tomorrow (the amount of information was too much to comprehend, so I spoke to the excellent Seagulls Travel). It's £9 (inc booking fee) for myself and two junior Bobkins tomorrow. If we decide we want the season deal (£135 - as opposed to the 3 x £75 I thought it was), the guy said he would deduct that £9 from the total.

I know plenty of fans aren't happy about the travel costs, but to be honest, I think that's pretty good (or at least, not too bad).

Can't wait to get back there tomorrow.

 

[RioGrandeGull]

On a matchday the trains are packed as far away as Worthing. Not once has anyone even attempted to check my ticket in the 2 years travelling by train.

If Southern are getting more money than they would have from sales, then I suppose they have no interest in checking tickets.
If the Yanks can do it after an NFL game (and I've seen them do it), then I'm sure Southern could if they really wanted to.....

 

[BensGrandad]

Dont think it would stop people travelling to the games but would be chaos at Brighton Falmer and possibly Lewes station checking tickets.