[Travel] Is it time to scrap peak and off peak train tickets?

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I have to pay full price to London if I travel before 9. That's around £50 return. If I get the 10.04, I can use my senior rail card and it costs me £15.00 for a 'super off peak return'.

So I'm all in favour of this arrangement.

When I do have to travel early I buy an ordinary single and a super off peak return with the rail card and it costs less than an ordinary return. How mad is that?

It is also possible to buy an ordinary return with a senior rail card reduction but only if I don't use it. The system allows the ticket to be sold but it isn't valid for travel and if I get caught with one it is £100 fine. That said I was sold two recently by a mobile ticket machine man, and the ticket worked on the barriers on both days. I saved £40.

The north Kent line was re-nationalized a year ago after the French owners did a bunk with all the Covid money that our useless government spaffed at them. Currently, first class has officially been abolished, and yet there are first class carriages still. Tickets are checked on the trains only during peak times. There are always several toilets out of use. The service is slower and shitter than when we had slam door trains and it was run by British Rail back towards the end of the clown Major's PM-ship.

If there is one thing that may push me into retiring it is the journey to London.

Overall the number of commuters has fallen by around 50%, probably due to more people working from home.

HWT, if you work in the Senate House/UCL area, aren't you better off taking the High Speed service and walking from St Pancras? I know it's a bit more expensive, but it isn't anything like as slow as the regular service, and the seats are slightly more comfortable.

The daftest thing I found with fares was once when I went up to London from Gatwick for whatever reason. There were three separate fares being offered, one for Gatwick Express, one for Southern and another for Thameslink. Clearly I wasn't going to bother with GE, as it's an extra fiver (or was then) over Southern. However, the ticket clerk told me that I had to choose either Southern or Thameslink, and that my ticket wouldn't be valid on the other company's trains, i.e. if I wanted to travel to Victoria and come back from London Bridge I couldn't. If I'd gone to Haywards Heath or Three Bridges, I could just have asked for a return to London Terminals or a One Day Travelcard. I don't know if that rule still applies, but it seemed completely daft at the time.

Finally, I've been travelling First Class on my journeys to work recently, not out of a sense of superiority, but to guarantee a seat with a table from Victoria, as I use the journey as part of my working day. This section is often full of people from East Croydon and Clapham Junction who have obviously just used Contactless. The Southern OBS sometimes checks my ticket between East Grinstead and Oxted, but I have never seen a check done between EC and Victoria. They must be losing millions in uncollected or Penalty fares.

 

[Swansman]

Sounds like a very wonky system... and those prices seem HIDEOUS, dear lord.

 

[dazzer6666]

HWT, if you work in the Senate House/UCL area, aren't you better off taking the High Speed service and walking from St Pancras? I know it's a bit more expensive, but it isn't anything like as slow as the regular service, and the seats are slightly more comfortable.

The daftest thing I found with fares was once when I went up to London from Gatwick for whatever reason. There were three separate fares being offered, one for Gatwick Express, one for Southern and another for Thameslink. Clearly I wasn't going to bother with GE, as it's an extra fiver (or was then) over Southern. However, the ticket clerk told me that I had to choose either Southern or Thameslink, and that my ticket wouldn't be valid on the other company's trains, i.e. if I wanted to travel to Victoria and come back from London Bridge I couldn't. If I'd gone to Haywards Heath or Three Bridges, I could just have asked for a return to London Terminals or a One Day Travelcard. I don't know if that rule still applies, but it seemed completely daft at the time.

Finally, I've been travelling First Class on my journeys to work recently, not out of a sense of superiority, but to guarantee a seat with a table from Victoria, as I use the journey as part of my working day. This section is often full of people from East Croydon and Clapham Junction who have obviously just used Contactless. The Southern OBS sometimes checks my ticket between East Grinstead and Oxted, but I have never seen a check done between EC and Victoria. They must be losing millions in uncollected or Penalty fares.

Thameslink and Southern were different franchises until 2015 (?)……..used to annoy me as well as I often split my days between offices in the City, Wharf and West End and only bought day or at best weekly tickets as an annual or monthly wasn’t suitable for me so had to buy the ‘any terminals’ tickets or a travelcard.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

HWT, if you work in the Senate House/UCL area, aren't you better off taking the High Speed service and walking from St Pancras? I know it's a bit more expensive, but it isn't anything like as slow as the regular service, and the seats are slightly more comfortable.

The daftest thing I found with fares was once when I went up to London from Gatwick for whatever reason. There were three separate fares being offered, one for Gatwick Express, one for Southern and another for Thameslink. Clearly I wasn't going to bother with GE, as it's an extra fiver (or was then) over Southern. However, the ticket clerk told me that I had to choose either Southern or Thameslink, and that my ticket wouldn't be valid on the other company's trains, i.e. if I wanted to travel to Victoria and come back from London Bridge I couldn't. If I'd gone to Haywards Heath or Three Bridges, I could just have asked for a return to London Terminals or a One Day Travelcard. I don't know if that rule still applies, but it seemed completely daft at the time.

Finally, I've been travelling First Class on my journeys to work recently, not out of a sense of superiority, but to guarantee a seat with a table from Victoria, as I use the journey as part of my working day. This section is often full of people from East Croydon and Clapham Junction who have obviously just used Contactless. The Southern OBS sometimes checks my ticket between East Grinstead and Oxted, but I have never seen a check done between EC and Victoria. They must be losing millions in uncollected or Penalty fares.

My experiences are almost identical to yours. I do occasionally use the 'high speed' but I don't do much work in the UCL area so it is Victoria or London Bridge for me. I also used to have a first class season ticket to ensure I got a seat (scoliosis - I can't stand for long periods), but the seats have become increasingly occupied by freeloaders over the last 10 years, with no guard to be seen, so the best tactic is to not waste the money, and to get on the train early. Timing it right can be stressful though.

And like you there are countless people in first class who use contactless (Bromley South residents on my line). A guard once asked a woman to move out of first class one crowded morning, her having got on at Bromley South. "You'll have to find me a seat" was her response. After a minute of arguing she eventually got up in a huff and stood in the door recess.

There is only one operator from Faversham so I don't have the multiple franchise issue to contend with.

Anyway I work from home now unless I have contact teaching or a committee meeting.

Cheers! HWT.

 

[Hotchilidog]

The daftest thing I found with fares was once when I went up to London from Gatwick for whatever reason. There were three separate fares being offered, one for Gatwick Express, one for Southern and another for Thameslink. Clearly I wasn't going to bother with GE, as it's an extra fiver (or was then) over Southern. However, the ticket clerk told me that I had to choose either Southern or Thameslink, and that my ticket wouldn't be valid on the other company's trains, i.e. if I wanted to travel to Victoria and come back from London Bridge I couldn't. If I'd gone to Haywards Heath or Three Bridges, I could just have asked for a return to London Terminals or a One Day Travelcard. I don't know if that rule still applies, but it seemed completely daft at the time.

It's bloody ridiculous that they do this, it is the SAME company! It is infuriating that they do it, and it is just deliberately obtuse to hoodwink potential passengers. It's aways London terminals or travelcard for when I go to London. Since I have stopped commuting and having the convenience of a gold card the vagaries of our rail network have become even more annoying to me.

Don't even get me started on the recurring signal and points failures which are common place despite the plentiful line closures to apparently "repair" these problems or install "upgrades". Our rail infrastructure is a bloody embarrassment.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Thameslink and Southern were different franchises until 2015 (?)……..used to annoy me as well as I often split my days between offices in the City, Wharf and West End and only bought day or at best weekly tickets as an annual or monthly wasn’t suitable for me so had to buy the ‘any terminals’ tickets or a travelcard.

Bizarre that you get a Thameslink only ticket to London but can’t get a southern only ticket, only combined which is 25% more

If going to Victoria for example you are paying also for Thameslink which I believe don’t even service Victoria?!

 

[Blue&WhiteSea]

Just had an email from South West Trains who are looking for feedback on proposals to operate some sort of loyalty credit system to encourage people to travel by train more frequently, unfortunately the loyalty rewards proposed are ridiculously low 1% for people spending upto £150 per month was one suggestion!

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Trains and bus services (along with major utilities) should be nationalised and run in the public interest rather than shareholder profit.

 

[jonny.rainbow]

Trains and bus services (along with major utilities) should be nationalised and run in the public interest rather than shareholder profit.

It will never happen with a right wing government and a right wing opposition.

 

[Cotton Socks]

If you buy a ticket via trainline, it doesn't actually tell you what time is 'off peak' & only tells you in the 'small print' that it's not valid on certain trains. Apologies to FIL for potentially getting him a criminal record for fare dodging as I booked his ticket!