No Travel Subsidy Tomorrow

[Bozza]

It should be extended to Eastbourne. It seems ridiculous that it covers the train to Haywards Heath and Worthing but not Eastbourne which is a fraction of the distance.

It doesn't. Free train travel in the West starts at Shoreham. Bus travel from Worthing is included, although there can't be many people that use that method.

 

[sully]

It should be extended to Eastbourne. It seems ridiculous that it covers the train to Haywards Heath and Worthing but not Eastbourne which is a fraction of the distance.

Have they moved Eastbourne since I was last there? Haywards Heath is certainly closer to Falmer than Eastbourne is. I can't be bothered to check if Worthing is.

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

It doesn't. Free train travel in the West starts at Shoreham. Bus travel from Worthing is included, although there can't be many people that use that method.

Then explain why, eastbound towards Polegate/Eastbourne, it stops at Lewes, but if you head South East to Newhaven and Seaford, its included.

 

[Bozza]

Then explain why, eastbound towards Polegate/Eastbourne, it stops at Lewes, but if you head South East to Newhaven and Seaford, its included.

I've got no idea why. All I was doing was correcting the assertion that free rail travel was included from Worthing, as it's not.

 

[drew]

Disappointed with the club over parking. Normally use the Mill Road P & R but this facility wasn't confirmed until late, certainly not on Monday. They aren't sending out emails with parking permits so the only way of getting one is to pay on the day or go and collect one. Suspect most people using Mill road will pay cash. 500 cars at say an average of £10 means £5000 cash sitting at the bottom of the hill. Hope they have adequate cover under their insurance!!!!!

 

[The Large One]

The fair way to judge it is from the middle of Brighton though, not The Amex. The centre of the map when deciding where to put the travel boundaries has to be Brighton station, as that is the centre of the city the club represents, and therefore in theory the place around which the fans live. Just because the stadium is on the most extreme north-east boundary of the city does not mean this is where the travel zone should be mapped from. When we played at Withdean I didn't hear anyone suggest the travel zone should extended to the north just because that is where it was located in Brighton.

So working on the basis that Brighton station is a fair centre point, the zone extends:
North (Haywards Heath) - 13.6 miles
East (Lewes) - 8.4 miles
West (Shoreham) - 6.2 miles

For that reason, it is people living to the west who have the biggest reason to feel aggrieved with the rules.

I fundamentally disagree. It's EXACTLY where it should be mapped from. If the stadium was in the centre of the city, you would have a point. But it isn't. Your mileage indicator is therefore irrelevant. The people from the west are currently getting a far better deal than those from the east.

The reason the travel zone is as it is is because it's a leftover from the Withdean Travel Plan, which was centred around Preston Park Station, and hasn't been updated.

When Richard Hebberd was on the show a few months ago, he stated that the club was in discussion with Southern about extending the Travel Zone east. The fact that that hasn't happened could be down to a number of things, but I'd say the balance of probability is that they couldn't come to a financial arrangement that suited both parties.

 

[countryman]

Have they moved Eastbourne since I was last there? Haywards Heath is certainly closer to Falmer than Eastbourne is. I can't be bothered to check if Worthing is.

I just looked. They are all quite similar distances. I did not realise that. But it should go to Eastbourne. A lot of fans travel from there.

 

[sully]

I just looked. They are all quite similar distances. I did not realise that. But it should go to Eastbourne. A lot of fans travel from there.

According to Google maps, by road from Eastbourne station to the stadium is just under 20 miles. Haywards Heath is only 13. Eastbourne is just too far to be practical, I think. Polegate, maybe would be the sensible compromise?

 

[Goring-by-Seagull]

What is the cost of a train ticket from Eastbourne into the free travel zone, exactly?

I pay £4.50 from Goring to Shoreham, so this game will cost me a "full whack" £7.50 to get to Falmer. Big whoop.

 

[countryman]

According to Google maps, by road from Eastbourne station to the stadium is just under 20 miles. Haywards Heath is only 13. Eastbourne is just too far to be practical, I think. Polegate, maybe would be the sensible compromise?

Polegate would be good. There is adequate parking, a large platform and a large number of fans come from out that way.

 

[Socialist Sid]

What is the cost of a train ticket from Eastbourne into the free travel zone, exactly?

I pay £4.50 from Goring to Shoreham, so this game will cost me a "full whack" £7.50 to get to Falmer. Big whoop.

And there you have it.

Probably the most people will pay would be the same as for an overpriced (but very nice) pie, so what's the problem?

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

What is the cost of a train ticket from Eastbourne into the free travel zone, exactly?

I pay £4.50 from Goring to Shoreham, so this game will cost me a "full whack" £7.50 to get to Falmer. Big whoop.

See opening post.

Eastbourne - Lewes £7-70 return
Polegate - Lewes £6-70 return
Polegate - Falmer £7-70 return

 

[The Large One]

But if you plotted the addresses of the 25,000 people who make up a typical Amex crowd on a map, you wouldn't find that Falmer is the centre point and that they filter out evenly in all directions from there. The football club is Brighton and Hove Albion, so regardless of whether it chooses to play in Falmer, Newhaven, Shoreham or Hassocks, the logical hub of any travel zone has to be central Brighton in my opinion. Brighton is where the biggest number of people come from, and then it spreads out and becomes more sparse from there. Just because BHAFC have opted to build a stadium five miles away from the city centre does not mean the entire travel zone should be shifted five miles to the east. It is an unusual case I admit because not many teams have a stadium so far away from their city centre, but I just don't see why an organisation with customers based primarily in Brighton should give the people of Eastbourne (22 miles from Brighton) free travel when the people of Worthing (11 miles from Brighton) get nothing, purely because of the location of the stadium.

It should mean EXACTLY that. Why should a Travel Zone's centre be 4 miles from the intended destination? It doesn't matter where the fanbase's centre point is - it's where the club is located, because that's where everyone has to get to. It really is that simple.

And Worthing is 16 miles from the Amex, and Eastbourne is 19 miles.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

How much will it cost you extra tomorrow, having to pay parking fees or bus/train fares, all the way to Falmer.

Mine is costing an extra £1-00.
Polegate to Lewes, £6-70 cheap day return
Polegate to Falmer £7-70 cheap day return

For those moaning (not necessarily you op) about the difference in cost between these two fares, maybe the issue is that communters are being charged to high a rail fare between Polegate and Lewes?

Another poster states that it costs £4.50 Goring to Shoreham and then £7.50 Goring to Lewes, maybe those complaining about travelling from the east should ask for the additional cost to Lewes to go up on a normal ticket or the cost to Polegate to go down so they get a better sense of value on their travel?

 

[Goring-by-Seagull]

See opening post.

Eastbourne - Lewes £7-70 return
Polegate - Lewes £6-70 return
Polegate - Falmer £7-70 return

Ah yes. Sorry. After reading through all the posts I forgot the original one haha.

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

Ah yes. Sorry. After reading through all the posts I forgot the original one haha.

No problem..it is what it is, i'll carry on paying it willingly, the day I cant afford a couple of quid, i'll stop going.
But the subsidy does seem lop-sided.

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

Having to build in Falmer obviously wasn't perfect, but it got permission because the club showed it would be able to get the crowd to and from the stadium. That crowd primarily comes from Brighton and nearby areas. Therefore, towns that are closer to Brighton will (in theory) be home to more BHAFC fans. Eastbourne is 20+ miles from Brighton. The club cannot be expected to dish out free travel to these people. I just don't see that the stadium's location makes any difference, it's all about BHAFC serving its customers, the vast majority of whom live west of The Amex and close to Brighton.

Also, even if you want to use your distances from The Amex rather than mine from Brighton, they still show Worthing is closer than Eastbourne. So do I take it you agree that the travel zone should be extended to the west before it includes Eastbourne?

But the Travel Zone to the East goes as far as Lewes.