[Albion] Seagull travel next season

[studio150]

If this does come in, how early will early leavers need to leave to beat the queue, as more people use park & ride or trains

 

[Blue3]

Price increase for 2019/2020

It is with regret that we plan to increase your travel season ticket by at least £38 (19 Premier League matches x £2) or by at least £46 (23 Championship matches x £2) which reflects the loss of the BHAFC travel subsidy.

More disappointingly, this change follows a season where we managed to freeze our travel season ticket price therefore we will have to further increase the cost of your travel season ticket to reflect the higher coach hire costs etc.

At this stage we expect the total increase to be in the region of £50 per person for a Premier League season or £58 per person for a Championship season.

So for me I currently pay £362 with an increase of £100 next season it's £462 I may need to consider other travel options

 

[Wardy's twin]

It doesn't affect me as I often walk to the Amex and get a lift back when the crowd has gone but I think the club should revisit this and remember that the reason why they get full houses is because of the effort people put in to getting to the Amex .

Make that effort sweeter by reducing travel costs.

If we are that strapped for cash then better organisation of the food & drinks would bring in more money.

 

[Bozza]

Price increase for 2019/2020

It is with regret that we plan to increase your travel season ticket by at least £38 (19 Premier League matches x £2) or by at least £46 (23 Championship matches x £2) which reflects the loss of the BHAFC travel subsidy.

More disappointingly, this change follows a season where we managed to freeze our travel season ticket price therefore we will have to further increase the cost of your travel season ticket to reflect the higher coach hire costs etc.

At this stage we expect the total increase to be in the region of £50 per person for a Premier League season or £58 per person for a Championship season.

So for me I currently pay £362 with an increase of £100 next season it's £462 I may need to consider other travel options

The most damning part of that communication is the not-so-subtle dig at Chris Hughton's uber-negative brand of football, that may have us heading back to the Championship.

 

[catfish]

It's ironic that the club are removing a small subsidy from some very loyal fans at a time when their income has reached stratospheric levels.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

It absolutely would. But I shan’t say anymore. I think it’s a shame the club have felt the need to impose on the group of fans that makes the most effort to get to games and who spend the most on a regular basis to get there. But hey ho, business talks. It’s certainly soured my view of the club on a point of principle.

You don't realise how lucky you are with the travelling aspect

Sent from my EML-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It's ironic that the club are removing a small subsidy from some very loyal fans at a time when their income has reached stratospheric levels.

Are Seagulls Travel users the most loyal then?

There is a large travelzone with free transport available, courtesy of the club, between Eastbourne, Worthing and Haywards Heath.
Those that use Seagulls Travel do so for convenience,

 

[Bozza]

So for me I currently pay £362 with an increase of £100 next season it's £462 I may need to consider other travel options

Agreed. I said this on the other thread when this was first mentioned.

I'm not a Seagull Travel STH but I do use the service occasionally, generally when I either need to be back home sharpish after a game and/or when I have one of my children with me. We tend to catch the train over for pre-match pubbing, but being able to get the coach home is significantly easier and nicer than having to deal with the train queues. Seagull Travel's service is excellent.

However, from Findon it costs £25 per game, for an adult and a child, which I already thought was a touch on the expensive side, but I considered it worth it for the convenience. I had no idea it was being subsidised by the club in any way. With the removal of that subsidy, it sounds as though that's going to be the best part of £30 now, and that feels difficult to justify when I have a "free" train journey available.

The laws of supply and demand suggest that this price increase will lead to some looking for other options.

 

[Acker79]

I've been paying the travel subsidy over the past 7 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I've made use of the 'free' travel. I walk to/from games so have been without choice, paying extra for something I don't use. I strongly suspect I'm not alone in this.

Thing is, I don't know what I feel about this. I'd love to have all that money back. Part of me wants to say 'what about us? People complain about parking and trains and P&R and people like me are largely ignored. We're paying to subsidise so many peoples travel and get nothing out of it'. Or 'oh, you have to pay a little bit more because you're choosing to use the coach for convenience rather than using the existing free travel zone I am forced to pay towards?' but a larger part of me has bought into the club line that the travel arrangements are part of the requirement of the Amex and has accepted I have to pay that extra money. I also appreciate people have various reasons for preferring to use seagulls travel over getting a train, or forking out for a parking spot etc.

Yeah, I don't know what the point of me bothering to respond to this thread is, either. Ah well.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Others might say that we were lucky to get it for as long as we did.

We paid for it, it just cross subsidised those that used it from those that didn’t.

 

[Bozza]

a larger part of me has bought into the club line that the travel arrangements are part of the requirement of the Amex and has accepted I have to pay that extra money. I also appreciate people have various reasons for preferring to use seagulls travel over getting a train, or forking out for a parking spot etc.

The club's transport system clearly costs a significant sum to provide, match by match, and without it none of us would have Premier League football to go and watch.

I'd imagine the club may argue that for coach travellers they have to provide and maintain a large coach park and staff it to quite high numbers on a match day, and these things cost the club money in a way that, say, train travellers do not.

 

[Acker79]

The club's transport system clearly costs a significant sum to provide, match by match, and without it none of us would have Premier League football to go and watch.

I'd imagine the club may argue that for coach travellers they have to provide and maintain a large coach park and staff it to quite high numbers on a match day, and these things cost the club money in a way that, say, train travellers do not.

I don't know if you are furthering the point, or if you read my post the way I'm now reading it that it seems suspicious that the club are being honest in their position - just to clarify, I didn't intend it that way, I believe that it is a requirement, but I'm not entirely sure how to better word it.

 

[Bozza]

I don't know if you are furthering the point, or if you read my post the way I'm now reading it that it seems suspicious that the club are being honest in their position - just to clarify, I didn't intend it that way, I believe that it is a requirement, but I'm not entirely sure how to better word it.

No, I think I read it as you intended, and I sort of agree.

I can see how those who use no form of club-provided transport would feel aggrieved at paying a £50 a season transport subsidy for something they don't use but, like you, there is the "greater good" reason.

 

[The Oldman]

The club's transport system clearly costs a significant sum to provide, match by match, and without it none of us would have Premier League football to go and watch.

I'd imagine the club may argue that for coach travellers they have to provide and maintain a large coach park and staff it to quite high numbers on a match day, and these things cost the club money in a way that, say, train travellers do not.

Do not the club pay large sums to Southern Rail and bus companies for P & R. And all the staff for that.

So why pick on ST? IF ending subsidies then why not all? The thing is ST provides travel from locations where travel by train. or bus does not exist. The alternative is to drive to a P & R site which is not very compatible with the sustainable policy of the original aiims of the club when getting the ok for the Amex.

Is it not odd that when the club has more income than ever it cuts back on its travel arrangements?

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Do not the club pay large sums to Southern Rail and bus companies for P & R. And all the staff for that.

So why pick on ST? IF ending subsidies then why not all? The thing is ST provides travel from locations where travel by train. or bus does not exist. The alternative is to drive to a P & R site which is not very compatible with the sustainable policy of the original aiims of the club when getting the ok for the Amex.

Is it not odd that when the club has more income than ever it cuts back on its travel arrangements?

I don't think we know what parts of the Travel Subsidy are ending yet.

Maybe it's all going ?

Maybe it is cut down to just the train and bus between Brighton and Lewes ?

Maybe the rail zone is being reduced ?

But maybe it is just ST, as you say.

 

[Gazwag]

Are Seagulls Travel users the most loyal then?

There is a large travelzone with free transport available, courtesy of the club, between Eastbourne, Worthing and Haywards Heath.
Those that use Seagulls Travel do so for convenience,

We use Seagulls travel to ensure we can get home after an evening match at a reasonable time as we have jobs to go to the next day and that comes at a cost. While we are in the PL with few night matches its not a massive cost per season but if we go back to the championship with the huge number of them I might not bother with some night games, especially in the winter. There are plenty of people who live no where near a railway station or normal bus route you know.

 

[Ernest]

We use Seagulls travel to ensure we can get home after an evening match at a reasonable time as we have jobs to go to the next day and that comes at a cost. While we are in the PL with few night matches its not a massive cost per season but if we go back to the championship with the huge number of them I might not bother with some night games, especially in the winter. There are plenty of people who live no where near a railway station or normal bus route you know.

If we’re in the championship every midweek match is live on SKY

 

[Gazwag]

If we’re in the championship every midweek match is live on SKY

Have you watched a game on the red button

 

[dazzer6666]

I've been paying the travel subsidy over the past 7 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I've made use of the 'free' travel. I walk to/from games so have been without choice, paying extra for something I don't use. I strongly suspect I'm not alone in this.

Thing is, I don't know what I feel about this. I'd love to have all that money back. Part of me wants to say 'what about us? People complain about parking and trains and P&R and people like me are largely ignored. We're paying to subsidise so many peoples travel and get nothing out of it'. Or 'oh, you have to pay a little bit more because you're choosing to use the coach for convenience rather than using the existing free travel zone I am forced to pay towards?' but a larger part of me has bought into the club line that the travel arrangements are part of the requirement of the Amex and has accepted I have to pay that extra money. I also appreciate people have various reasons for preferring to use seagulls travel over getting a train, or forking out for a parking spot etc.

Yeah, I don't know what the point of me bothering to respond to this thread is, either. Ah well.

Same for me. Very rarely use any of the included transport as I drive and then walk and not overly bothered about not getting any benefit from the options.....that’s my choice. By driving and walking I know pretty much what time I’ll get home (broadly similar to getting the train under normal circumstances as it happens).

ST seems like a bit of a ‘premium’ option for those not wanting to risk the train or P&R queues (or a good option for those that would struggle to get the train), in which case they should arguably should pay a bit more for it. I could be back at home maybe 20/30 mins earlier if I went with ST but really not bothered. I like to drive and I like the walk.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Got to fund the £250k for Scudamore somehow

Or Barbers pay rise.