[Anonymous]

[flyingbunny]

As a business traveller I am used to delays on planes. I also only pay for the journeys I make by plane. I don’t have to buy a season ticket for my flights to Scandinavia. So if I decide not to go to Norway, I don’t lose out on hundreds of pounds. I only pay for what I use.

What a contrast to the train companies. As a long suffering commuter I have many hours to think about how to make rail travel more bearable in this country. And it would be much more bearable if the train companies stopped the old fashioned ticketing system they currently have.

Why should I pay for the full 7 days when I only work for five days? Or to take it further why should i pay for 365 days when I do not use the train 365 days?

If I worked part time why should i get expensive daily tickets or pricey weekly ones?

The train operators would argue that by buying monthly tickets or season tickets the reduced cost makes up for the days we don’t travel.
But this is just not on. What if I have 4 weeks holiday. Add that to the weekends where I do not travel and any days where I may have meeting elsewhere and I am still paying through the nose for a service which is rarely on time (last month I got a 1/4 of the cost of my ticket back i was so late, so often). If the train companies are so keen to refund, why not just charge less in the first place.

I think the train companies need to wake up to the 21st century way of working. Flexi-time / working from home has changed the way we live and travel. This should be reflected in the types of tickets bought.

[PaulJennings]

Many season tickets are priced at a level which meakes them cheaper than buying individual tickets even travelling fewer than 5 days out of 7, for example. (In some cases it can be cheaper to buy a 7 day season than to buy 2 return tickets). This does vary by route though, often reflecting what fare is regulated and what can be increased on a whim.

Smart Card ticketing will make it much easier for TOCs to offer ‘carnet’ style season tickets giving occasional commuters a halfway house between day tickets and ‘unlimited travel’ seasons, and this will also provide for the possibiity of more nuanced train pricing, even for season ticket holders.

[NTarrant]

You don’t say which route you take flyingbunny, but what Paul says is quite right. If your journey is in the South East and you have an annual ticket it does give added value in doubling up as a Network card, If you buy it from SWT or Island line you also get six free tickets to use on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

On the major routes from the north and midlands Virgin and East Coast used to offer carnet tickets. Also with an annual ticket you can “lodge” it with the ticket office if you are going on holiday and then that time is credited when you return.

The system is not perfect by any means, there are always going to be winners and loosers. Some years ago one of my staff who lived in Warrington was going to Blackpool on one day and Birmingham on two days in one week. A season Blackpool to Birmingham was cheaper than buying three seperate tickets!

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