Scotland scraps cheap off-peak train fares
Discussion
The Scottish government pulled the railways back under public control so they are the operators. This was trialled and didn't have the desired result of persuading people out of their cars so they're rolling it on the run up to a Scottish election because it'll be such a roaring success (at bribing existing users).
hiccy18 said:
The Scottish government pulled the railways back under public control so they are the operators. This was trialled and didn't have the desired result of persuading people out of their cars so they're rolling it on the run up to a Scottish election because it'll be such a roaring success (at bribing existing users).
Why not bribe a few train users? Actually just increasing the bribe."Scotland’s Railway receives some of the highest public subsidy anywhere in the UK:
two thirds of the costs come from the Scottish Government
on average, tickets are 20% lower than the rest of the UK"
https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/ra...
Only in SNP Scotland would a claim of the highest subsidy in the UK be called delivering value for money.
Not that buses are much better. I used my free bus pass the other day. In a 45m journey I saw nobody taking cash for a ticket.
Of course the journey time was double that of car or push bike. I was only on the bus as I was going for a fee jars. And recovering some of my 42% tax with my over 60 pass.
This has resulted in some small real-terms fare cuts for most people but the reality is nothing like the headlines.
If you wanted to travel every day you’d already have a season ticket. These have gone down a couple of %
If you were travelling occasionally (at least once a week) to a barriered station (so the key ones in Glasgow plus Edinburgh, Haymarket etc, not sure about Dundee, Aberdeen & Inverness) you’d have a flexipass. These have gone down marginally but it’s now typically cheaper just to buy day tickets from one of the retailers that offer cash back.
If you were travelling in the middle of the day or evening into Glasgow, Edinburgh etc then the Super Off Peak tickets have been scrapped so fares have now increased significantly, though no more worrying about getting home before 3 or after 8.
If you travelled once in a blue moon then you can now do it before 9am for a lot less than before, that’s the only really big win from this. That & being able to go to & from Edinburgh in the PM peak. I suppose it also helps travellers on routes where Flexipasses aren’t available as well, but these were expanded significantly after the previous off-peak trial.
So like a lot of things, it sounds good, the real terms reduction isn’t huge and it’s probably going to make the AM peak more crowded by attracting the sort of travellers that peak fares were designed to scare off.
If you wanted to travel every day you’d already have a season ticket. These have gone down a couple of %
If you were travelling occasionally (at least once a week) to a barriered station (so the key ones in Glasgow plus Edinburgh, Haymarket etc, not sure about Dundee, Aberdeen & Inverness) you’d have a flexipass. These have gone down marginally but it’s now typically cheaper just to buy day tickets from one of the retailers that offer cash back.
If you were travelling in the middle of the day or evening into Glasgow, Edinburgh etc then the Super Off Peak tickets have been scrapped so fares have now increased significantly, though no more worrying about getting home before 3 or after 8.
If you travelled once in a blue moon then you can now do it before 9am for a lot less than before, that’s the only really big win from this. That & being able to go to & from Edinburgh in the PM peak. I suppose it also helps travellers on routes where Flexipasses aren’t available as well, but these were expanded significantly after the previous off-peak trial.
So like a lot of things, it sounds good, the real terms reduction isn’t huge and it’s probably going to make the AM peak more crowded by attracting the sort of travellers that peak fares were designed to scare off.
Matthen said:
Hopefully the new nationalised railways in England will do something similar.
I thought parking in the local town was now ridiculous, until I saw the cost of a train ticket.
£9.9 return for a 12 mile, 25 minute ride. Driving and parking in town is still cheaper.
Unfortunately, we do not always have such options. Travelled one way for a ten minute journey costing two adults and two kids £63 as foot passengers to get off the Isle of Wight. .....and we are residents......I thought parking in the local town was now ridiculous, until I saw the cost of a train ticket.
£9.9 return for a 12 mile, 25 minute ride. Driving and parking in town is still cheaper.
gotoPzero said:
I have noticed they have been making changes to tickets and prices. The other day I was told there is no single any more - only a return - which is the same cost. We take the train up to the next town for lunch and walk home, so its now 2x the price to do that.
<shrugs>
Eh?<shrugs>
There are some cases where the anytime single was more expensive than the off peak day return. In those cases, the single was reduced to the price of the return but there will always be a single available. If you’re genuinely making a single journey it can be in your interests to buy the single as it’s got better Delay Repay conditions than the return, even under ScotRail’s crappy scheme.
Overall you shouldn’t be any worse off than you were before.
What journey is it you’re trying to make?
Matthen said:
Hopefully the new nationalised railways in England will do something similar.
I thought parking in the local town was now ridiculous, until I saw the cost of a train ticket.
£9.9 return for a 12 mile, 25 minute ride. Driving and parking in town is still cheaper.
Be careful what you wish for. The nationalised LNER are “simplifying” fares by getting rid of returns and jacking the prices up. Successive governments have been attempting to cut the level of subsidy by having the passenger pay a greater percentage of the cost so expect fares to continue to rise. If anything, nationalisation will probably mean the control that was exerted over key fares by the rail regulator will be watered down more.I thought parking in the local town was now ridiculous, until I saw the cost of a train ticket.
£9.9 return for a 12 mile, 25 minute ride. Driving and parking in town is still cheaper.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff