The great train fare con

toffeecoated

Starting on September 5th the off peak fares are going up, 30% increase on a ticket from Stockport-Nottingham. They are introducing a new ticket called the super off peak which they describe as a Flexible ticket only valid at specific off-peak times of the day. Nobody knows exactly what trains or times of day these tickets are valid on so to be safe you have to buy the standard off peak. Absolute rip off.

discplayer

That's steep! Is it just a fare rise or the old trick of putting up peak fares but also extending peak period?

I was annoyed some years ago when super-saver tickets mostly disappeared, I think Great Western kept a few. But given that the off peaks hours have been cut on many lines there probably won't be many trains you can use that new super-off peak.

yorkie2

toffeecoated wrote: »

Starting on September 5th the off peak fares are going up, 30% increase on a ticket from Stockport-Nottingham. They are introducing a new ticket called the super off peak which they describe as a Flexible ticket only valid at specific off-peak times of the day. Nobody knows exactly what trains or times of day these tickets are valid on so to be safe you have to buy the standard off peak. Absolute rip off.

Do you have a source for this?

When it is leaked, the Avantix Traveller NFM07 program will have details of the restriction (and price) of that, and all other tickets from September.

Avantix Traveller NFM06 can be found here.

The current Off Peak Return (SVR) from Stockport to Nottingham is £32.30 and the restriction is as follows:

Restriction : CG

OUTWARD and RETURN travel:

By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays-
Fridays before 0900.

For travel before 0900, EMT want you to pay £41.50 for the Anytime Return (SOR).

However...

Stockport - Sheffield (Route Direct) SVR is £16.00

Restriction : 8A
Available as listed below on
any day.

OUTWARD TRAVEL
Valid on any train.

Break of journey is not
permitted except to change
trains at an intermediate
station or to access station
facilities.

RETURN TRAVEL
Valid on any train.


Sheffield - Nottingham SVR is £16.90

Restriction : CG

OUTWARD and RETURN travel:

By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays-
Fridays before 0900.

Sheffield - Nottingham SOR is £19.40 (No restriction; valid any time).

So if they put the Off Peak fare from Stockport - Nottingham up, you can still travel for £32.90 (only 60p more than at present) providing you do not pass through Sheffield earlier than 0900, the first direct train you can do this with is the 0854 from Stockport (departs Sheffield 0938). To travel earlier than that, you need to pay £2.50 more for an Anytime Return from Sheffield to Nottingham.

You can get round the peak fares on almost every route by such methods. I recommend this site for guidance on that sort of thing.

Note that EMT have no control over the Stockport-Sheffield fare as this is set by TPE. You can see who sets the fare in the Avantix Traveller software.

sassy_one

Please post a link to this information OP

However, it wouldn't surprise me!

dzug1

toffeecoated wrote: »

. Nobody knows exactly what trains or times of day these tickets are valid

I don't believe that for one minute

toffeecoated

www.thetrainline.com

I do this journey regularly. The off peak day return fare from Stockport -Nottingham with a railcard is £10.15
On September 5th they are introducing the super off peak ticket which costs £10.25 and can only be used after 10am. As my train is an hourly service leaving at 54 minutes past each hour i can no longer catch the 9.54 and have to wait until 10.54 instead. The return journey is not valid between 4pm-7.30pm depending on what website you read. So i can either pay the new off peak fare of £13.20 or pay the extra 10p for a downgraded service. I think the £32.30 fare you refer to is the return within a month fare which for some unknown reason costs twice as much as a day return.

yorkie2

I quoted the Off Peak Return, as that is what your original post said

The Off Peak Day Return is currently £15.40, and it does indeed appear that this is going to go up in price to £20.00, and a Super Off-Peak Day is being introduced at £15.50. There are no restrictions on any of these tickets on 5th September as that's a Sunday but from 6 September, these restrictions will apply. Thetrainline does not reveal what the exact restrictions are, but these will be in Avantix NFM07 so I will look them up when I can.

The fares quoted are undiscounted.

If your Railcard is a 16-25 one, you will be paying a minimum of £12 on weekdays from 1 September before 10am.