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Cost of advance ticket at station versus online
I guess the byzantine complexity of our rail ticket system is something we have to get used to, but this experience was new to me.
Today I looked online for the best price advance ticket for a journey next Monday. I checked on the official network rail tickets site, not just trainline.com. I found a train with an advance ticket at £22.60.
I got to the station travel centre ticket office less than 15 minutes later and tried to purchase at that price. I was told it was £30, exact same journey, time, start and finish. The Travel Adviser told me that the advance cheap tickets are only there until a certain number are sold, and that's it. The last one must have gone in the previous 15 minutes. I paid the £30 reluctantly. It surprised me because this has not happened to me before and I buy quite a lot of tickets in person at this Travel Centre it being close to where I work.
When I got back to work I checked again, and the ticket was still showing for £22.60. Then later tonight at home I query the site again and it it still £22.60. I'm going to try again tomorrow morning and assuming it still shows at that price print out a screen shot and take it into the Travel Centre.
The frustrating thing is there isn't a way when you are buying the ticket there of checking the price against anything, you have ot take their word for it (unless you have a web smartphone or tablet with you). How many other products are there you check the price of, go to buy, find it is different, and then later find again the original price is still advertised?
Is there some technical train-geek explanation for this, like there were x number saver advance seats at that price, they went, and then in the few hours since I bought a ticket at a higher price they added some more saver advance seats at the original price?
Today I looked online for the best price advance ticket for a journey next Monday. I checked on the official network rail tickets site, not just trainline.com. I found a train with an advance ticket at £22.60.
I got to the station travel centre ticket office less than 15 minutes later and tried to purchase at that price. I was told it was £30, exact same journey, time, start and finish. The Travel Adviser told me that the advance cheap tickets are only there until a certain number are sold, and that's it. The last one must have gone in the previous 15 minutes. I paid the £30 reluctantly. It surprised me because this has not happened to me before and I buy quite a lot of tickets in person at this Travel Centre it being close to where I work.
When I got back to work I checked again, and the ticket was still showing for £22.60. Then later tonight at home I query the site again and it it still £22.60. I'm going to try again tomorrow morning and assuming it still shows at that price print out a screen shot and take it into the Travel Centre.
The frustrating thing is there isn't a way when you are buying the ticket there of checking the price against anything, you have ot take their word for it (unless you have a web smartphone or tablet with you). How many other products are there you check the price of, go to buy, find it is different, and then later find again the original price is still advertised?
Is there some technical train-geek explanation for this, like there were x number saver advance seats at that price, they went, and then in the few hours since I bought a ticket at a higher price they added some more saver advance seats at the original price?
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Comments
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It's possible that while you were in the station someone had the last £22.60 ticket (or group of tickets) 'in their basket' online, but didn't complete the transaction and the ticket was then returned to the quota and available for sale, and no-one else has bought it since.A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.0
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I spoke to a guy who works at my local station travel office and he says you will never buy the cheapest tickets at the station anymore. A couple of years ago I could turn up and buy a day return to Leeds for £90 its now £140 and whats worse is that they have reduced the number of early morning (6am ish) trains that you can get this fare for. After that its £240. :eek:
He advise, always buy in advance, the longer the better.IT Consultant in the utilities industry specialising in the retail electricity market.
4 Credit Card and 1 Loan PPI claims settled for £26k, 1 rejected (Opus).0 -
He advise, always buy in advance, the longer the better.
But that's not the question - buying in advance is taken for granted. It's whether there's any difference between buying in advance on line and buying in advance at the station. (Or buying in advance by phone, which is also possible)
To which the answer is that as long as it's not a company that gives a discount for online booking, there should't be.
Clearly occasionally there is. Is it a (ma)lfunction of the system as suggested by Owain or something deeper?0 -
Do you have the name of the advanced ticket you bought at the station compared to the one available online? You may not be comparing like with like.
E.g a super duper smarty-pants advanced versus a super smarty-pants advanced. You may see both the 22.60 ticket and the £30 one online and can then see the difference.0 -
It is possible someone placed it in their basket but did not proceed with the transaction.The last one must have gone in the previous 15 minutes.
Not sure what you mean by "technical train-geek explanation", but without knowing the details of the ticket (ie, origin, destination, and time of travel, and any railcards held) it really is impossible to give an informed answer.
Is there some technical train-geek explanation for this, like there were x number saver advance seats at that price, they went, and then in the few hours since I bought a ticket at a higher price they added some more saver advance seats at the original price?0 -
Is this a general comment or referring to a specific flow? If the latter, it could well be true (e.g. for flows priced by an operator that does online discounts). It does not apply across the board.I spoke to a guy who works at my local station travel office and he says you will never buy the cheapest tickets at the station anymore.
It is unclear if you want advice on reducing the cost of this journey or not. If so, provide details (would be best in a new thread though!) and it can be investigated.A couple of years ago I could turn up and buy a day return to Leeds for £90 its now £140 and whats worse is that they have reduced the number of early morning (6am ish) trains that you can get this fare for. After that its £240. :eek:
There's not really such thing as 'advanced', but there is a ticket type called Advance. If the ticket is called Advance, then that is the name. There may be various reasons for the price difference but it's dangerous (not to mention time consuming) for me to speculate without more information, so I won't.Do you have the name of the advanced ticket you bought at the station compared to the one available online? You may not be comparing like with like.
No such thing, so I am guessing this is an attempt to poke fun at the ludicrous railway ticketing system. In which case, fair point, but it doesn't actually help the OP.E.g a super duper smarty-pants advanced versus a super smarty-pants advanced. You may see both the 22.60 ticket and the £30 one online and can then see the difference.
I'm always up for a bit of banter about the ticket prices/names/conditions, but only in conjunction with accurate advice. Not that you often see accurate advice on railway ticketing matters on MSE
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Is this a general comment or referring to a specific flow? If the latter, it could well be true (e.g. for flows priced by an operator that does online discounts). It does not apply across the board.
Of course it applies "across the board" - you can never get any cashback when buying direct at the station! (Ignoring the chance you might get change for a score when you only handed in a tenner!)
And you wrote this unnecessary (and now seemingly incorrect) jibe:I'm always up for a bit of banter about the ticket prices/names/conditions, but only in conjunction with accurate advice. Not that you often see accurate advice on railway ticketing matters on MSE
(This couldn't be some form of spam for another railway jobsworths' forum?)0 -
(This couldn't be some form of spam for another railway jobsworths' forum?)
Once you've learned who gives out correct advice I would be more inclined to believe what is stated at
http://www.railforums.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=105
if there was a conflict with what gets posted here.
(I have no connection with any railway company)0 -
Once you've learned who gives out correct advice I would be more inclined to believe what is stated at
http://www.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
if there was a conflict with what gets posted here.
(I have no connection with any railway company)
Yep - said there was some spamming involved!! Didn't take too long to turn up!0 -
Of course it applies "across the board" - you can never get any cashback when buying direct at the station!
What are you on about? That's total and utter drivel
If I go online and buy a £18 advance ticket from London to Bristol that's what I'll pay for it
If I go to Paddington (or my local station) and ask for that ticket - that's what I'll pay for it. £18.
They won't say we can only sell you the full fare ticket at £89.50.
Obviously either online or at the station I'd pay the full fare on the day - but in advance, subject to availability, no.
Clearly in OP's case there's been a glitch - either the ticket being provisionally sold and then released again, or the ticket clerk being a bit incompetent. Or all sorts of other things. As your bete noir says, not enough information to say what actually went wrong.
And you can't really 'spam' a site that doesn't sell anything. If I werre to go on that site and post a link to MSE would that be spamming?0
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