Ticket machines charge train travellers twice the cheap fare

worldtraveller

Train companies are failing to offer the cheapest fares on their ticket machines, causing thousands of passengers to pay double the correct price.

Several companies in southern England are charging passengers more in this way but the problem is greatest at South West Trains (SWT), the operator exposed this week as having ordered guards to issue as many penalties as possible.

Families and other groups travelling together are particularly affected by the problem with the machines.

The companies have chosen secretly not to programme their ticket machines to sell the GroupSave fare, which is meant to be available to any group of three or four people travelling after the morning peak. Under GroupSave, when two adults buy tickets another two can travel free. Staff at ticket offices are obliged to sell the cheapest fare, including GroupSave, even if passengers do not specifically request it. But the law does not extend to machines.

WhenThe Timestried to buy return tickets from London to Weymouth for four people yesterday, the ticket machine charged £212.40 and the ticket office £106.20.

Timesonline

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Yes this was mentioned on the News this morning. But even if you do go to ticket offices, you may not pay the lowest price unless you ask for split tickets.
For example if you are going London to Glasgow via Birmingham on the same train, instead of getting a ticket straight to Glasgow get one ticket London to Birmingham and another from Birmingham to Glasgow.
There is a thread about this here.

It is sad when the cost of a train ticket often exceeds that of a flight! I know that you have to get to the airport, check in and so on but still.
This is not going to help with people trying to be Greener and go by train.

trisontana

The bad news is that Stagecoach, who run SWT, have now won the contract to operate the new East Midlands franchise that starts in November. I wonder if they will try to pull the same tricks here.

This same company has also been ordering their ticket collectors to charge passengers the full penalty fare when they have been unable to buy a ticket at the station due to long queues or faulty ticket machines.