Season ticket costs more than buying daily

pinkfluffysheep

I would appreciate your advice. I've been commuting by train on and off over the years, and up to now it has always been cheaper to purchase season tickets for the route. My current route has got me stumped. A return from Ash to Godalming is £6 peak weekday return, and £5.90 on weekends. I commute during peak hours 5 days per week.

The weekly season ticket costs £43.40.
Buying 5 days at £6 per day = £30 (£13.40 cheaper than season)
Buying 5 week day peak at £6, plus 2 weekend at £5.90 = £41.80 (£1.60 cheaper than season)

The annual season ticket is £293 more expensive than buying daily (based on the standard 240 days return travel they use to calculate average cost on the season ticket calculator).

I telephoned the South West Trains customer support, and was told that the computer calculates the season ticket price, and that most are cheaper, but not all. I asked if the price could be reviewed and was told that's not likely to happen.

Ash station has bicycle storage lockers, which I would like to use, but the condition of use is that you must hold a season ticket. If I was travelling to Reading, I would be saving £2.80 per week buying a weekly season compared to 5 peak weekday tickets. If I was travelling to Guildford I would be saving £14.30 per week if I used a weekly season ticket. More if I purchased an annual season ticket.

Am I just unlucky with my route? Has anyone heard of an official process to request a review of season ticket prices for a specific route?

wealdroam

How about cycling to Wanborough?
A weekly season from there to Godalming is only £23.10.

agrinnall

Or just cycle all the way, by the time you've got to Wanborough you're half way there anyway.

yorkie2

pinkfluffysheep wrote: »

I telephoned the South West Trains customer support, and was told that the computer calculates the season ticket price, and that most are cheaper, but not all. I asked if the price could be reviewed and was told that's not likely to happen.

Indeed. It's outrageous but I am not surprised SWT do not care. You need to take it further. Refer the matter to Transport Focus, your MP and local press/radio if they're interested.

pinkfluffysheep wrote: »

Am I just unlucky with my route? Has anyone heard of an official process to request a review of season ticket prices for a specific route?

Yes, you are. It should be cheaper for a Season based on 4 or 5 days. In this case, even a passenger travelling 7 days is worse off with a Season. That isn't right, but I am not surprised SWT don't care.

I would normally say purchase a Season to last typically 5 weeks, e.g. a Season commencing next Monday (19th) and finishing Friday 20th would be £178,but that's still £35.60 a week which is more than the cost of individual tickets. (Note: the price for a 5 week block will be reduced if you can take into account annual leave / bank holidays, but will increase in months with fewer days).

Transport Focus might be interested, but they're not the best "passenger watchdog" in the world so they might not.

Let us know how you get on.

boliston

Perhaps people like a season ticket to avoid the need to constantly spend time having to buy tickets individually each day (ie "time is money") and don't mind if it costs slightly more for the convenience?

yorkie2

boliston wrote: »

Perhaps people like a season ticket to avoid the need to constantly spend time having to buy tickets individually each day (ie "time is money") and don't mind if it costs slightly more for the convenience?

Maybe so, but that's not how they are marketed.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search

If you are making the same journey on 3 or more days within a week a Season ticket is likely to offer better value than daily tickets.

In this case, even a passenger making a journey 7 days a week is not better off with a weekly Season.

It's bonkers, but SouthWestTrains' lack of empathy and understanding does not surprise me one bit. This sort of attitude is endemic in the rail industry. (Note that I exclude the vast majority of front-line staff from that; I'm more talking about management and customer 'service' type people)

Exile_geordie

Operative there being 'likely' which doesn't make a commitment to say they always will be.

boliston

Nobody forces you to buy a season ticket.

It's a bit like the "£1 each or 2 for £2.50" deals you see at tesco

agrinnall

boliston wrote: »

Nobody forces you to buy a season ticket.

No, but it's shortsighted to only allow use of the cycle lockers if you hold a season ticket, hardly encouraging healthy living is it?

The_Groat_Counter

pinkfluffysheep wrote: »

...
Am I just unlucky with my route? Has anyone heard of an official process to request a review of season ticket prices for a specific route?

When I first saw this I thought I knew what the issue would be... on a number of routes, train companies including SWT price single and return tickets between two stations differently based on the direction of travel, i.e. tickets are more expensive where the majority of passengers are travelling in one particular direction at peak times, and cheaper for those travelling in the other direction where trains are emptier.

As season tickets are based on the more expensive ticket prices, it can mean people travelling against the peak flow find it cheaper to buy daily tickets rather than a season ticket.

However, that's not the case here, as single and return tickets are the same price from Godalming to Ash as they are from Ash to Godalming. In which case the season ticket pricing doesn't seem to make much sense - perhaps the season ticket price a legacy of some pricing logic that no longer applies, and no-one in the train company has looked at it afresh.

How about writing a letter (the briefer the better - stick to the facts) to Tim Shoveller, Managing Director, South West Trains, Friars Bridge Court, 41-45 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NZ.

The_Groat_Counter

yorkie2 wrote: »

...
It's bonkers, but SouthWestTrains' lack of empathy and understanding does not surprise me one bit. This sort of attitude is endemic in the rail industry. (Note that I exclude the vast majority of front-line staff from that; I'm more talking about management and customer 'service' type people)

There are some customer service people who work very hard to provide just that, customer service, just like there are in all industries. To be dismissive of almost all of them is I think a bit insulting. (And likewise raising almost front-line staff up to be paragons of virtue is also a bit blinkered.)

The problem for many customer service people is that the structure they are given to work in is far from optimum, they are given too little freedom and influence to change things, and are often given too little information and training.

In this case the customer service person might have no real route for highlighting this as an issue, and little incentive for doing so either (emphasis on bish, bash, bosh, get the calls answered and off the line asap).