MSE News: New 26-30 Railcard to be trialled from December

aj23_2

chattychappy wrote: »

All seems rather smelly to me.

I can understand the very good social reasons behind offering discounts to children, or particular disadvantaged groups.

But something just seems wrong about picking out a particular age group for a discount. Why should a 31-year old be denied something that a 30-year old can have? Even railcards for old folk are looking distinctly dated to me.

I don't think "normal" private businesses would operate such a scheme.

As with anything, you have to draw the line somewhere. If you're 59, you can't have a 60+ railcard. If you wanted to be really blunt, why should someone with one arm, or one leg, with a disabled railcard get a discount when they can use the train like anyone else? Why should an over 60 who's a millionaire be able to get one? I don't necessarily agree with those statements, but it's the same sort of themes to what you're saying. They are railcards to help those in society who are most likely less well off, but obviously anyone to qualifies can have it.

aj23_2

I'm for this, but I want a physical card. Digital is big brother, and it would take longer at the desk and to check on the train. And less reliable, if you lose phone, or can't load the app.

Lavendyr

They are calling it a millennial rail card as far as I understand. Well. "There are no precise dates for when this cohort starts or ends; demographers and researchers typically use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years."

I was born in the early 80s and this doesn't extend to me.

At the risk of sounding grumpy, our older population benefit from reduced fares. There are an awful lot of them and many of them are pretty well off. Here's a drastic idea: scrap railcards and drop overall travel costs across the board.

aj23_2

PaulC5 wrote: »

I feel it is very age discriminating.

Think of it like this: If it was a male or female only railcard then I'm sure quite a few people would have something to say!

I’ve just started a new job that takes me from Preston to Milton Keynes Monday to Thursday and as the M1 and M6 is a nightmare I prefer to travel by train with the added bonus that my train home is 2hr 10min, which is impossible by car even with not incidents!

However as I am 29 It really annoys me that people slightly younger than me or who are 60 years old can get 1/3rd off their ticket price. There is the National railcard but again that's only really relevant if you live in the South.

I’m looking forward to this new card going live and I hope I can get my hands on one but can fully sympathize with the 30-60 year olds, who don’t get any discount!

Not another person who is offended by so-called "discrimination" .Family & Friends railcard? Two Together railcard? Disabled railcard? Network Railcard?

You think it's discriminatory but you're still going to take advantage of one for a year or so?

PaulC5

aj23 wrote: »

Not another person who is offended by so-called "discrimination" .Family & Friends railcard? Two Together railcard? Disabled railcard? Network Railcard?

You think it's discriminatory but you're still going to take advantage of one for a year or so?

I didn't say I was offended by it, I used the word 'feel'


Family and Friends railcard - I travel solo
Two Together railcard - I travel solo
Disabled railcard - I don't meet the criteria
Network railcard - I don't travel in the South East


Why would anyone (especially on this site) turn down a discount?

Mids_Costcutter

This is exactly why there should be a railcard for solo travellers of all ages! Research demonstrates that this would drive growth in passenger km travelled:

https://www.railwayconsultancy.com/pdf/nrcregional.pdf

http://www.railfuture.org.uk/display66

So why aren't the train operators interested? Too conservative? Industry too fragmented?

Stoke

As someone who is 27, I think this is a great idea

aj23_2

The trial confirms this is Digital App only. I think it's a big mistake. To be honest, it would put me off having one having to do it all via an app, I could just get a Network Railcard instead as I live in the South East, and it looks like the 26-30 will have the same minimum £12 restriction as the NRC anyway. Just give us a card, it's so much easier and way more convenient.