[rant] single journey fares are like a rip off that I start to think about getting a car

swan6060

Cars might be pricey including the insurance cost and expensive fuel, baring any repairs. But if that works, and you're able to plan it well, i think its much better than travelling in public transport. Considering the costs and also the present situation.

sand_hun

giraffe69 said:

Then go by car! Often cheaper if there are several of you but count in the equation how much more tiring it will be especially for the driver. All I ever said was that no-one had the absolute need to buy tickets which, indeed, I agree are not cheap. Travel at a cheaper time and look at split ticketing seem like money saving efforts to me and if the former is not possible and splitting is not "worth it" for a 30% saving then, of course, consider an alternative. I would consider the 11.03 at £47.80 even if marginally less convenient and I'd also look at getting a rail card( unless you are 30-60, able bodied and travelling on your own you should qualify). You just seem to be looking for reasons to make it harder than it really is. Oh and is the pathetic insult at the top of your post adding to the force of your argument?

@ daft giraffe 69.

Once again, you're totally missing the point. Why can't £47.80 be the normal fare rather than the exception? The normal price for a standard class ticket on this journey is £122.20.

As previously explained I'm not eligible for a rail card. Even if split ticketing were used, the price is still higher than using a car. Add to that the inconvenience of potentially having to change seats/carriages multiple times. With overpriced fares like this, people will continue to drive, which reinforces why I agreed with the OP in the first place.

giraffe69

The reason the "normal" fare isn't £47.80 is because a. it is common for fares to vary according to demand and b. if they never charged more than this someone would be stumping up for the loss. I think most fares have a "peak" concept. Most services have cheaper advanced fares. If you want to spread the load you offer differential pricing. Are the £122 trains empty then? 
If you think you have to change seats/carriages with split tickets then you have the wrong idea of what they are as well as the money you might save. As in all your previous posts you don't want to save as and where you can but show your sense of entitlement. I'm aware you think anyone who disagrees with your profound judgement is "daft" but it ain't necessarily so but keep digging if you wish.

yorkie2

Crosscountry (XC) trains are usually pretty full, except later in the evenings when they can be very quiet.

sand_hun said:

@ daft giraffe69

You are missing the point. For the journey in question, (Birmingham to Newcastle) £122 is the most common price for standard class tickets on this route. By your own admission, it's overpriced.

Even if someone is flexible with times,  eligible for rail cards and applies split ticketing, the cost is still higher compared to the same trip in a car.

Cost of single tickets from BHM to NCL in January 2022:

 

XC charge a large premium for longer distance journeys; a site such as Trainsplit can reduce the price by up to around half; see screenshot below:

https://ibb.co/yVyG2gy

Same day, same price, but half the price.

A bit more can be saved if changing at York onto a following service e.g. the 1230 is 60.58  direct or 51.61 if you don't mind a 6 min later arrival at NCL and the faff of changing trains at York.

If XC charged the lower fares for all their journeys, the trains would be even more full than they are now; in many cases that would result in many standees.

XC pricing policy is to charge the most the market will bear but for local journeys the price is often either set by another company or there is effectively a price ceiling due to other company's products around the area, thus XC are forced into charging much cheaper prices for shorter journeys than they would like

XC want to get the rules changed though fares reform which would abolish the cheaper fares and ensure that people pay more, but this could be politically unacceptable

There is no need for anyone to have any knowledge of the fares system, simply use a split ticket site such as trainsplit and it is all done for you; you'll even get one PDF with 1 ticket per page, which you can easily scroll through when showing the tickets. No more handling a load of paper coupons any more. Split ticketing couldn't be easier

sand_hun

@ giraffe69

I don't know if the £122 trains are empty. Since it's so overpriced I take the car instead. ps: I didn't suggest that anyone else who's posted on this topic is daft. I think you're daft for repeatedly failing to comprehend the fact that it's still cheaper to drive even if split-ticketing is used. Anyway, thanks again for your worthless contribution.

@ Yorkie2

I'm aware of Trainsplit and have used it previously for direct trains on different services. Since I often travel with a bike I prefer to avoid having to change trains (it can be a hassle getting access to the bike storage area with certain providers such as Avanti).

Besides, I wouldn't bother using Trainsplit for the route in question, since even at half price it's more expensive than driving. As you say, Cross Country seem to charge a premium for long journeys. 

TheAble

Birmingham to Newcastle isn't the sort of journey you'd need to make at short notice anyway. Plenty of time to book in advance and get a decent rate. London to Manchester is another one of these oft-quoted expensive fares but why would you need to make that journey at short notice either?

Frogletina

Once, for work, I had to go to a different office with two other people. We all paid different prices at the same railway station for the same trip. It seemed to me that because the cost was being refunded, only I worked out which was the cheapest price.

Another time, when I was going from Coventry to Chester with my manager, and she mistakenly asked for tickets to Crewe. For those who don't know, you change at Crewe to get to Chester. The tickets to just Crewe were more expensive! Luckily I overheard and the tickets got changed to the correct ones.

I did once travel from Coventry to Birmingham first class because I was with my manager who was entitled to go first class. 

TheAble

Worth bearing in mind the coach option as well, incidentally. At £11.90 for the 7.30 departure it's a bit of value.

Herzlos

TheAble said:

Birmingham to Newcastle isn't the sort of journey you'd need to make at short notice anyway. Plenty of time to book in advance and get a decent rate. London to Manchester is another one of these oft-quoted expensive fares but why would you need to make that journey at short notice either?

Why would anyone travel anywhere at short notice?
Maybe they've got a day off and want to visit friends? Go to see a show, shopping, whatever?

Business travellers often travel with minimal notice, but they can usually expense it somehow and are less bothered about the pricing.

Why should you need to go to any special effort to get the best rate instead of just turning up and paying on the day?

yorkie2 said:

If XC charged the lower fares for all their journeys, the trains would be even more full than they are now; in many cases that would result in many standees.

Bingo. I do wonder how many people would travel by train but don't because of either the cost or the faff. I know I've avoided trains for various trips because it's just not been worth it vs flying or driving, even though the train would have been nicer.

It's not even long distance trips; it'd cheaper for me to drive a car getting 15mpg into work and back than it is to take a train. The only time the train becomes cheaper is if it's just me and I'd need to pay for multiple hours of parking.

britblue

Alternative suggestion Moped/scooter/small motorcycle - insane mpg - park for free (most places!) - provisional licence gives you two years to take a bike test