Money Moral Dilemma: Should I get a Disabled Person's Railcard when my condition doesn't affect me?

jedav

Plenty of suggestions here. 
Do what satisfies your own conscience - you have to live with yourself, not others.

hols54

Not always a good deal.During Covid you couldn't use railcard but received no extension or refund.Also my disabled husband bought another railcard in error as previous was still valid for a year.Again no refund and now has duplicate railcards 

Spoonie_Turtle

Just for the people saying the railcard itself might be helpful to indicate what's happening/what help is needed, it's actually just a totally generic railcard, it says absolutely nothing about why you have it other than being a Disabled Person's railcard (which could mean any one of thousands of possibilities).

Not sure where that idea came from, but nobody can rely on it being useful info by itself should they need help in any particular situation!

SaintsFan67

Er, yes.  I qualify because I wear NHS hearing aids.  Have saved a fortune on rail fares.  Go for it.

lamanche57

I have no choice in receiving cold weather payment yet I feel its ethically inappropriate as I can manage financially without it.  It's the govt's decision. Bizarre the dilemmas we create for ourselves because we are decent people.  I wouldn't worry, the govt gets so much wrong, enjoy your 1/3 off.  I give my fuel benefit to others, so you could give your saved 1/3 to charity as others have suggested. But in the scheme of wrongs in this world, perhaps this is one you can choose to relax about. 

ginger_chocolate

Yep. Get it.

If you need moral grounds to justify it - if eligible people aren't taking up the offer, the rail companies/government may decide that there's no demand and scrap the scheme. Which would ruin it for everyone.

NRTurner

I qualify for a disabled persons railcard on the grounds of being a hearing aid user, even though it doesn't affect my ability to travel. It's not like a bus pass, which is funded by public money; you are paying for a card which then gives you a discount which is offered by (mostly) private companies. As it is, I commute by train twice a week and so it makes financial sense for me.

davidm_uk

Did you know that if you have a disabled persons railcard you can also get the same discount for a carer travelling with you. That carer can be anyone; professional carer, relative, friend, passer by! They don't have to have any form of carer ID, and it can be a different person every time you travel. Great way to travel as a couple, or with friends.

It does work, my wife, who has hearing aids, which qualify, uses it all of the time!

Muttleythefrog

Something I don't think anyone has raised is this.

When you travel on trains in the UK people are all paying different fares for the same service anyway depending on ticket type and when they bought it.. even if in the same carriage on seats next to each other for similar or same journey. 

So the entire concept of any moral dilemma over getting discounts when the entire rail fare system is based on disparity is frankly a nonsense. For example.. it is highly likely someone say getting a train from Cornwall to London will be on the same carriage with people who have paid full price for tickets costing between £40 and £50 while there will be people who have had railcard discounts who have paid £70 or more. The idea that getting a third or so off tickets means you are travelling cheaper than people paying a full fare is not a truth of our rail system. (Then of course there is the issue of ticket splitting where what you pay may be very different depending on whether you break your journey down to take advantage of all the pricing farces of British rail ticketing).

Might as well change the moral dilemma to 'I can afford off peak single tickets but know 8 weeks in advance when I want to travel so I can get advance tickets (and a guaranteed seat) for less than half the cost - is it morally acceptable to do?'

It's a load of nonsense and I still do not believe the dilemma is authentic.

tindella

Think you know the answer - if you think it's unethical don't do it!