LNER Launches Pioneering Pilot To Further Simplify Fares
LNER is proud to launch a new Simpler Fares pilot scheme for selected journeys along the East Coast route, further enhancing its customer experience.
www.lner.co.uk
70min Flex (Semi-Flexible) Tickets
Get cheap trains that suit your plans with LNER Semi-Flexible tickets. It pays to be flexible.
www.lner.co.uk
Huw Merriman said, "the trial has great merits. We sometimes have to be bold and try fares and ticketing reform. If we do not, we will never change the system that many criticise for being too complex" [1]
Example 1:
A passenger travelling from Brighton to Windermere would no longer purchase an Off Peak Single, priced at £117.30. Instead, they would be able to benefit from 70-minute Flex tickets, which are priced at higher levels than a straightforward Advance ticket, and allow travel on trains up to 70 minutes earlier or later than the booked trains. Any passenger requiring a flexible ticket will be required to pay £228.30 for an Anytime return. This will reduce overcrowding at busy off-peak times.
The current Off Peak single is valid on any train to London, and is valid on any train from Euston from 09:05 onwards. This restriction is deemed "too complex", with the new 70 Min flex fares much simpler to understand, and the penalties for being on the wrong train much easier to understand too.
Example 2:
A passenger returning from Sheffield to Derby would no longer be able to purchase an Off Peak Day Return, priced at £14.60. Instead, they would either purchase an Advance ticket, a 70 minute Flex ticket, or Anytime Singles priced at £27.60 each way.
This benefits passengers, as the Off Peak Day Return has a complex restriction, allowing travel on any train from 0900. This change will also enable demand to be spread across trains, and avoid overcrowding, by deterring travel on busy services, and encouraging passengers onto the roads at busy times, which also benefits taxpayers.
Another benefit for taxpayers is that passengers who are on the wrong train on an Advance fare, or outside their +/- 70 minute window on 70 minute Flex fares, could be liable to pay a Penalty Fare; the proportion of passengers liable to pay such fares will increase under the new pricing structure, and this will ensure the railway remains sustainable and affordable for taxpayers. In contrast, passengers travelling on an Off-Peak ticket at a restricted time, were only required to pay the excess fare, which is priced at the difference in fares (and includes any Railcard discounts).
Excess fares are considered complex for passengers, as well as being poor value for taxpayers, compared to a Penalty Fare, which ensures that passengers are correctly dealt with for being on the wrong train, as well as ensuring a fair deal for taxpayers.
Huw Merriman said the Government's fare policy is to "split the balance between the UK taxpayer and the fare payer"[2]; reducing the choice of walk-up/flexible fares available, while introducing more pre-purchased and restrictive ticket types, allows passengers to get "simpler and more flexible tickets"[3]
Furthermore, it will allow train operators to better match demand to capacity, and to avoid overcrowding by pushing passengers onto other modes. This will ensure that additional carriages are no longer needed, thus saving taxpayers money.
Merriman denies that the low cost of fully flexible travel in other countries should be an aspiration in Great Britain. "Compared with our EU neighbours, I believe we have much to be proud of"[4], Merriman remarked.
