I think it's a genuine opportunity to deliberately not put some trains back again given that demand to fill them will take some time to return anyway. Not wholsales, just the last one or two trains that "fill up" busy peak railways.
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What COVID-inspired changes should the transport operators retain once things are fully back to normal?
- Thread starter Bletchleyite
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I think it's a genuine opportunity to deliberately not put some trains back again given that demand to fill them will take some time to return anyway. Not wholsales, just the last one or two trains that "fill up" busy peak railways.
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I think serious home working fatigue will set in soon, and employers will be keen to get employees together again (even if only a day or two per week) for the team building benefit.
It's hard to see how Avanti's peak pricing can be sustained now. At the very least, some lower tier Advance quotas released on peak trains, with the benefit of that managing demand/loading/social distancing to some extent.
nedchester
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Keep up the rigorous cleaning of trains.
squizzler
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Mine is a dinky 12" Macbook so not large! Shame you are having problems as I reckon it is a good showcase what UK taxpayers are getting for their money, and actually seems to have enough to be a resource to the enthusiast. I will try and link there when I need to quote press releases in this forum going forward
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
As I mentioned above, if commuting reduces I'd love to see LNR switch to an all-week Saturday service (even on Sunday would be nice, it's now not dissimilar, and of course Avanti's timetable is basically the same all week anyway) plus the 0034 and 0134 off Euston. 8 cars on every train, but 12 on a few of the high-peak ones.
Much simpler and cheaper to operate if (and I strongly believe this will be the case) the commuter peak doesn't return to its full height but does return to existing to a point.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Soon !
About three weeks ago in my case
If 2 days a week becomes a thing for office people, we write off Fridays because nobody wants to travel then, that gives Monday-Thursday, none of which really has an outstanding reason to choose it or not choose it over the others. So if companies or teams genuinely spread between them, you'll get a 50% reduction in required peak capacity (actually probably 30-40% as people do commute to jobs that must be done in person, e.g. Tube staff) - that would certainly mean it could be done solely by adding coaches rather than complex, packed-in timetables.
Castlefield is different - unlike Euston it requires an all-day reduction, so someone somewhere won't like it.
lyndhurst25
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In Merseyside, when Merseyrail's service was severely reduced, rail tickets were accepted on the buses. This is something I'd like to see reintroduced and extended nationally. I'd like to see strategic bus routes, covering gaps in the rail network, included in the rail timetable and routeing guide e.g. Southport to Preston. See the thread on why the UK is rubbish at integrated transport.
Why is the UK completely incapable of treating public transport as a whole?
This has come up, and is a bit OT, on some other threads, so let's have it as a thread in its own right. What is it that makes the UK terminally incapable of getting the idea that public transport should be seen as a whole, and not as a set of distinct and competing operations and modes? This...
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deltic
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Given that its clear reliability/punctuality was generally markedly better on a Saturday compared to a weekday it highlights the level of management competence/knowledge (incompetence/ignorance) of their own sector that exists in some TOCs
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It must be that. That they were stating it as if it wasn't glaringly obvious is absolutely staggering in its incompetence. Even Northern need only look back to the pre-1998 timetable which was on most routes (the CLC has always been a problem due to imported delays) watch-settingly punctual.
Silverlinky
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That was the plan......normal off peak service would be the same 7 days a week, the additional peak trains would run on weekdays, not much call for them on a Sunday.
However, if commuting reduces then companies such as LNR will be in trouble, as 70% of their total company revenue comes from the Northampton to Euston corridor. Not much money to be made in the subsidized cheap fares around Birmingham, but a hell of a lot to be made from £7k or £8k Gold Cards from Northampton and Milton Keynes.
**Or** it's just the inevitable consequence of having to squeeze in trains to meet historic demand which had become increasingly un-robust as passenger numbers increased. Train that, traditionally, have been impossible to then remove politically.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I don't agree, for the reasons stated above. That big fleet of rolling stock that spends most of its day at Camden Bank and Bletchley is hugely expensive and in such a scenario could be sent elsewhere, allowing all the ex-BR EMUs to be replaced. If commuting reduces, that massive cost reduces too. And people who move to 2 days a week won't be charged 2/5 of their season ticket costs, so that 70% won't all go, either - we might see carnets but they never offer a large discount. And many will probably consider moving to places further out from London but still accessible to it - such as the Northamptonshire and MK villages - meaning more income from the same people on the same trains as they travel further.
I think it's actually potentially a very good thing for the viability of London commuter TOCs by changing their usage to be much more like the all-day usage pattern of the IC TOCs, but without that annoying Friday evening rush. A railway in which you operate the same clockface timetable all day using the same units, and maybe just whack an extra 4 onto maybe 6-7 departures/arrivals in each direction (requiring only 6-7 extra units above the base, not a huge fleet as at present), is hugely cheaper to operate than what's there now.
That would be rather good, yes. I'd like an interavailable ticket to be able to travel by rail *or* bus between Ely and Cambridge, for example, depending on circumstances. The bus is closer to where I live and usually goes closer to my destination than the train, but is less frequent and takes much longer. As it is I have to pick one mode or the other and stick with that choice every day until whatever ticket I've bought expires (or buy *both* bus and rail tickets, which is pricey!)
squizzler
Established Member
Mandatory face coverings! 
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Planesandtrain
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Mandatory face coverings!
Honestly I feel like I'll be wearing them regardless in the winter months as buses in my area are so freezing and my cotton mask keeps me warm!
The capacity display feature First has on their app would be great to keep going forward tbh.
Even though services in my area of Glasgow are frequent a lot of them can be extremely busy so it would be good to know if a bus is likely to drive by me being full in advance
Even though services in my area of Glasgow are frequent a lot of them can be extremely busy so it would be good to know if a bus is likely to drive by me being full in advance
This is more an accidental change due to the lack of ticket checks at the moment, however tending to buy point to point returns, I've found myself increasingly not worried about whether I should be taking this or that route. If there's a train going in roughly the right direction and it seems reasonable, I catch it.
If only the railway industry could officially adopt a laisse-faire attitude to reasonable routes for perpetuity, that would be a wonderful thing.
If only the railway industry could officially adopt a laisse-faire attitude to reasonable routes for perpetuity, that would be a wonderful thing.
squizzler
Established Member
I am afraid you are likely to be disappointed as the industry trend seems to be in the opposite direction - nationally at least. Locally, we can certainly hope for more fares integration between different modes, allowing total flexibility to make journeys using any combo of, say, busses trams and trains. Just like I understand is proposed with the South Wales Metro.
anthony263
Established Member
We are having problems with customers trying to get free rides because they say they don't have or won't do contactless
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Exact fare only cash should probably also be offered given the demographic of bus users. I am pro getting cash off buses, but it requires a proper solution (like Oyster) for such people.
Get in a load of charity collection boxes for collecting the cash, and leave them in a cupboard for 3 days before cashing up, that will avoid the risk of transmission.
Sadly, I suspect that I will be !
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