• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Cheapest National Express ticket

Status
Not open for further replies.

sonic2009

Established Member
Joined
19 Jan 2010
Messages
4,915
Location
Crewe
What's the cheapest ticket anyone has found. It cannot be funfares.

I have just booked a ticket for a friend from Nuneaton to Atherstone tonight for £1.80!
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

gnolife

Established Member
Joined
4 Nov 2010
Messages
2,028
Location
Johnstone
What's the cheapest ticket anyone has found. It cannot be funfares.

I have just booked a ticket for a friend from Nuneaton to Atherstone tonight for £1.80!

Southend East to Southend Central single, 16-25 railcard discounted for 1.40?
or Birmingham City Hop for 1.00

Oh, you didn't want c2c or NXWM fares?

Coaches, I think Manchester Chorlton St to Manchester Princess Road at 1.30 will be about as good as you get.
 

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
Rochdale to Manchester is 80p without Coachcard on 15 August.
 
Last edited:

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
Is that a standard single?

Yes it is a normal ticket, not amendable. But that is irrelevant because the alteration fee is higher than the fare.

Don't forget the £1 booking fee (is there any way to avoid that these days?)

It can't be avoided for Funfares, but for the 80p Rochdale to Manchester fare you can get it from an agency or from a self-service ticket machine. When I travel from Rochdale to London I normally get two tickets, one from Rochdale to Manchester for 80p from a self-service machine and a Funfare from Manchester to London online.
 
Last edited:

Deerfold

Veteran Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
12,569
Location
Yorkshire
Yes it is a normal ticket, not amendable. But that is irrelevant because the alteration fee is higher than the fare.



It can't be avoided for Funfares, but for the 80p Rochdale to Manchester fare you can get it from an agency or from a self-service ticket machine. When I travel from Rochdale to London I normally get two tickets, one from Rochdale to Manchester for 80p from a self-service machine and a Funfare from Manchester to London online.

I think you pay a booking fee from an agent - that's the main reason I started booking online (before they introduced them there too). Looks like the self-service machines may be the only way - my nearest aren't somewhere I pass often so I've never actually bought a ticket at one.
 

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
I think you pay a booking fee from an agent - that's the main reason I started booking online

I tried to buy the 80p ticket from the TfGM Travelshop in Manchester Shudehill bus station. They did confirm that the fare was 80p but refused to sell it as their system wouldn't allow any transactions below £1!

Presumably there would be no problem buying it from a proper National Express ticket office, or Victoria Coach Station.
 

sonic2009

Established Member
Joined
19 Jan 2010
Messages
4,915
Location
Crewe
I'm sorry i wasn't specfic.

I was meaning National Express Coach Fares.
 

bb21

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
4 Feb 2010
Messages
24,151
I believe so. In many areas, notably Cornwall, National Express also caters for the local travel market.
 

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
Can you buy any non-Funfare tickets as you board?

The danger of not booking in advance is that the driver looks at where passengers are booked from and anywhere that has no passengers can be bypassed. I don't think drivers are supposed to do that but it seems to be very common. For example, when I catch my coach from Rochdale to London, I am very often the only passenger, so if I didn't book it might not turn up.

Also, there is a great reluctance for drivers to sell tickets on board. In the old days they used to carry the coach fare manual but I've never seen anyone with it these days.

Obviously if the coach is full you won't get on.
 

bb21

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
4 Feb 2010
Messages
24,151
Also, there is a great reluctance for drivers to sell tickets on board. In the old days they used to carry the coach fare manual but I've never seen anyone with it these days.

Definitely, for short trips they seem to quote random figures for the fare. I have been quoted £2, £2.50, £3, £3.50 or completely free if the driver truly couldn't be asked at 4 o'clock in the morning on my way back from Nottingham.
 

Deerfold

Veteran Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
12,569
Location
Yorkshire
Can you buy any non-Funfare tickets as you board?

I used to regularly buy Cambridge - Hitchin tickets overnight. I didn't book in advance as I got a return ticket on the train for an extra 10p in case I came back earlier.

I once didn't pay because the ticket machine was broken. They seemed to have a *very* basic ticket machine despite it being a high-spec coach serving 3 airports.

It looks like they're trying to dissuade some short trips - perhaps where the coaches are busy with long distance travel. Halifax-Huddersfield used to be about the same as the local bus but is now nearer a fiver, whilst on the quieter Skipton-Keighley section of the Skipton-London service it's #1.50, cheaper than the local bus (but with 3 journeys a day, not 2 an hour).
 

route101

Established Member
Joined
16 May 2010
Messages
10,594
Paid £1 for my Glasgow to London Megabus Sleeper service but of course that doesn't count .

I was on the Nat Exp 534 from Glasgow to Newcastle and someone bought a ticket at Jedburgh , looked like a Raffle ticket thing on Thermal paper.

I couldn't print out my eticket and the driver wasn't impressed with showing him the email on my phone , megabus are fine with this .

Do Nat Exp still issue paper tickets that are not email print outs?
 

bb21

Emeritus Moderator
Joined
4 Feb 2010
Messages
24,151
Do Nat Exp still issue paper tickets that are not email print outs?

Yes, if you bought one from a ticket office or opted to collect a ticket booked online (non-Fun Fare) at a ticket office.
 

Deerfold

Veteran Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
12,569
Location
Yorkshire
Paid £1 for my Glasgow to London Megabus Sleeper service but of course that doesn't count .

I was on the Nat Exp 534 from Glasgow to Newcastle and someone bought a ticket at Jedburgh , looked like a Raffle ticket thing on Thermal paper.

I couldn't print out my eticket and the driver wasn't impressed with showing him the email on my phone , megabus are fine with this .

Do Nat Exp still issue paper tickets that are not email print outs?

National Express offer a mobile phone ticket but charge an extra 50p for this. Megabus only require that you can show them your reservation number.
 

route101

Established Member
Joined
16 May 2010
Messages
10,594
National Express offer a mobile phone ticket but charge an extra 50p for this. Megabus only require that you can show them your reservation number.


Yeah i forgot to do that when booking , so all i had was the email on my phone .
 

317 forever

Established Member
Joined
21 Aug 2010
Messages
2,544
Location
North West
Yes, if you bought one from a ticket office or opted to collect a ticket booked online (non-Fun Fare) at a ticket office.

I booked a funfare from Manchester to Newcastle on Monday. I felt like collecting the ticket from Chorlton Street coach station but it would have cost 50p. I therefore settled for e-ticket but shall buy a paper ticket next time I book a non-funfare National Express journey.
 

radamfi

Established Member
Joined
29 Oct 2009
Messages
9,267
I booked a 'normal' fare (amendable not refundable) today from the TfGM Travelshop at Oldham bus station today and was not charged a booking fee.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top