Exeter Central-Exeter St Davids annual season ticket: gold card benefits?

[NickBFS]

According to the nationalrail and SWT websites, there are two types of annual season tickets between Exeter Central and Exeter St-Davids:
a) a season ticket valid 5 days a week (3 weekdays+weekend) at £120;
b) a season ticket valid 7 days a week at £196.

I wondered the following:
1) Can a) be issued as a gold card? (I assume that b) can be so issued without problem).

2) If so, would the gold card benefits benefits (eg: oyster off-peak discounts) be limited to the days of validity of the season ticket (thus, if I were to choose Mon-Wed+weekend as my days of validity, does that mean that I can only get oyster discounts on those days)?

3) Would either of these, if issued as Gold card, carry the SWT 6 free weekend tickets benefits? NFM08 does not seem to list the 5 days a week season ticket but does list the £196 7-days one, albeit with GWR as TOC (so presumably FGW?). Yet, SWT does operate on EXC-EXD even though the stations themselves are FGW-managed.

 

[transportphoto]

Hi,

Gold Cards are only issued with Annual season tickets, sorry

 

[NickBFS]

Hi,

Gold Cards are only issued with Annual season tickets, sorry

There ARE annual season tickets.

 

[transportphoto]

Yep, sorry just re-read your post, I must have got confused with the 5d+WkE and 7d options!

I can say that the 7day option should come with GC, but not to sure about the 5d+WkE option

HTH

 

[TheWalrus]

ridiculous...id walk!

 

[MikeWh]

ridiculous...id walk!

He's probably looking for the cheapest Gold Card. I think that is still either the ticket to Ryde (Esp-StJRd) or Newhaven.

 

[headshot119]

It's not really a rip off, if you commuted every weekday across the year it would cost just 32p a journey single.

 

[RPI]

Annual seasons in Devon and Cornwall are branded as the "Devon and Cornwall Gold card" and basically give you the same benefits as a Devon and Cornwall railcard, i.e. you get 1/3 of CDR fares in D&C for you plus 1 other adult and 4 kids for quid.

If you just want the "benefits" your better off spending a tenner a year on a D&C railcard.

 

[Mojo]

Annual seasons in Devon and Cornwall are branded as the "Devon and Cornwall Gold card" and basically give you the same benefits as a Devon and Cornwall railcard, i.e. you get 1/3 of CDR fares in D&C for you plus 1 other adult and 4 kids for quid.

If you just want the "benefits" your better off spending a tenner a year on a D&C railcard.

Interesting, because the National Rail website says "When you buy an annual season at a station within the Network Railcard Area and the origin and / or destination are also in the Network Railcard Area, you are automatically issued with a Gold Card." This then links to a map (http://www.railcard.co.uk/clientfiles/File/map.pdf) with both Exeter St Davids & Central in that.

The first season ticket mentioned is £20 cheaper than the Ryde ticket. I don't know if this counts though for a Gold Card as I've never heard of such a ticket.

 

[RJ]

The Exeter ticket is £24 cheaper than the Ryde ticket, qualifies for the NGC and includes validity on SWT services so allows the free ticket benefits.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Top 10 (approx!) cheapest season tickets in the NSE area according to NFM08 (prices given are for a weekly season):

12) MILLBROOK BEDS to LIDLINGTON	540p (LONDON MIDLAND)
11) BLETCHLEY to FENNY STRATFORD	540p (LONDON MIDLAND)
10) RIDGMONT to LIDLINGTON	540p (LONDON MIDLAND)
 9) ASPLEY GUISE to RIDGMONT	540p (LONDON MIDLAND)
 8) ASPLEY GUISE to WOBURN SANDS	540p (LONDON MIDLAND)
 7) FENNY STRATFORD to BOW BRICKHILL	540p (LONDON MIDLAND)
 6) EXETER ST DAVIDS to EXETER CENTRAL	490p (FIRST GREAT WESTERN)
 5) LAKE to SANDOWN	440p (ISLAND LINE LIMITED)
 4) BEXHILL to COLLINGTON	370p (SOUTHERN)
 3) RYDE ESPLANADE to RYDE ST JOHNS RD	350p (ISLAND LINE LIMITED)
 2) NEWHAVEN HARBOUR to NEWHAVEN TOWN	350p (SOUTHERN)
 1) PEVENSEY & WHAM to PEVENSEY BAY	350p (SOUTHERN)

 

[NickBFS]

Annual seasons in Devon and Cornwall are branded as the "Devon and Cornwall Gold card" and basically give you the same benefits as a Devon and Cornwall railcard, i.e. you get 1/3 of CDR fares in D&C for you plus 1 other adult and 4 kids for quid.

If you just want the "benefits" your better off spending a tenner a year on a D&C railcard.

I have little interest in 1/3 of CDR fares in D&C. MikeWh is right that it is the cheap network area gold card angle that interests me.

Interesting, because the National Rail website says "When you buy an annual season at a station within the Network Railcard Area and the origin and / or destination are also in the Network Railcard Area, you are automatically issued with a Gold Card." This then links to a map (http://www.railcard.co.uk/clientfiles/File/map.pdf) with both Exeter St Davids & Central in that.

My thinking exactly.

The first season ticket mentioned is £20 cheaper than the Ryde ticket. I don't know if this counts though for a Gold Card as I've never heard of such a ticket.

Yes, it is a strange animal but it does show on the 'season ticket calculator' section of the national rail website: you get a series of annual season tickets at £120 with every possible combination of weekdays + weekend and then the £196 season ticket valid without day restrictions.
There does not seem to be anything in the definition of a Gold card provided on the Gold card page of the NR website nor in the GC T&Cs to exclude the £120 ticket from GC eligibility.
Even if that one were not a GC, the £196 could still be interesting for the 6 SWT free tickets, given that it does not seem clear that one can still get these with the Ryde ticket. Compared to the Ryde ticket, the extra cost is £56, viz. £9.34 per ticket.

 

[RJ]

My TiS only shows the proper £196 PSS (Period Season Standard), does that other thing actually count as a season ticket under the official definition or is it a leisure travel pass?

 

[NickBFS]

My TiS only shows the proper £196 PSS (Period Season Standard), does that other thing actually count as a season ticket under the official definition or is it a leisure travel pass?

What IS the official definition?

It is sold either on a monthly, 3-monthly, 6-monthly or annual basis (but not weekly like most other season tickets) and available in either standard (at £120) or first (at £180).

In addition, I can only get it to show on the NR website when entering a date in April or later. Any start date in March only shows the £196 ticket. Also, although the price is shown, it is not buyable online from TOCs. Attempting to buy it online generates the message "Your ticket is not currently priced on-line".

Could this be a new product?

 

[RJ]

Hmm - NRCoC says that it's a period ticket that permits travel up to and including the expiry date. No exception appears to be made with regards to tickets with "boxes." In Condition 19, similar types of tickets are referred to as leisure travel passes.

Season tickets offered by local authorities and PTEs are distinguished from railway season tickets elsewhere in the CoC. Is it something offered by a local authority which is merely advertised on NRE?

 

[TEW]

Could this be a new product?

It is, it's being introduced because of passenger demand for such a ticket for FGW priced tickets around the Exeter area.

 

[NickBFS]

It is, it's being introduced because of passenger demand for such a ticket for FGW priced tickets around the Exeter area.

Ah,ah. That explains why it is not yet in Avantix.
Seems indeed to be available from next month on fgw destinations from Tiverton to Exeter and beyond (including Barnstaple and Exmouth branches) down to St Budeaux and Gunnislake. Not available on swt network except the two Exeter stations where the fgw and swt networks overlap, which begs the question of whether it will be a fgw product only and therefore not issuable with the swt benefits, even assuming it qualifies as a ngc.

 

[RPI]

the D&C gold card has been in existence since 2006 on all FGW priced flows in D&C.

 

[RJ]

It's not going to be a Gold Card. The TiS requests the blue season stock (as opposed to Annual Season stock). Ticket type is PSS, route shown as MoTuWe+WKND and so on.

 

[RPI]

It's not going to be a Gold Card. The TiS requests the blue season stock (as opposed to Annual Season stock). Ticket type is PSS, route shown as MoTuWe+WKND and so on.

all annual seasons in the Devon/Cornwall area are printed on special D&C gold card stock, I see hundreds of the things every day!
the "route mo tu we & wknd" are a new part time season being introduced from tomorrow.

 

[bb21]

Do you actually have to specify the five days, eg. MoTuWeFrSu, etc?

So the TiS is loaded with all 21 combinations of five days?

 

[Solent&Wessex]

As a slight off tangent thought, I note that quite a few people in the North now have their annual season tickets on Gold Card stock. I asked once, and someone told me that they get it through their employer - ie their employer pays for it and have it deducted gradually throughout the year from pay. It seems the travel agent which the employer uses is down south somewhere. If you turned up with an annual Leeds to York on Gold Card stock (and there are some) I assume no one would notice and therefore you would get any benefits if you happened to be in the area on holiday, trip etc.

 

[RPI]

Do you actually have to specify the five days, eg. MoTuWeFrSu, etc?

So the TiS is loaded with all 21 combinations of five days?

you can chose any combination of 3 weekdays i.e. mo tu th & wknd, all combo's are valid on weekends and b/hols.

 

[barrykas]

As a slight off tangent thought, I note that quite a few people in the North now have their annual season tickets on Gold Card stock. I asked once, and someone told me that they get it through their employer - ie their employer pays for it and have it deducted gradually throughout the year from pay. It seems the travel agent which the employer uses is down south somewhere. If you turned up with an annual Leeds to York on Gold Card stock (and there are some) I assume no one would notice and therefore you would get any benefits if you happened to be in the area on holiday, trip etc.

Depends on the individual member of staff. Theoretically, such a ticket SHOULD be withdrawn and replaced as an issuing irregularity and the seller suitably "re-educated" about the requirements for Gold Card issue (i.e. either the origin is in the NSE area or the issuing station and either the origin, destination or both are in the NSE area. and it isn't one of the multitude of discounted types that don't qualify).

Cheers,

Barry

 

[furryfeet]

It is, it's being introduced because of passenger demand for such a ticket for FGW priced tickets around the Exeter area.

Will this be extended to other areas on FGW if successful ?

This is a good marketing idea - reduces the price for the passenger, whilst
encouraging (hopefully ) people to switch to rail, who work either part-time, or who work from home on certain days of the week and for whom a full 7 day season is not worthwhile.

Other TOC's take note !

 

[mickey]

Depends on the individual member of staff. Theoretically, such a ticket SHOULD be withdrawn and replaced as an issuing irregularity and the seller suitably "re-educated" about the requirements for Gold Card issue (i.e. either the origin is in the NSE area or the issuing station and either the origin, destination or both are in the NSE area.)

...and if one or both of the stations is a small local one that few people have heard of you're more likely to get away with it. So Leeds to York is out!

Incidentally, round here Merseyrail runs a corporate season ticket scheme so most people have theirs issued on normal ST stock (or Merseytravel-branded ones for local travel). Do any other TOCs do the same?

 

[Greeby]

Depends on the individual member of staff. Theoretically, such a ticket SHOULD be withdrawn and replaced as an issuing irregularity and the seller suitably "re-educated" about the requirements for Gold Card issue (i.e. either the origin is in the NSE area or the issuing station and either the origin, destination or both are in the NSE area. and it isn't one of the multitude of discounted types that don't qualify).

Cheers,

Barry

But if the original issuer is a business house with offices in the Gold Card area, does that not meet validity?

Mind you, it has gone the other way. A passenger came to my window for an encode, who was 7 or 8 months into an annual issued by a London-based business house. It was Milton Keynes Central-Watford Junction, yet had been issued on old grey stock