Fare from Oxford/Didcot to the west on GWML

[Eqoqto]

I was planning on travelling from Oxford to Bath recently and as everyone knows there are currently no trains from Oxford to Didcot Parkway. My plan was then to travel to Didcot through local buses and travel from Didcot Parkway to Bath Spa.

Upon investigation I figured that an Off-Peak Day Return (with restriction NOT VIA READING) from Oxford to Bath Spa is priced at £24.30, whereas Off-Peak Day Return (with restriction VIA SWINDON) from Didcot Parkway to Bath Spa is £26.30. This is rather bizarre in my opinion, for the very reason that you have to change at Didcot Parkway anyways for any journey from Oxford to the west of Didcot on GWML.

Interestingly, this only occurs on Day Return and Day Single tickets. Super Off-Peak Return tickets from Oxford (£37.40) are properly priced higher than the same type of tickets from Didcot Parkway (£30.70).

Considering these tickets allow break of journey, does this mean that anyone going from Didcot (and myself) to the west on GWML should just buy a ticket from Oxford instead?

 

[Wolfie]

Bet that is "fixed" in the next fares round.

 

[bakerstreet]

Now that you have highlighted this on the forum it’s likely the fare will be changed.

You may wish to edit your post to remove the stations you refer to and instead ask a more generic question.

If you don’t, the TOC will see it and change things to your disadvantage

 

[cactustwirly]

I was planning on travelling from Oxford to Bath recently and as everyone knows there are currently no trains from Oxford to Didcot Parkway. My plan was then to travel to Didcot through local buses and travel from Didcot Parkway to Bath Spa.

Upon investigation I figured that an Off-Peak Day Return (with restriction NOT VIA READING) from Oxford to Bath Spa is priced at £24.30, whereas Off-Peak Day Return (with restriction VIA SWINDON) from Didcot Parkway to Bath Spa is £26.30. This is rather bizarre in my opinion, for the very reason that you have to change at Didcot Parkway anyways for any journey from Oxford to the west of Didcot on GWML.

Interestingly, this only occurs on Day Return and Day Single tickets. Super Off-Peak Return tickets from Oxford (£37.40) are properly priced higher than the same type of tickets from Didcot Parkway (£30.70).

Considering these tickets allow break of journey, does this mean that anyone going from Didcot (and myself) to the west on GWML should just buy a ticket from Oxford instead?

It's also advantageous to split at Swindon as well, all trains stop there so there's no disadvantage

 

[Eqoqto]

Now that you have highlighted this on the forum it’s likely the fare will be changed.

You may wish to edit your post to remove the stations you refer to and instead ask a more generic question.

If you don’t, the TOC will see it and change things to your disadvantage

I was more curious about the possible reasons behind this particular case or any insights behind it; Oxford to Bath/Bristol should be a popular route and I thought someone would have tried breaking at Didcot before. Though as the replies suggest it is maybe merely overlooked in the current fare system

Something like "I found that Day Return tickets from Station A to Station C via Station B is cheaper than that from B to C" would probably attract replies "are you certain it is not Advanced"; inserting the names at least allows everyone to check it

 

[Watershed]

You can report your original post if you would like it to be hidden...

 

[JonathanH]

Now that you have highlighted this on the forum it’s likely the fare will be changed.

Are you seriously suggesting that the GWR pricing manager doesn't know that the fare from Oxford to Bath is less than the fare from Didcot to Bath?

 

[LowLevel]

Are you seriously suggesting that the GWR pricing manager doesn't know that the fare from Oxford to Bath is less than the fare from Didcot to Bath?

Very likely. There's thousands of different flows, they can't know them all in intimate detail.

 

[W-on-Sea]

This applies to other journeys in this area too.

 

[JonathanH]

Very likely. There's thousands of different flows, they can't know them all in intimate detail.

Absolutely, but these two are hardly obscure flows.

 

[LowLevel]

Absolutely, but these two are hardly obscure flows.

In my personal experience of dealing with pricing managers, some interesting stuff survives for ages by accident or omission. They are not all knowing deities and they are quite good at closing stuff down when it comes to their attention.

 

[D1537]

It's not an oddity either. I was looking at fares to a different GWR station a month or so ago, and the return fare from Didcot was a couple of quid more than the Oxford one. However, two singles were the "right" way round.

 

[fandroid]

Is it an attempt to discourage the well-known practice of ticket-splitting at Didcot for journeys along the GWML? Or perhaps not even to discourage it, but to reap a bit more income from those who split there? From personal experience I've observed that Bath is a really popular destination, so that anomaly may be the result of some actual commercial thinking.

 

[Nicholas43]

It's intentional market-driven pricing. There are frequent buses between Oxford and Swindon.

 

[mangyiscute]

Yeah I can confirm that this has been the case for a long time now, I have occasionally used this to my advantage since from Reading splitting at Didcot is usually very beneficial - mainly because there are no day returns offered on even such a short journey like Reading to Swindon!

 

[SouthEastBuses]

I was planning on travelling from Oxford to Bath recently and as everyone knows there are currently no trains from Oxford to Didcot Parkway. My plan was then to travel to Didcot through local buses and travel from Didcot Parkway to Bath Spa.

Why not save money and get the S6 bus to Swindon instead, and then the train from there to Bath? It's only £13.90 (Off Peak Day Return from Swindon to Bath Spa), plus £4 for the return bus ticket on the S6 from Oxford to Swindon.

I get it that it's much longer, but I doubt it makes a difference with the Oxford-Didcot line closed.

 

[Stargull]

GWR tickets currently accepted on the S6 too…though I think it’s still likely to be slower than getting to Didcot from Oxford then getting the train.

 

[penguin8967]

GWR tickets currently accepted on the S6 too…though I think it’s still likely to be slower than getting to Didcot from Oxford then getting the train.

With the Botley Road closure in Oxford starting tomorrow (and lasting until October) traffic is likely to get a lot worse than it already gets in the city, likely delaying the rail replacements.

 

[MotCO]

Can you use a split ticket which is Reading to Didcot, and Oxford to Bath (via Didcot), since your full journey is not Reading to Oxford to Bath?

 

[Doctor Fegg]

With the Botley Road closure in Oxford starting tomorrow (and lasting until October) traffic is likely to get a lot worse than it already gets in the city, likely delaying the rail replacements.

The Botley Road closure will probably make services like the S6 faster – there'll be hardly anything else using the Botley Road.

 

[Watershed]

Can you use a split ticket which is Reading to Didcot, and Oxford to Bath (via Didcot), since your full journey is not Reading to Oxford to Bath?

Yes. There are no break of journey restrictions on the latter ticket.