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Flexible Rail Season Tickets - 2/3 days per week to be introduced by June 2021
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Haywain
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On Monday 21st June.
It's going to be a ~10% discount on the SDR, i.e. a total waste of space on 99% of flows.
Still, it gets the government some positive column inches...
If that's true, I can help but feel it'll be a PR own goal for the industry if punters find out it's not the magic bullet they'd imagined (as I'd always feared)
Personally it wouldn't be so bad, if there was a more generous time limit for usage than 28 days.
I am not so sure; I think the railway is lining up a spectacular shot at its own goal. As you have said it’s a total waste of space on most flows.
Didcot Parkway to London Terminals for example is £532.30 a month. 8 SDRs is £562.40, so 10% less or £506.20 for the flexi ticket. Give up 23 days travel and save £26.10. That’s not going to get positive column inches…
This is of course a consequence of the SDR on the flow being market priced and season ticket being regulated.
alistairlees
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But is it going to be 10% off the SDR?
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I'd do it for SDSs if you got say a year, but there's no point buying SDRs on the south WCML if you have a Network Railcard, as SDS out and Off Peak Day Single back with Network Railcard is considerably more than 10% cheaper than SDR.
An actually good deal would be something like buying 30 day tickets (or 60 singles) valid 12 months at (weekly season / 7) * 30. The plans aren't even flexible enough.
Haywain
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That may be so, but the pricing for longer distance seasons is inevitably very difficult. There are many where the price of a monthly season will be significantly less than 8 SDR/SHR/SOR fares, even with a 10% discount. In such cases the season should really be seen as the flexi fare.
I agree that the flexibility is rather (too?) limited. I would have suggested 5 days travel within 28 days or a month but priced the same as a 7-day season - for most people that would have been the same amount of travel either way, and they could just renew as necessary (as they will with the flexi season anyway).
WelshBluebird
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Still not going to sound good to those people who have been told by the industry and the media that they will soon be able to get a flexi season ticket that will save them money on their existing season ticket if they only need to travel half the week.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
That'd work too.
Failed Unit
Established Member
I guess we should be careful what we wish for, sorry if this is covered elsewhere, but do any operators plan to kill of the Carnet as a result of this? From what I am reading it looks like the Carnet will still be a better value options for the following reasons.
1. You can give them to other people to use.
2. You can travel on direction with a peak ticket and the other with an off-peak.
Granted the flexible season ticket does have the benefit of unlimited travel between 2 points and not ever route has Carnets. But considering how easy the Carnet's are to defraud the railway could this be the death of them?
1. You can give them to other people to use.
2. You can travel on direction with a peak ticket and the other with an off-peak.
Granted the flexible season ticket does have the benefit of unlimited travel between 2 points and not ever route has Carnets. But considering how easy the Carnet's are to defraud the railway could this be the death of them?
Failed Unit
Established Member
Hmm I will see what happens with GN - but that would be a interesting way to recover some revenue. (The Carnet probably was a little too good to be true as you could mix peak / off-peak tickets so I will put that into the I enjoyed it while it lasted). If it does go on GN I won't miss the faf you had with them.
Fawkes Cat
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Is this usual practice - to only announce what a fare will be on the day it goes on sale?
If so, it doesn't strike me a as a particularly good one. If everything had gone to plan, the target market would have been returning to their commutes on 21 June - so it would seem that they would on that Monday morning have had to have decided whether a flexible season was the ticket that they wanted.
As it turns out, the target market have an extra four weeks to think about whether this is the ticket they want, but that seems to be a triumph of luck over design.
Normal practice is for bulk fare changes only to take place in January, May and September and for the revised fares to appear in retail systems four weeks before they come into effect.
Where fares are changed outside the normal fares rounds - such as this and the postponed January fare change, which took place in March - new fares only show from the on sale date.
Haywain
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This is true, but this one isn't a fare change.
Interestingly, Priv discounts will be available on Flexi seasons. Each purchase of 8 days' tickets requires individual authorisation from RSTL, as with existing seasons, but I suppose that only means once every 4 weeks if you commute 2 days a week.
A 50% 16-17 Saver Railcard discount will also be available, however there will be no child discount. That could lead to the perverse situation of a 16 year old paying less for travel than a 15 year old in certain situations. Admittedly it's an unlikely scenario given that most 15 year olds would be doing a 5 day commute to school, if at all.
A 50% 16-17 Saver Railcard discount will also be available, however there will be no child discount. That could lead to the perverse situation of a 16 year old paying less for travel than a 15 year old in certain situations. Admittedly it's an unlikely scenario given that most 15 year olds would be doing a 5 day commute to school, if at all.
GTR wanted to put carnets on smartcards for years to reduce fraudulent use, but the DfT refused apparently. As such, given the desire by the railway to get people using smartcards or barcode tickets now, my guess is the carnet will be scrapped.
717001
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Although they are due to go on sale from 21 June, their validity is for journeys from 28 June, so there is a one week gap.
Failed Unit
Established Member
I suspect you are right. We had a good value ticket. Too good. Nothing that good last forever.
Paul Kelly
Verified Rep - BR Fares
Definitely - it can be argued that they are effectively the same thing? I can't think of any incidences when you know what price a fare is going to be before you can buy it?
Fawkes Cat
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This is a good point against my argument.
717001
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National Rail Enquiries have a page with a useful calculator, including cost per day for specific numbers of journeys per week / durations - looks like Flexis should appear there tomorrow
Season Ticket Calculator | National Rail
Use the Season Ticket Calculator to find the best ticket option and value for your money. Season tickets are great for regular travel between two destinations during peak times. Choose the best option and you will be directed to a ticket retailer website.
Wallsendmag
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Find a station that has a nightshift
Paul Kelly
Verified Rep - BR Fares
BR Fares (at the minute; improvements are in the pipeline) only shows fares that are currently valid. So you won't see them there until shortly after midnight on the 28th.
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