How to show split tickets when asked?

[ravenik45]

Just asking around based on experience. I'll be doing my first split ticket journey from Reading to Birmingham (split at Banbury) on a Crosscountry service.

If the conductor asks for my ticket, do I just show the Reading-Banbury ticket or Banbury-Birmingham ticket (depending on where the train is when the counductor goes around to check the tickets)? Or do I have to show all split tickets for the entire journey?

Or if they do the round both before and after stopping at Banbury, do I just show them my tickets again?

Also, based on experience, do XC staff frown upon this (split ticketing)? Although I understand they can't do anything much about it. I'm not the confrontational type so I just want the trip to be hassle-free.

Thanks for any advice

 

[timbo58]

Staff can't frown on anything that's valid, it's no skin off their nose after all.

If the train is going a-c and your tickets are a-b and b-c then show them both, as an ex RPI/SC I'd rather only ask a person once for tickets than be shown 2 separate splits individually.

 

[me123]

I'd show both tickets. What you are going is perfectly acceptable. Section 19 of NRCoC confirms that this is the case. It's not only acceptable, I'd expect that it's relatively commonplace on XC services, where it's very common for split ticketing to be your cheapest option.

You're probably more likely to run into trouble not doing this. Not exactly "trouble", but guards are very observant and may notice that you boarded at Reading but are only showing a ticket from Banbury, or will come around after Banbury and wonder why you're still there.

 

[Muzer]

Yeah, if I'm going to stay on the train, and I'm not beyond the split point, I'd just show both and let the guard work it out (usually you'll barely even get a mention — there are plenty of reasons to split other than just to save money, and what you're doing AFAIK isn't really frowned upon). If I'm beyond the split point I'd show only the second one for simplicity, but if that's explicitly challenged I'd show the first as well.

If the split is at or after a point where I'll change trains, I won't bother showing the second portion.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Show them both and you'll get left alone when the guard comes around later. I've never had anyone comment on it.

 

[ravenik45]

Ok I'll show both tickets when asked. Thanks everyone

 

[MichaelAMW]

My own experience is that you might get a stroppy response, but largely won't, whichever method you adopt - either a follow-up enquiry from an observant guard or a whinge that they don't want a handful of tickets to deal with, particularly if the guard isn't going much further and so doesn't much care about the later part of your journey. So, you can't win, but I would say that on balance the above advice to show them all is the better option.

 

[rishton82]

When I use split ticketing I show all the tickets for the train I am on the first time the guard comes down. The only time I have been told they don't want to see one of my tickets was on Crosscontry with splits at Cheltenham and Wolverhampton and the guard didn't want to see the one to Wolverhampton as they were coming off at Birmingham.

 

[yorkie]

Just asking around based on experience. I'll be doing my first split ticket journey from Reading to Birmingham (split at Banbury) on a Crosscountry service.

Show all tickets then, as it'll be the same Guard throughout your journey.

If the conductor asks for my ticket, do I just show the Reading-Banbury ticket or Banbury-Birmingham ticket (depending on where the train is when the counductor goes around to check the tickets)?

Or do I have to show all split tickets for the entire journey?

Or if they do the round both before and after stopping at Banbury, do I just show them my tickets again?

If you only show one ticket, and then another, to the same Guard, it may cause confusion and the Guard may wonder why you didn't simply show all tickets in the first place. If you wish to avoid any possibility of conflict, do not do this!

Also, based on experience, do XC staff frown upon this (split ticketing)? Although I understand they can't do anything much about it. I'm not the confrontational type so I just want the trip to be hassle-free.

Thanks for any advice

No they do not. And besides, it's permitted, and that's all that really matters!

I've never heard of an XC Guard give a disapproving remark about a combination of tickets. On the contrary; my experience has been very positive in this regard.

Not applicable to Reading-Birmingham, but when I am making a long distance XC journey (e.g. York to Plymouth) and I know the Guard would change en-route, then unless there was a delay or some other factor, I would show all the tickets which are relevant to the portion of the journey with that Guard and not bother to show the rest.

Obviously if there was good reason to show all tickets, then I would.

For example I once lost a reservation coupon, and the amount of hassle to try to get it re-printed would be immense, so I showed all 6 tickets to the first Guard, and because there were so many tickets and coupons, or perhaps because all the others matched up (all bought in one transaction), they didn't say anything about the missing coupon. The missing coupon related to a portion of the journey for which there was a different Guard. That Guard was happy with the fact the tickets had already been checked by the previous Guard.

 

[4SRKT]

What happens if you are on along journey and show all your tickets to the guard at the first opportunity and he grips them all? Could you then run into bother later in the journey with a different guard who might think you were re-using the portion that was valid at the time he was checking?

I split all the time and have never personally encountered this, but it must be a risk.

 

[yorkie]

What happens if you are on along journey and show all your tickets to the guard at the first opportunity and he grips them all? Could you then run into bother later in the journey with a different guard who might think you were re-using the portion that was valid at the time he was checking?

I split all the time and have never personally encountered this, but it must be a risk.

I can't see how, if at all stages you show the entire set of tickets for the journey being made, this could happen. The marks would surely be consistent across all tickets.

 

[sheff1]

What happens if you are on along journey and show all your tickets to the guard at the first opportunity and he grips them all? Could you then run into bother later in the journey with a different guard who might think you were re-using the portion that was valid at the time he was checking?

Yes you could and not only on a long journey.

I always split Sheffield - Birmingham tickets at Derby. If I showed both tickets south of Derby when returning north and they were both marked, but I then get a call suggesting a meet in the Brunswick at Derby, a guard on a later train from Derby to Sheffield might, quite understandably, take umbrage re travelling from the origin station on the ticket when that ticket is already marked. I prefer not to increase the risk of an unnecessary discussion.

This, of course, applies only to walk-up tickets not Advances. Also, if the grip was as we were actually pulling into Derby and I had no intention of alighting then I would show both.

 

[tony_mac]

After a bad experience, I now only ever show the currently valid ticket, and have never had any hassle doing that.

 

[blue87]

I normaly show the tickets for the leg of the journey i'm on, if all tickets are stamped and the train gets cancelled at a changeover point I worry it could pose a problem showing an already stamped/punched ticket. Also I sometimes fancy droping off at the supr of the moment during the journey.

 

[saxsux]

I made my first split ticketed journey earlier this week - and ran into no trouble showing all my tickets at once.

On the return journey, the guard paused and politely asked whether I was planning to get off the train at all (which is completely understandable, as my tickets were all off-peak month returns) before stamping my tickets. But that was it - no hassle at all.

 

[TheEdge]

On the return journey, the guard paused and politely asked whether I was planning to get off the train at all (which is completely understandable, as my tickets were all off-peak month returns) before stamping my tickets. But that was it - no hassle at all.

That's the approach I always use to them when I'm out and about clipping them.

To the OP, despite the image that some on this forum and certain free newspapers like to portray as staff the vast vast vast majority of us really are not bothered by the use of split tickets. I've been quite impressed by them in the past, I saw Attleborough to London (110 mile journey) return split across FOUR tickets before!

 

[yorkie]

That's the approach I always use to them when I'm out and about clipping them.

To the OP, despite the image that some on this forum and certain free newspapers like to portray as staff the vast vast vast majority of us really are not bothered by the use of split tickets. I've been quite impressed by them in the past, I saw Attleborough to London (110 mile journey) return split across FOUR tickets before!

Impressive... but if you worked for XC, you'd occasionally see much more than 4 on some journeys

 

[island]

I will generally show all the tickets unless I'm using a 19 (c) split with three or more tickets, such as one I did last year of Z1-3 annual Travelcard, Boundary Zone 3 to Didcot Parkway, Didcot Parkway to Swindon, Swindon to Cardiff Central on a train not calling at Didcot Parkway. This is permissible but a lot of guards will kick up a fuss.

 

[arb]

I normally have the ticket that's needed at the moment in one hand, and the one(s) for later in the journey in the other. I'll hand over the ticket that's needed right now whilst also gesturing towards the other one saying "and I have this one for after 'X' - do you want to see that now as well?". I feel that's a reasonable way of drawing attention to the fact that it's a split, minimising the risk of a guard stamping a ticket "too early" without really checking what they all are, but also giving them the chance to see everything upfront if that's what they want.

I've had a variety of responses from guards to this approach, but none of them have been anti-splitting or problematic. Some guards have indeed checked all the tickets immediately, some have said "don't give me the second one yet because it'll be a different guard by that station" or words to that effect, whilst some behaved as if they weren't really listening to what I was saying and showed no interest at all in the ticket in my other hand!

 

[LexyBoy]

I'll show all tickets applicable to the current train and state my destination. The only regular "issue" I have is a moment of confusion before the guard realises that I'm showing my Gold Card as a ticket as well as a Railcard.

I will generally show all the tickets unless I'm using a 19 (c) split with three or more tickets

Presumably you would have to show all of them if checked on, in this case, the Swindon-Reading section though?

 

[island]

Presumably you would have to show all of them if checked on, in this case, the Swindon-Reading section though?

I would show the minimum necessary, so not the Cardiff Central to Reading one.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

After a bad experience, I now only ever show the currently valid ticket, and have never had any hassle doing that.

Me too. Unless the train's just approaching my first split point, showing several tickets would only complicate matters and you can always show the second ticket if the guard comes back later.

Out of interest has anyone ever had a guard subsequently challenge them after the train's gone past the station their first split ticket was to?

 

[ravenik45]

I finally took the journey from Reading to Birmingham New Street yesterday.

The guard started checking the tickets as soon as the train departed Reading. I showed him both legs + my railcard. He looked at the railcard first and he said "that's fine," then he looked at the Reading-Banbury ticket and he said "that's fine," then he saw the Banbury-Birmingham ticket, looked at it for a few seconds, and as if he had a eureka moment, he again said, "that's fine."

He clipped both tickets and handed them back to me. I checked the numbers on his clip. They were the exact same code.

The same guard did ticket checks as well after leaving both Oxford and Banbury stations. He didn't disturb me again

 

[me123]

Glad to hear it went well. I had no doubt whatsoever that it wouldn't be a problem. Splitting tickets is very common on XC.

 

[PermitToTravel]

The attached photo is of the small rainforest it takes for 11 people to cost-effectively travel between Manchester and Cambridge. Haven't yet decided how to present them when inspected

 

[Eeveevolve]

The attached photo is of the small rainforest it takes for 11 people to cost-effectively travel between Manchester and Cambridge. Haven't yet decided how to present them when inspected

In a completly random order, around 4 hours to check. Just slightly longer than the travelling time.

 

[westv]

Talking of having more than one ticket, it amuses me that on times times I've amended my journey (and had two P at H tickets) the guards I show them too always seems a bit confused even though the main print at home ticket I show always clearly states at the top "only valid with ticket xxx" (or similar)