Increased rail fares

[anthony263]

what do people think about the increase in rail fares.

my train fare has risen by about 6 % so i am taking teh bus tommorow although i goes all over the dam place it is still 2 pounds cheaper

 

[Z12XE]

Our train fares went up about 6%, but still cheaper than the local bus fares which went up about 50% in the summer, plus there are more train services to choose from and more time to make the return journey

 

[rosscbrown]

My fair has too went up 6%. Also, the quality of service has fallen as fewer trains now call a my station and the trains that do call are the TPE 185 classes whereas I'd prefere a Virgin Voyager or Pendo - the later doing an amazing breakfast!

Still, an extra £3 per week is hardly the end of the world - however the not so great breakfast on the TPE comes close to being the end of the world.

Local buses went up 30% due to oil costs - but only after oil started falling. City buses went up 10% not too long ago and are nowing going up again by 9% ish.

 

[me123]

Moved. Please post in the most appropriate forum: thanks.

I'm one of the lucky ones in this fare hike. There's little rise in Strathclyde fares, which is good because we have the lowest rate of car ownership and some of the most deprived areas in the UK. And Scotrail are one of the better operators, as unregulated fares are only going up by the 6%. I'm not a regular traveller now, but I'll soon see how this affects me, as my local fares are still good value for money.

The Crosscountry fare rise is farcical, however, and thankfully they don't control any of my local routes. 11% is nothing short of ridiculous. The NXEC fare rise is also a bit annoying as the East Coast is terrible for fares; extortionate walk up travel and sell-out-quickly AP tickets. Virgin's a bad one as well. The improved service frequency is worth the investment but only if VHF works and so far it's not been an easy road with two major incidents on the WCML in a month.

But good on LM for freezing unregulated fares this time around! Glad to see that one company is reasonable. But it's disappointing how many TOCs have increased unregulated fares >6%

 

[cainebj]

not sure how much they have went up for by me, but i have heard buses are cheaper! and to be honest, provide a better service!
i'm hoping they didnt go up too much! being a student it isnt easy finding the cash to pay for train fares! especially when just about everything else has gone up in price, but funding has remained the same!

 

[Robert57303]

For me the price has only gone up 20p for a single and 10p for a return, and its still quicker and cheaper than catching the bus to college.

 

[furryfeet]

LM did their fare increases in sept 2008, under the guise of simplification, when it did things like changing savers to anytime, thus imposing a fare rise, typically of around 6%

It will be interesting to see if Virgin launch any marketing drive with reduced walk-on fares later in the winter, especially IF there are vacant seats on the new, more frequent services.

Anyone on the forums know if this will be the case ?

 

[metrocammel]

It will be interesting to see if Virgin launch any marketing drive with reduced walk-on fares later in the winter, especially IF there are vacant seats on the new, more frequent services.

Anyone on the forums know if this will be the case ?

It'd be good, for sure.. but I don't ever recall fares getting temporarily reduced, I don't even know if it's allowed except at the set times when all TOCs revise their fares? They could, however, offer some sort of promotion - like money off booking online, like FGW recently did, or a 'FSR25 / 50' type promotion? I can't personally see them doing anything though.

 

[furryfeet]

there has been a precedent for fares being reduced as a marketing drive - this is what triggered my previous comment.

Virgin, under Chris Green, did it for a month post-Hatfield in order to boost passenger numbers. All fares set by Virgin were priced at 50% off and lo and behold,
passenger numbers increased !

Unfortunately no other TOC followed suit.

Maybe there is a budding Chris Green out there that can prove us doubters all wrong.

 

[glynn80]

there has been a precedent for fares being reduced as a marketing drive - this is what triggered my previous comment.

Virgin, under Chris Green, did it for a month post-Hatfield in order to boost passenger numbers. All fares set by Virgin were priced at 50% off and lo and behold,
passenger numbers increased !

Unfortunately no other TOC followed suit.

Maybe there is a budding Chris Green out there that can prove us doubters all wrong.

Well at the beggining after Hatfield with 1200 speed restrictions and passenger confidence at an all time low, I can see the need for drastic measures.

At the moment rail travel is seen as an alternative for many in the credit crunch, as they look to dispose of their cars so I doubt we'll see anything as drastic as that.

 

[David]

Northern are taking the proverbial with the latest price rises ....

I've just checked several journeys I tend to make, and the results, well ....

Scunthorpe - Doncaster, up 90p to £9.10. 11% rise
Scunthorpe - Sheffield, up £1.30 to £12.10. 12% rise

These rises are from January 2nd, and are on top of the 30-40p rises that happened in September as part of "Simplification".

By comparison, TPE price the Scunthorpe - Manchester flow, and that has gone up £1.50 to £27.90, only a 5.7% rise. There was no increase last September either when the ticketing system was changed.

Scunthorpe - Doncaster/Sheffield examples are Off Peak Day Returns, while the Scunthorpe - Manchester ticket is an Off Peak Return.

 

[Kellendel]

My monthly season has ticket has gone up 9% traveling from Llansamalet to Cardiff. Since August the price has gone up 18% with the other fare increase in October.

The fare zone seems to be merged between Swansea and Neath so I could have a ticket from Swansea to Cardiff instead but there no mention of this so I'm trying to get a 'changeover'.