Am I correct in thinking as the old "off-peak" has been abolished, then now you have to buy a anytime for any travel out of kings cross before 09.06, where as off peak were valid before 06.45 and after 07.59? So that is a piss take from LNER - the 08.00 ex KX was always a very popular with off-peak ticket holders...
Well, there's no Off-Peak Single available on the flows that are part of this trial.
Newcastle-Finsbury Park
- Anytime Return £330
- Off-Peak Return £240.60
- Super Off-Peak return £145.70
Newcastle-King's Cross
- Anytime Single £165
- Super Off-Peak Single £72.85
So, one might expect there would be an Off-Peak Single at £120.30 to be available for those who wanted to arrive in London between 10:08 and 11:16. Effectively, those who want to travel on the 07:29 or 07:59 services from Newcastle now have to buy an Anytime ticket.
But what about returning from King's Cross? I can only use the Super Off-Peak Single between 09:06 and 14:59 and after 18:59 (or 18:15 on Fridays). So, if my return journey is within those time bands, I can combine an Anytime Single outbound and a Super Off-Peak Single inbound for a total of £237.85. That's a couple of quid cheaper than the equivalent Off-Peak Return, which is what they would have needed to buy before the fares trial.
The people who will
really be affected are those who want to travel out on the 07:29 or 07:59 from Newcastle
and return on the 15:00, 15:30, 18:00, 18:18 and 18:30 departures from Kings Cross (Mon-Thurs), or the 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30 or 18:00 (Fridays). They will now have to pay £330 instead of £240.60.
I expect LNER are assuming passengers will be able to purchase an Advance Single for one leg of the journey. For example, right now Advances for £125.50 are available for the 07:29 & 07:59 departures on Monday. That's just a fiver more expensive than the 'notional' Off-Peak Single price.
If they are canny, I suspect that by mixing and matching most people will either make a saving or at least be no worse off.