• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

National express Skimmer Pass

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Anthony ross

Member
Joined
15 Nov 2017
Messages
210
It’s the first I’ve heard of it and I’ve just booked a single journey for me and my partner from Romford to Preston in April
 

Flying Snail

Established Member
Joined
12 Dec 2006
Messages
1,849
It's been hidden away on the NX website for a few years with no mention or links from the homepage since they dropped the "Britxplorer" name for the similar ticket.

I had been considering using one before but never got around to planning a trip. I did have a few concerns though.

It is rather unclear if the ticket can be used on demand or if reservations are required for all journeys, The text in the T&C could be interpreted either way. Obviously it is a good idea to book many journeys but routes such as Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds and the various London Airport routes and the outer ends of more rural routes would be near enough walk-up services where it would be handy to not have to be restricted to advance bookings.

As well as that it is how the ticket is presented (it appears to be issued by e-mail only) and how likely it is to be accepted without difficulty. Considering how well hidden the product is I doubt many get purchased so will drivers be familiar with it at all?

Last year I enquired in Digbeth about purchasing such a ticket and was told no such ticket exists, certainly points to them being not well known and that trying to book a journey at a station with one may be problematic.

For booking journeys online you need to use the old version of their journey planner which is also not linked from the current NX website

https://coach.nationalexpress.com/nxbooking/

Certainly the price is good, especially compared to some routes where a 7 day pass is cheaper than one return fare.
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
104,060
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
It is rather unclear if the ticket can be used on demand or if reservations are required for all journeys, The text in the T&C could be interpreted either way. Obviously it is a good idea to book many journeys but routes such as Liverpool-Manchester-Leeds and the various London Airport routes and the outer ends of more rural routes would be near enough walk-up services where it would be handy to not have to be restricted to advance bookings.

Pretty sure it's the same as holding a flexible NatEx ticket, which is that you can use a service without a reservation but only at driver discretion if they are sure the seats are available and not reserved, e.g. going towards London at MK Coachway any untaken seat is by definition free.
 

350747

Member
Joined
27 Jan 2019
Messages
5
I've just read the Web page, but on the National Express link, you're not required to enter a country of residence, and nothing in their own terms and conditions state that UK residents can't purchase the pass
That's confusing.com lol
 

Typhoon

Established Member
Joined
2 Nov 2017
Messages
3,540
Location
Kent
I've just read the Web page, but on the National Express link, you're not required to enter a country of residence, and nothing in their own terms and conditions state that UK residents can't purchase the pass
Complete speculation but I wonder whether Visit Britain are only authorised to sell Skimmer tickets to visitors coming from abroad (and presumably take a cut of the fee) while National Express would want to reserve sales in the UK for themselves to avoid having to give a cut to third parties.

Alternatively, maybe Visit Britain have not updated their website? (Their list of countries you can select you are visiting from is rather incomplete.)
 

350747

Member
Joined
27 Jan 2019
Messages
5
Complete speculation but I wonder whether Visit Britain are only authorised to sell Skimmer tickets to visitors coming from abroad (and presumably take a cut of the fee) while National Express would want to reserve sales in the UK for themselves to avoid having to give a cut to third parties.

Alternatively, maybe Visit Britain have not updated their website? (Their list of countries you can select you are visiting from is rather incomplete.)
Thanks for the clarification, it does seem feasible definitely.
 

Deerfold

Veteran Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
13,143
Location
Yorkshire
Great value despite the long list of exclusions

So far as I can see, all the exclusions are services they sell tickets for but don't operate or contract themselves.

I was more surprised to see they *are* valid on Heathrow Hotel Hoppas which NX haven't operated for a while.
 

Bletchleyite

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Oct 2014
Messages
104,060
Location
"Marston Vale mafia"
So far as I can see, all the exclusions are services they sell tickets for but don't operate or contract themselves.

I was more surprised to see they *are* valid on Heathrow Hotel Hoppas which NX haven't operated for a while.

I wonder if that's an oversight by a member of staff who thought they still did - I did!
 

extendedpaul

Member
Joined
11 Nov 2010
Messages
692
Location
Caerphilly and Kent
I've just noticed that people in the UK can now buy these passes and at £69 for a week it seems like very good value, has anyone used them?

Info here: http://www.nationalexpress.com/en/offers/skimmer.aspx
Back in 2016 something very similar was available called "Hobo". I contacted Nat Exp about it at the time and they confirmed it was available to anyone, not just overseas visitors. The £79 price for 7 days unlimited travel was cheaper than some return journeys. By summer 2017, when I was seriously considering buying one, all references to it seemed to have disappeared.
 

Deerfold

Veteran Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
13,143
Location
Yorkshire
I wonder if that's an oversight by a member of staff who thought they still did - I did!

They're specifically mentioned as being in addition to services operated by NX.

Skimmer Terms and Conditions said:
  1. The Skimmer pass entitles the holder to unlimited free travel during the validity of the pass on: (i) scheduled coach services operated by National Express in England, Scotland and Wales; and (ii) the Heathrow Hotel Hoppa bus network.
 

Flying Snail

Established Member
Joined
12 Dec 2006
Messages
1,849
Back in 2016 something very similar was available called "Hobo". I contacted Nat Exp about it at the time and they confirmed it was available to anyone, not just overseas visitors. The £79 price for 7 days unlimited travel was cheaper than some return journeys. By summer 2017, when I was seriously considering buying one, all references to it seemed to have disappeared.

Like I said in post #4, it was called BritXplorer, with the different duration tickets having sub names such as Hobo https://web.archive.org/web/20160307222223/http://www.nationalexpress.com/offers/brit-xplorer.aspx A unlimited travel ticket has been around under various names for a very long time (since the 90's or earlier), Skimmer was a direct replacement but for some reason has never been advertised with no direct listing on the website homepage.

Looking back through the archives there was a non-UK restriction which was dropped in 2006 at which time Scottish Citylink use was dropped (presumably due to the CDG-Stagecoach joint operation).

https://web.archive.org/web/20051124164526/http://www.nationalexpress.com/save/britxplorer/info.cfm
https://web.archive.org/web/20060819151035/http://www.nationalexpress.com/save/britxplorer/info.cfm

Apart from the fares now being cheaper (7 day £79-£69 14 day £139-£119 28 day £219-£199) the only difference is around reservations.

On the old ticket it was clearly stated that it was valid without a reservation which was available for £1.50 per journey. The conditions on the Visit Britain site states that it is only valid with a reservation which are now free.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top