Railcard price increase

[Mojo]

Haven't seen this here yet.

From 22 May the one-year 1625, Senior, Family/Friends and Network Railcard will all increase in price to £28.

The three-year railcard (online only, not Network Railcard) remains at £65.

 

[All Line Rover]

Although any increase in price is not welcome (although £2 is nothing much), as long as the Railcard's cost £30 tops they are still excellent value. We save hundreds of pounds a year using them!

The savings are particularly extraordinary with Virgin Trains (because they allow Off-Peak tickets to be used on Peak trains if you hold a Railcard). A "Peak" return from Crewe to Euston for a family of 4 costs £108.20 with the Railcard. The price is an absolutely bonkers £642 without one! :roll:

The 16-25 Railcard does the same thing - £42 return for 1 Adult with the Railcard, a ridiculous £214 without! :roll:

As long as they don't withdraw Railcards, or make the 16-25 Railcard a 16-21 Railcard, I'm happy.

 

[SS4]

Although any increase in price is not welcome (although £2 is nothing much), as long as the Railcard's cost £30 tops they are still excellent value. We save hundreds of pounds a year using them!

Have to agree, more often they not they pay for themselves in one or two trips especially the easement on Virgin and discounted oyster cards (90p from Z2-Z6 off peak!)

Discounted Advance Firsts are nice way to travel in style too

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Plus of course the other discounts, most of which are complete smeg.

Don't railcard holders qualify for a bite card? Or is that everyone now?

 

[All Line Rover]

Don't railcard holders qualify for a bite card? Or is that everyone now?

Everyone qualifies for a Bitecard (and I believe always have). I always carry mine with me!

 

[tony_mac]

thanks for the warning; I only need one for 6 months so may as well get a new one before the rise.

BTW, is anyone else confused by having two members with (almost) identical usernames?

 

[First class]

thanks for the warning; I only need one for 6 months so may as well get a new one before the rise.

BTW, is anyone else confused by having two members with (almost) identical usernames?

I've asked the mods to change the user names to avoid confusion, but they refused. (Despite them changing my username 507001 to First Class because someone already had 507 001)...

Anyway, getting on topic, there is usually a 50% promo code knocking about around July/August/Sept. At the moment SAVE10 gets you 10% off online. Try SAVING12 for 50% later on in the year.

Also keep an eye out for the Daily Mail free Family Railcard offer available from 5th July IRRC.

MAIL50 or DAILYM12 usually is the code for a half price annual Family Railcard once the offer begins again.

 

[tony_mac]

Also keep an eye out for the Daily Mail free Family Railcard offer available from 5th July IRRC.

The Daily Mail free railcard is usually valid from April / May until July, is there any news for this year?

I have to buy my 16-25 at a station, so can't take advantage of any online offers.

 

[yorksrob]

Nice if you can get one

 

[MikeWh]

... (although £2 is nothing much) ...

I do wish people would stop making such glib statements. If you have nothing spare then £2 is an insurmountable barrier.

 

[First class]

I do wish people would stop making such glib statements. If you have nothing spare then £2 is an insurmountable barrier.

But that equates to an annual increase of less than 1 pence per day. If someone can afford £26, they can afford £28.

Unfortunately, costs rise for TOCs, just as they do for us.

If you have nothing "spare" then I doubt a YP railcard is required which targets "leisure" traveller markets. Have to stay local or in the house.

Still a ~7.5% increase though... just does not happen to be THAT noticeable. In fact it could cost £200 and you would still be able to recoup your money in one hit (ALR 14 day).

Do wonder how Railcards fit in with future plans though. Eventually it will hit a point where the initial cost will put people off, probably around the £55-£60 mark which I would expect to be reached within 5 years.

 

[All Line Rover]

I do wish people would stop making such glib statements. If you have nothing spare then £2 is an insurmountable barrier.

Goodness, you must be dreadfully poor if you can't afford an extra £2!

I agree with the other First Class, in that since Railcards are for leisure travel, you wouldn't be buying one if you were short of money anyway.

 

[jon0844]

If they put the price up, how about reducing the minimum fare to £10?

I see no reason to have some holders being charged more (and I've seen TVMs that happily let you pay the minimum fare even if it's cheaper not telling it you have a railcard!) because of a minimum fare. And if you can't use it, why have it? Only at weekends does the minimum not apply, which seems a bit cheeky as there's no weekend-only railcard!

I appreciate that some people may buy tickets that go below the capped amount, but if you live just in or just outside London then a railcard is pretty pointless for a lot of the time.

 

[MikeWh]

But that equates to an annual increase of less than 1 pence per day. If someone can afford £26, they can afford £28.

They might be able to, they might not. You're not getting it.

Unfortunately, costs rise for TOCs, just as they do for us.

I don't doubt that, but that isn't my problem. You suggesting a rise is nothing is my problem.

If you have nothing "spare" then I doubt a YP railcard is required which targets "leisure" traveller markets. Have to stay local or in the house.

There you go again. The phrase "when you're in a hole, stop digging" springs to mind here.

Still a ~7.5% increase though...

Exactly, 7.5% is massive when combined with increases everywhere else.

 

[yorksrob]

Goodness, you must be dreadfully poor if you can't afford an extra £2!

I agree with the other First Class, in that since Railcards are for leisure travel, you wouldn't be buying one if you were short of money anyway.

I don't know, when you take account of the increases in the price of the tickets themselves, then the price of everything else as well. It all adds up.

 

[jon0844]

This is possibly why percentages don't always tell the full story. 7.5% sounds crazy, but it's £2 a year.

Meanwhile, a season ticket goes up by just 3 or 4% and it adds a couple of hundred pounds a year.

 

[scotsman]

Remember, if you have a Young Persons account with RBS or Natwest you can get details on how to apply for a discounted (25%) railcard from your bank's website - well worth the £18 I paid for mine!

In other news, the Scottish Youth Railcard is still free!

 

[All Line Rover]

Exactly, 7.5% is massive when combined with increases everywhere else.

Erm, how about the cost of petrol Mike, which is currently taking a 20% bite out of our (fairly large) financial expenditure? Or how about the cost of gas and electricity, the price of which has doubled countless times in recent years?

Although the increase in the price of Railcards may seen large as a percentage, Railcards are very cheap to start with, so even a high percentage increase adds little to the overall price. A £2 increase (little more than the cost of 1 litre of petrol) is insignificant compared to all the other price rises on essentials. A Railcard is not essential - if you can't afford an extra £2, it's highly unlikely that you can afford leisure travel!

 

[CliveJones]

Exactly, 7.5% is massive when combined with increases everywhere else.

It has not risen for two years. So its unfair to say its a 7.5% increase compared to other increases. That a yearly average of 3.75%. Thats not bad.

Also if inflation is >=3.75% for the last two year average then it has not risen at all.

 

[yorkie]

I've asked the mods to change the user names to avoid confusion, but they refused.

I'm not aware of a recent request by you to change your username, however First_Class is considering a replacement username, this will resolve the matter.

 

[bb21]

There are all sorts of ways to argue this one depending on one's perspective. For example, one can argue that £26 is way too much given that on the continent, you don't have to pay anything upfront to enjoy a discount if you're under 26.

 

[yorksrob]

This is possibly why percentages don't always tell the full story. 7.5% sounds crazy, but it's £2 a year.

Meanwhile, a season ticket goes up by just 3 or 4% and it adds a couple of hundred pounds a year.

Yes, that's a very good point. Personally, I'd be happy to pay £26 for the National Railcard which has been proposed from time to time but which never seems to get off the drawing board. How about it ATOC ?

 

[MKB]

My view is that it is a national disgrace that we charge anything at all for the Senior Railcard. Anyone over the qualifying age should in my view get 50% off rail travel on presentation of proof of age. It would be reasonable to restrict this to off-peak tickets only I think, as it would be madness to pile extra passengers on to crowded trains. [Unfortunately, off-peak does not equate with uncrowded, but that's another bigger issue.]

It's a measure of a nation as to how it looks after its elderly generation, and I think we fare badly in regard to rail travel. A 34% discount is mean, and a lot of pensioners will not be able to afford more than a couple of trips per year using the cheapest Advance tickets. Paying £28 per year for the privilege of a senior discount is out of the reach of many people who should be allowed to enjoy their life after work.

 

[SS4]

My view is that it is a national disgrace that we charge anything at all for the Senior Railcard. Anyone over the qualifying age should in my view get 50% off rail travel on presentation of proof of age. It would be reasonable to restrict this to off-peak tickets only I think, as it would be madness to pile extra passengers on to crowded trains. [Unfortunately, off-peak does not equate with uncrowded, but that's another bigger issue.]

It's a measure of a nation as to how it looks after its elderly generation, and I think we fare badly in regard to rail travel. A 34% discount is mean, and a lot of pensioners will not be able to afford more than a couple of trips per year using the cheapest Advance tickets. Paying £28 per year for the privilege of a senior discount is out of the reach of many people who should be allowed to enjoy their life after work.

Free bus travel not good enough then? Why not the same for the 16-25 railcard when there is already record youth unemployment?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
It's a measure of the nation on how it treats all those less fortunate than themselves. Voting in the Conservatives shows that we're a poor nation in that respect

 

[jon0844]

My parents have bus passes but are more than happy to pay, and have enough money to do so. They have senior railcards, and now travel quite a bit with them (and often go first class on long trips). Does that sound like pensioners that struggle to heat their home, such is the stereotypical view of an old person?

By all means introduce a means testing system (except how much would that cost?) or introduce discounts at off-peak times, for standard class only, and charge for discounts at other times - or for first class and other 'unnecessary' extras, but why assume that everyone needs free travel or a free railcard?

It does, after all, cost someone money (the tax payer) and isn't actually free!

 

[radamfi]

Not everywhere gives discounted travel for pensioners. The UK (and especially Ireland) actually have better discounts than many European countries, although pensioners may well be better off in those countries and thus don't need a discount.

A quick browse of websites shows:

SBB: No special discount for pensioners in Switzerland. Everyone is eligible to buy a Half Fare Travelcard.

DB: Pensioners and under 26s get a discount on a Bahncard 25, giving 25% off train fares in Germany. I can't see a discount for the Bahncard 50 which gives 50% off.

NMBS/SNCB: Maximum off-peak return fare of €5.20 for over 65s. Sounds great, but everyone can buy a Railpass for €74.00 which gives 10 single trips in a year, including peak travel (Yes, Belgian trains really are THAT cheap!)

NS: No discount of their Voordeelurenkaart for pensioners, which gives 40% off train fares after 9am for everyone. (These passes are being revised later this year to ban the evening peak). However, pensioners holding that card can get unlimited travel throughout the Netherlands for €2 on 7 selected Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays each year after 9am.

Northern Ireland Railways: Free travel on all trains (and buses) for over 60s. Free travel for over 66s for Republic residents.

Irish Rail: Free travel for over 66s. Free travel for over 65s for Northern Ireland residents.

 

[bb21]

It does, after all, cost someone money (the tax payer) and isn't actually free!

Totally. The government knows that the nationwide free travel scheme is not affordable yet for political motives they decide to keep it and instead make cuts elsewhere, and I'm looking at you David Cameron.

Many local authority areas, even before the budget cut, were struggling to offer bus companies a fair level of remuneration for the scheme (I know my local authority was offering 37p per journey, even long distance journeys of tens of miles) and the result? Services had to be split, then cut (Who loses out here again?) because despite headline increases in passenger numbers, bus companies made less money due to ever-increasing costs far outstripping increases in income, if any. Fares were still rising at the rate of 10% a year for other passengers when everyone's feeling the pinch.

Yes the elderly need looking after properly, but what is the point of putting a system in place that we cannot afford to fund? I don't know what will happen to the railways if something similar gets implemented, but i'm not holding my breath.

 

[me123]

Remember, if you have a Young Persons account with RBS or Natwest you can get details on how to apply for a discounted (25%) railcard from your bank's website - well worth the £18 I paid for mine!

In other news, the Scottish Youth Railcard is still free!

Or you could open your account at the right time and get a free 3-year railcard instead

The Scottish Youth Railcard is still free, but it's only available to 16-18 year olds, and only redeemable within Scotland. Excellent for many, but a lot of people still need the "proper" 16-25 railcard. Interestingly, the SY-PR still retains the old conditions for the Y-P wrt minimum fares (it's still £16/£8 rather than the £12 on the 16-25).

£2 a year extra isn't that much. Someone earlier made the comment that it's a lot for someone who doesn't have much to spare. I would argue on the other hand that, if they're getting a railcard, they're going to be spending a considerable sum on rail tickets anyway! I highly doubt they'd bother with a railcard if their annual saving was going to be <£2. That said, it's really good news that the 3-year railcard is still the same price. Definitely the best value for money option there.

 

[scotsman]

Or you could open your account at the right time and get a free 3-year railcard instead

The Scottish Youth Railcard is still free, but it's only available to 16-18 year olds, and only redeemable within Scotland. Excellent for many, but a lot of people still need the "proper" 16-25 railcard. Interestingly, the SY-PR still retains the old conditions for the Y-P wrt minimum fares (it's still £16/£8 rather than the £12 on the 16-25).

If you open a student account - I look forward to the day!

SC-YP also gives 50% off season tickets!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

My view is that it is a national disgrace that we charge anything at all for the Senior Railcard. Anyone over the qualifying age should in my view get 50% off rail travel on presentation of proof of age. It would be reasonable to restrict this to off-peak tickets only

. . . .

A 34% discount is mean, and a lot of pensioners will not be able to afford more than a couple of trips per year using the cheapest Advance tickets. Paying £28 per year for the privilege of a senior discount is out of the reach of many people who should be allowed to enjoy their life after work.

Yes, and , no.

Surely there are 2 separate issues here?
There are many working professionals travelling regularly for business in the public sector, private sector and as self-employed who are over 60 and so enjoying the 34% RC discount which, perhaps, they don't really need. (And a lot in that category seem to manage First Class travel too!)
Then there are those with very very small incomes and negligible savings, struggling to stay warm and comfortable, and who are somewhat neglected and un-cared for by society.

Its hard to devise schemes which treat people as fairly as the Railcard scheme intends to do. Even to use 'pension' as a trigger is misleading because some seem to start to draw from their pensions before stopping employment!

 

[All Line Rover]

There are many working professionals travelling regularly for business in the public sector, private sector and as self-employed who are over 60 and so enjoying the 34% RC discount which, perhaps, they don't really need. (And a lot in that category seem to manage First Class travel too!)

I've got to admit that's quite a nice category to fit into!

Although such people may seem detrimental to the amount of revenue TOC's get, you could argue that the 1/3 off discount encourages them to travel First Class, which they wouldn't do without the discount. And I'm sure TOC's still earn more overall from a 33% cheaper First Class ticket than they would do from a full price Standard Class ticket.

I know you could then say: "Well why doesn't everyone get 1/3 off First Class tickets, to encourage them to upgrade...?", but the psychology just doesn't work as well then!