Raileasy split ticketing

[trevmonk]

Raileasy seem to be planning a split ticket engine. Described as "coming soon" on their site here:

http://www.raileasy.co.uk/home/split-tickets

Split Tickets

***COMING SOON**


Why book split tickets?

If you want the cheapest train ticket for your journey but can't commit to travelling at a certain time or date or you've left it till the last minute and there are just no more cheap rail fares for your journey, split tickets are the answer to your problem! Even if you're booking on the day of travel, split tickets can save you a small fortune on the usual cost of rail tickets.


What is a split ticket?

• A split ticket is simply where instead of having one train ticket to take you from your departure point to your destination the journey is broken down into two or more parts with a separate ticket for each section.
• For instance if you want to travel from London to Manchester you might get a train ticket from London to Stoke-on-Trent and a second rail ticket from Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester.
• Britain's illogical rail fare system means that splitting your ticket by booking a train ticket to an intermediary station and then a different ticket from there to your destination often works out far cheaper than the cost of a conventional train ticket.

 

[Squaddie]

Raileasy seem to be planning a split ticket engine. Described as "coming soon" on their site here:

http://www.raileasy.co.uk/home/split-tickets

It'll be interesting to see how well they do it, as there is an immense number of possible splits for a single journey and the potential saving will depend upon a number of factors including the time of day and the passenger's willingness to commit to specific trains.

 

[Goatboy]

Anything that draws more attention to this sort of ticketing can only acclerate the process by which it ceases to become possible (and not by reducing the often ridiculous point to point prices that make splitting so lucractive).

 

[Squaddie]

Anything that draws more attention to this sort of ticketing can only acclerate the process by which it ceases to become possible (and not by reducing the often ridiculous point to point prices that make splitting so lucractive).

There is little, if anything, the rail industry can do to prevent split ticketing short of a complete overhaul of the fares system so that a split ticket is never cheaper than a through ticket.

 

[SickyNicky]

There is little, if anything, the rail industry can do to prevent split ticketing short of a complete overhaul of the fares system so that a split ticket is never cheaper than a through ticket.

Which is unlikely to happen any time soon since it would have to be revenue neutral, meaning prices for some journeys would have to go up significantly. I think that smart cards (and the requirement to touch in and out for each journey) may be the biggest barrier to split ticketing in the future.

And yes, Raileasy are developing a split ticket engine. This forum will be the first to know once it becomes available.

 

[CockneySparrow]

There is little, if anything, the rail industry can do to prevent split ticketing short of a complete overhaul of the fares system so that a split ticket is never cheaper than a through ticket.

I can never be done, how would you make split ticketing the same value as a through ticket over 2 toc areas and still offer advanced singles on your own trains to encourage people to travel
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Which is unlikely to happen any time soon since it would have to be revenue neutral, meaning prices for some journeys would have to go up significantly. I think that smart cards (and the requirement to touch in and out for each journey) may be the biggest barrier to split ticketing in the future.

And yes, Raileasy are developing a split ticket engine. This forum will be the first to know once it becomes available.

no problem, you just get more smart cards,

 

[SickyNicky]

no problem, you just get more smart cards,

What happens when there is a requirement to touch in and out? Do you have to get off the train at the split point and find a card reader? You might not be able to get back on again in time.

How about if you want to start your journey late, or end it early? Or even split tickets that start or end short?

Sorry this is a bit off the original topic, but the split fare engine is likely to ruffle some feathers when it goes live, and these kinds of things need to be thought about going forward.

 

[Greenback]

First fo all we need to see what the website tool actually does, how effective it is and how it is marketed.

Newspaper articles and TV shows about splitting haven't had much effect, and smartcards will be coming no matter what Raileasy does, so I've got an open mind at the moment.

 

[Goatboy]

Personally I completely fail to see the value in a Smart Card for long distance rail travel.

Touching in and out blah blah works fine for metro transit but what benefits does it offer over an actual ticket on, say, a 5 hour Intercity journey?

 

[transmanche]

Touching in and out blah blah works fine for metro transit but what benefits does it offer over an actual ticket on, say, a 5 hour Intercity journey?

If you lose it (or if it's stolen), it can be replaced.

 

[Greenback]

Replacing a lost or stolen card would be an advantage. As a means of storing a ticket it could be more convenient than carrying around several bits of card, too.

 

[Goatboy]

Not convinced of the benefits. For frequent use travel, ie how it works in London, absolutely I see the benefit. Also for season tickets as well.

But almost nobody loses a one-off long distance ticket anyway, so most people will only see hassle as a result of smart cards. Especially as most of the card you carry is seat reservations anyway which wouldn't be on a smart card.

Though to be fair its unlikely to be a problem because if it removes split ticketing and puts me at the mercy of XC's pathetic long-distance through fares I'll be back in the car anyway, I can only make the train make semi-sense on XC by splitting.

 

[yorkie]

Personally I completely fail to see the value in a Smart Card for long distance rail travel.

Agreed

Touching in and out blah blah works fine for metro transit but what benefits does it offer over an actual ticket on, say, a 5 hour Intercity journey?

A long journey isn't going to be compatible with the concept of 'Pay As You Go', so the only use for a smart card (which is a medium) is to load previously purchased 'tickets' (products) onto it.

Thus many of the benefits of something like Oyster, are lost.

And if you have several products loaded onto one card, how will the card know which one to read? This is especially the case if you are at a location where more than one product is valid at that time.

However I would suggest this discussion takes place in a new thread.

Paper tickets are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and "splitting" is going to continue to reduce costs for some journeys for the foreseeable future too.

In the longer term, anything is possible!

 

[transmanche]

But almost nobody loses a one-off long distance ticket anyway, so most people will only see hassle as a result of smart cards.

Hmmm, not so sure about that. But it will also eliminate another problem that's been discussed on other threads; the problem of people who 'forget' their railcard.

 

[CockneySparrow]

Hmmm, not so sure about that. But it will also eliminate another problem that's been discussed on other threads; the problem of people who 'forget' their railcard.

assuming the railcard is stored on the smart card if it is then the system will then be more complex as it will have to search two types

Another note if someone loses their ticket today they can lose a smart card just as easily

Suppose it will stop fare dodgers picking up unclipped tickets on the floor outside the stations or from bins and using them again

 

[lemonic]

I see that the Raileasy split ticketing engine has launched at www.splitticketing.com

 

[transportphoto]

I don't like the idea of the 'splitticketing.com commission' which is '10% of savings made'... which is then charged to the customer... :roll:

And it's RailEasy...

I say no more.

TP

 

[SickyNicky]

I don't like the idea of the 'splitticketing.com commission' which is '10% of savings made'... which is then charged to the customer... :roll:

I think that most customers will be prepared to pay such a fee given that it's a percentage of the saving that the system has found for them. However, there's nothing to stop you taking a copy of the results and booking then independently (except the hassle, maybe).

 

[Crossover]

"......so take advantage of this and you could pay a lot less less than you otherwise would have for the same train tickets. For additional detailed information please follow the links in the menu bar below."

Errrr......

 

[Haywain]

I'm not sure offering an Advance ticket is quite what is expected...

 

[maniacmartin]

"......so take advantage of this and you could pay a lot less less than you otherwise would have for the same train tickets. For additional detailed information please follow the links in the menu bar below."

Errrr......

Yes, it should say for the same train journeys. The actual tickets will cost more than elsewhere

 

[greatkingrat]

If you click through to the payment screen, you get what appears to be an unsecured page to enter your credit card details on?

 

[All Line Rover]

If you click through to the payment screen, you get what appears to be an unsecured page to enter your credit card details on?

I know! Completely unbelievable. No reputable company would have an unsecured webpage through which to take payment details.

 

[SickyNicky]

I know! Completely unbelievable. No reputable company would have an unsecured webpage through which to take payment details.

It's an iframe pointing to a secure site. I'll mention it to them anyway.

 

[bnm]

And if there's a problem with your transaction?

I presume you'd have to contact raileasy as it is they who are issuing the tickets. That'll be anything from £1.02 to £2.36 a minute (depending on your telecoms provider) to call raileasy's 090 customer support number.

raileasy. Avoid.

 

[Crossover]

Yes, it should say for the same train journeys. The actual tickets will cost more than elsewhere

Ah, two problems in one sentence - excellent

 

[All Line Rover]

It's an iframe pointing to a secure site. I'll mention it to them anyway.

I suspected as such, but considering everyone is taught to look for a (green) padlock or other such symbol in their web browser (which in most web browsers, when clicked, gives a fair amount of detail allowing one to assess the legitimacy of a website), I imagine the current set up would put many people off.

 

[SickyNicky]

I suspected as such, but considering everyone is taught to look for a (green) padlock or other such symbol in their web browser (which in most web browsers, when clicked, gives a fair amount of detail allowing one to assess the legitimacy of a website), I imagine the current set up would put many people off.

I've sent an email to the site admin suggesting that they lock the whole site down with SSL.

 

[SS4]

May also be worth putting something out there if the site has fixed any problems owing from the Heartbleed issue

 

[Kite159]

I've just found an interesting spilt which saves me 50p for when I go into London on a travelcard (spitting at Basingstoke for GRT to London 1-6)