RDG trial/Budget announcement: 26-30 Railcard from Spring 2018

[222001]

I managed to get mine this morning. It took me around an hour from 0810. 30 minutes of that was waiting for the first page to load, after which is crashed with error 503. Then the next 20 minutes were spent hammering 'Buy Now' around 200 times. Suddenly one page loaded, and I managed to complete my application quick as a flash with no problems. Sounds like a lot of people are still having issues though. They're still saying on Twitter they've got some left though.

 

[SWT_USER]

Managed to get one for myself this morning, been trying to get one for my other half all day since without being able to access the site

 

[Bletchleyite]

The requirement that your phone has been online in the last 72 hours is to support remote revocation of Railcards, where a Railcard holder has added the Railcard to a new device beyond the limit of two devices per Railcard.

Why not just revoke it the next time the device connects? The number of people who will pay for another device but then never Internet connect it so they can keep a fraudulent Railcard on it must be minimal.

24 hours could well be a problem...anyone going to somewhere remote on the WHL for a bit of wild camping could well trip it up, for one.

 

[Mojo]

I am amazed at the incompetence of some people sometimes. Did anyone on this forum not predict that there would be 'unprecedented demand' for the railcard given that they are only releasing 10,000 for a large segment of the population who belong to an age group that are highly likely to use public transport?

Yes. Given that the Greater Anglia trial didn't seem to be having much interest or being talked about and never had any problems (despite the fact anyone could just enter an address in the trial area), I'm quite surprised it was as popular as being something that would crash the website.

 

[222001]

Yes. Given that the Greater Anglia trial didn't seem to be having much interest or being talked about and never had any problems (despite the fact anyone could just enter an address in the trial area), I'm quite surprised it was as popular as being something that would crash the website.

I imagine the media coverage of this yesterday really didn't help at all.

 

[dvalts]

Didn't surprise me much that it crashed - I don't know the exact demographics for the Greater Anglia trial area, but wasn't it the same number of trial railcards for something like ten times(?) the population? One of the news sites reports the Railcard site was about 12 times busier than usual.

Media coverage as well was enough to hype it up even more, as mentioned above.

 

[sparkybpotter]

Have to say I've been looking at the Railcards twitter account today, and very few people are asking for a physical card. In fact looking at the reviews of the Railcard app on the App Store, the vast majority of people complaining are saying that the app doesn't integrate enough with the operating system, or they wish they could have a digital card instead of a physical one.

 

[matt]

Well after trying several times on my phone earlier when I couldn't get the site to load I tried at home and got through first time Just waiting for the code to be e-mailed now.

 

[Iskra]

The uploading of the photo is taking a very long time, did this happen for everyone else?

 

[matt]

The uploading of the photo is taking a very long time, did this happen for everyone else?

No mine was very quick. Still no e-mail code yet.

 

[Iskra]

No mine was very quick. Still no e-mail code yet.

Thanks the response. Frustratingly I’m getting an unknown error. Bit of a painful day, been trying since 0700. I’m at work so stuck on a rubbish computer too.

 

[222001]

No mine was very quick. Still no e-mail code yet.

My code was on the confirmation screen after payment went through, have they removed that now? I did also get the email shortly after.

 

[matt]

My code was on the confirmation screen after payment went through, have they removed that now? I did also get the email shortly after.

Mine confirmation just says check your e-mail for the download code.

 

[Iskra]

Mine confirmation just says check your e-mail for the download code.

I've managed to do it now that I'm home and I've got the same confirmation, saying check your email for the code.

I'm really starting to dislike buying tickets online as it's always a farce whether it be gigs, festivals, football and now railcards! Someone, please think of a better way of doing things!

 

[jsmith300]

Still available - just purchased now

 

[dvalts]

They've all gone now

 

[RJ]

I missed out on this one, despite trying all day.

Congratulations to those who got one and unlucky to those who didn't!

 

[bb21]

I'm sure a railcard that people could purchase without fannying around on a computer for three hours would also be popular.

A paper version will have its place, but paper is not going to be the way forward, as evidenced in plenty of other industries.

Paperless has a long string of benefits for both the industry and the customers (but also pitfalls of course). Taking TfL's lead, I can imagine differential pricing between paperless and ticketed versions of the same product in the near future, in an attempt to move people onto paperless ticketing.

Most people would prefer not having to faff around with a ticket which cannot be replaced if lost, and in the overwhelming majority of cases there is absolutely no issue. Of course some technical details will need ironing out, and there will be problems only surfacing when the new system is around and in use, but that is the same with anything new.

I wouldn't take too much notice of the general mood on this forum as a barometer for the mood of the general public, but this is a good place to gather information on potential issues that may be encountered.

On the Railcard trial, 10,000 does seem a bit of a silly number though, especially when made available to the whole population.

 

[bb21]

I missed out on this one, despite trying all day.

Congratulations to those who got one and unlucky to those who didn't!

I have a funny feeling that more will be available "on popular demand".

 

[prod_pep]

I managed to get mine this morning after a couple of hours of constant refreshing in between it crashing twice during the registration process. Not really something to be doing at work, but there we are!

I've missed not having the 16-25 railcard recently so it's nice to be able to use one again. It's a shame though for those who've spent all day trying to get one amidst this farce and not been successful.

 

[Iskra]

I have a funny feeling that more will be available "on popular demand".

Indeed.

The 10,000 quota of 26-30 Railcards, made available as part of the national trial, have now sold out.

A key commitment in the rail industry’s long-term plan to change and improve is to boost communities by enabling more people to travel by train, so we will consider carefully the unprecedented demand we’ve seen as part of this trial.

To receive information about the 26-30 Railcard trial sign up and you will be notified if more Railcards become available.

https://www.railcard.co.uk/26-30/

This hints in that direction. It seems a bit random having a numerical limit anyway, I can't think of any number that would be in anyway logical. It should be available to all or no 26-30 year olds in my opinion.

 

[bb21]

That almost confirms it. You cannot say something along the lines of "you will be notified if more Railcards become available" and not make more available, especially considering the madness today. Well, you can, but it would be a massive PR own goal.

They should be able to analyse traffic volume today and come up with a sensible number in the second batch. May involve a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with the DfT though so could take a short while.

If anything, it shows how financially squeezed the current generation are.

 

[KingJ]

If you missed out on the 26-30 railcard, Virgin are now offering a 'Avocard'.

Simply present proof of age and an avocado to ticket office at a Virgin station, and you can get a 1/3 off any Virgin fare bought at a Virgin ticket office - subject to the same restrictions as the 26-30 railcard.

I had to double check today's date, but they appear to be entirely serious about this!

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/avocard

 

[bb21]

I don't know why you are that surprised. They love this kind of thing.

 

[Iskra]

If you missed out on the 26-30 railcard, Virgin are now offering a 'Avocard'.

Simply present proof of age and an avocado to ticket office at a Virgin station, and you can get a 1/3 off any Virgin fare bought at a Virgin ticket office - subject to the same restrictions as the 26-30 railcard.

I had to double check today's date, but they appear to be entirely serious about this!

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/avocard

That's quite clever, but it does say it's only temporary. It's essentially a sale re-marketed to ease virgin's profits through the current squeeze on incomes and get them some PR in the process.

...sales of Avocado's will also go through the roof, Branson has probably just bought some shares in a key supplier What are the station staff going to do with all these avocado's though?

 

[AlterEgo]

Will an avocado need to be displayed on demand on the train?

 

[Iskra]

Will an avocado need to be displayed on demand on the train?

'Please have all tickets and fruits ready for inspection'

 

[Mag_seven]

If anything, it shows how financially squeezed the current generation are.

There will be many people over the age of 30 who are financially squeezed as well, while there will be many in the 26-30 age group that this card is aimed at who can easily afford the full fare.

 

[ainsworth74]

Well I got confirmation that I've bought one but no email as yet. So the wait goes on!

 

[bb21]

There will be many people over the age of 30 who are financially squeezed as well, while there will be many in the 26-30 age group that this card is aimed at who can easily afford the full fare.

Yes, when taken to individual cases all comparisons are out.

But generally this holds true, and will likely only get worse for future generations.