Reduce the cost of flexible fares by removing the cheapest Advance fares

[andy1571]

i believe the problem is self-inflicted, whereby there has been a constant increase in flexible Saver/Supersaver type fares, which has made them of less value, particularly with leisure travellers. People have become more used to advance purchase, and rail companies have stoked this trend by pursuing a course of stacking trains full of punters with advanced tickets at sometimes ridiculously low prices. They then find they have to have very high load factors to generate sufficient revenue, and can’t cope with any peak in demand.

I have no problem with advance purchase or seat reservations at all, but the balance is all wrong if we’ve arrived at the situation we have now. Personally, I believe the very cheapest advanced tickets should be withdrawn, the flexible types lowered in price (with mix and match single leg purchasing available) and you’d then have a fairer balance, with revenues probably remaining around the same mark, but removing some of the pressure on capacity.

 

[GlitterUnicorn]

i believe the problem is self-inflicted, whereby there has been a constant increase in flexible Saver/Supersaver type fares, which has made them of less value, particularly with leisure travellers. People have become more used to advance purchase, and rail companies have stoked this trend by pursuing a course of stacking trains full of punters with advanced tickets at sometimes ridiculously low prices. They then find they have to have very high load factors to generate sufficient revenue, and can’t cope with any peak in demand.

I have no problem with advance purchase or seat reservations at all, but the balance is all wrong if we’ve arrived at the situation we have now. Personally, I believe the very cheapest advanced tickets should be withdrawn, the flexible types lowered in price (with mix and match single leg purchasing available) and you’d then have a fairer balance, with revenues probably remaining around the same mark, but removing some of the pressure on capacity.

So, raise the fares to cut down on demand? Is the railway not interested in low cost travel?

 

[Bletchleyite]

So, raise the fares to cut down on demand? Is the railway not interested in low cost travel?

Not if it's not profitable.

 

[andy1571]

So, raise the fares to cut down on demand? Is the railway not interested in low cost travel

When we have arrived at a situation that compulsory reservations are required to the potential detriment of customers purchasing higher-cost fares, then yes - the balance is wrong. Besides, if standing is precluded on busier trains (which inevitably affect those with higher-cost fares), that money has got to be clawed back somewhere. So those super-low fares will probably rise in due course anyway, unless you're holding out for the ever-charitable DfT to write off any loss in revenue....