ScotRail slashing all off-peak fares by 50% in May

[realemil]

Just seen this article from the scotsman

ScotRail announces half-price fares offer for May to encourage return to train travel

Scottish Government-owned ScotRail has announced a half-price seat sale – two days after a similar offer by the UK Government for other train operators.

www.scotsman.com

Appears that all off-peak returns, and some (or all) super off peak fares are being slashed in half.
Much better (imho) than the DfT version of “some advance tickets on sale”.

Tickets available to book in early May and outward journey must take place by 31st of May with return date must be by 30th June.

Edit -
ScotRails article is https://www.scotrail.co.uk/sale

Railcard discounts aren’t stackable.

 

[Kite159]

I can understand Lockerbie being excluded as that's served mainly by TPE (with a few odd Avantis), but poor Dunbar. Did SNP rail forget they run a rough 2 hourly service there from Edinburgh?

 

[Starmill]

I can understand Lockerbie being excluded as that's served mainly by TPE (with a few odd Avantis), but poor Dunbar. Did SNP rail forget they run a rough 2 hourly service there from Edinburgh?

Dunbar and Lockerbie do however have rail sale Advance fares on TransPennine Express / Avanti West Coast / CrossCountry.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I can understand Lockerbie being excluded as that's served mainly by TPE (with a few odd Avantis), but poor Dunbar. Did SNP rail forget they run a rough 2 hourly service there from Edinburgh?

Dunbar-Edinburgh is priced by LNER, so I'm assuming Transport for Scotland cannot make them reduce the fare.

 

[ld0595]

Looks like this didn't really benefit many people at all.

ScotRail half price scheme reduced fares on less than 1% of tickets

Rail passengers were hit with the largest fare increase for a decade in January, but an offer on the newly-nationalised ScotRail service did little to reduce costs.

news.stv.tv

A Scottish Government scheme offering half-price ScotRail tickets applied for less than 1% of fares, according to new data.

The flagship programme, announced shortly after the nationalisation of the rail operator, was announced as part of a package to tackle the cost of living crisis by transport minister Jenny Gilruth in April.

Under the offer, tickets could be booked on certain journeys for around half the price of standard fares as long as outward travel was completed between May 9 and May 30 and a return by June 30.

However, a freedom of information request by Scottish Labour found just 0.88% of tickets purchased during that period were eligible for the discount – meaning more than a million trips remained at full price.

Opponents branded the scheme “farcical” but transport chiefs said the offer was simply the first of “many” to be introduced after the brand was nationalised earlier this year.

Rail passengers were hit with the largest fare increase in a decade when a 3.8% rise was imposed in January for both peak and off-peak travel.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the offer as a means of making rail travel attractive as an “alternative way to travel without a car”.

 

[ScotsRail]

As they could only be used off peak - the more accurate number would be what percentage of off peak travels is that 1%?

 

[JonathanH]

Maybe that will put pay to this sort of offer in the future and the idea that cutting fares at times when people aren't predisposed to travel stimulates more revenue.