Sheffield-->York walk-up fares at £8?

[bradders1983]

Someone on another forum:

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=879737

is claiming that she can buy a ticket on the train for this journey for £8/£9 each way, actually on the train.

Now, ignoring the fact that she should be buying a ticket at the station rather than the train, is this even possible even with a 33% railcard discount?

The sole operator on this route is CrossCountry, barring a few Northern services via Pontefract each day and the London-York weekend summer service (presuming that still runs?)

 

[Paul Kelly]

Half the price of an off-peak day return is £8.60?

 

[bradders1983]

Half the price of an off-peak day return is £8.60?

Ah yes, the way she was talking I presumed she meant a single fare would be £8/£9 each way, she has just halved the fare.

So would CrossCountry charge her £17.20 if bought on the train, or would they charge her more?

 

[SS4]

Ah yes, the way she was talking I presumed she meant a single fare would be £8/£9 each way, she has just halved the fare.

So would CrossCountry charge her £17.20 if bought on the train, or would they charge her more?

Surely they'd be charging an anytime single (or return if requested by the customer) fare as she had an opportunity to buy beforehand? The Any Permitted was £16 in NFM09 so I imagine the £17.20 is correct

 

[cuccir]

According to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, you have to purchase before boarding, if facilities are available. If not then "you will be liable to pay the full single fare or full return fare or, if appropriate, a Penalty Fare for your journey."

Cross Country don't offer penalty fares, so she would have to pay the 'full fare' on board. Really, that should be the full Anytime ticket, ie, the most expensive ticket, without any restrictions. For York-Sheffield, that is £19.90 for a return. In practice a lot of guards will offer a cheaper Off-Peak Day ticket, providing the passenger is travelling at the correct times: these are £17.20*. There are no off-peak returns available for more than a day on this route, so if she got on wanting to travel back the following day, she would have to pay the £19.90

The only single tickets are Anytime tickets, priced at £16. So that is the absolute minimum that she could pay.

*Edit: the earliest that this ticket is valid is currently the 09:47 departure from Sheffield.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
As a further add-on: it might be worth pointing out to people that it is not always cheaper to buy in advance. If I booked an Advance single for tomorrow on the (say) 08:48 from Sheffield to York and the 17:34 return journey, then I would pay £20 for a journey that I could have done for as little as £17.90 (the anytime day return)!

 

[yorkie]

Advance fares are around £8 each way (total: £16 Return) and are pointless unless travelling one way. There are some that are as high as £10 each way, making 2 x Advance fares more expensive than an Anytime Return!

The on-board fare is £17.90 for an Anytime Day Return, or £19.90 for an Anytime Return. The guard will be happy to sell this on board the train. However most guards would not sell the £17.20 Off Peak Day Return on the train, if the passenger commenced their overall journey at Sheffield or York, as only Anytime fares are sold on-board if ticket issuing facilities were available. That said, some Northern guards do still sell discounted tickets on-board but they are not supposed to!

A lot of the information on that forum is incorrect.

 

[bradders1983]

The same person is now claiming:

well we must be doing pretty good then, we just been and bought 3 tickets (two adults and one chid), anytime return from sheffield to york. For £26. Travelling at 11.21 on friday morning

Possible with a railcard?

 

[Paul Kelly]

Pretty sure that's an off-peak day return then. With a family railcard, adult price for that is £11.35 and child £3.25. 2xA + 1xC = £25.95.

Of course such a ticket would allow you to come back any time on the same day - but it's not an Anytime ticket in the ATOC "simple" sense of the term.