The future of railcards post-Covid

[alistairlees]

What I would be interested to know if how Germany afford the Bahncard 100. How much subsidy does their railway get against GB (pre-Covid)? Also is commuting from towns 60 miles away not as common there?

There are no cities the size of London, or which have the same world status, in Germany. So I very much doubt there is much 60-mile commuting. Germany is poly centric, which leads to very different travel patterns.

 

[HSP 2]

Price and discount may be the same, but times of use vary significantly. In general terms, disabled get discounts 24/7, 18-25 get them for longer journeys in the morning peak while seniors can't use them in the morning peak.

I thought that the morning peak rule on the senior rail card only applied in London and the South east.

 

[MikeWh]

I thought that the morning peak rule on the senior rail card only applied in London and the South east.

Yes, but that's a significant area for a restriction.

The main point still stands - railcards may give the same discount for the same price, but time restrictions vary considerably.

 

[Hadders]

The amount of rail cards on the market is reflective of the complexities of the ticketing system itself. It is mad when you see all the options.

I would just simplify it and offer something along the lines of:
- A concessionary railcard (so includes seniors, veterans, disabled, 18-25, etc) all under one umbrella, with the same discount of 33%. Most seem to be the same price and discount anyway.
- A regular user railcard, similar to get German system would be great (25% for £200 a year, 50% for £400 a year, with big discounts available to annual season ticket holders). You could also offer a special price on two of these for people who travel together to replace the Two Together (which is a great initiative).

Sounds great in theory but in practice:

Disabled Railcard allows a discount at all times, quite rightly in my opinion. This should be maintained
18-25 allows a discount at any time, subject to a £12 minimum discounted fare before 10:00. This is a real help to people at the start of their careers (or students) who are often on low wages. A season ticket is sometimes cheaper (but often it isn't) but this group of people often don't have the disposable income to be able to pay for an annual season ticket in one go.
Senior railcard discount is available at any time but with restrictions in London and the south east to stop it being used to obtain a discount by regular commuters.

It's probably worth maintaining the differences between these railcards in my opinion. Inevitably if you merge the benefits you would 'level down' and remove benefits from many people.