The Long & The Short of a ticket...

[30mog]

It's no longer a trick to save money ticket splitting - given a website helps you do so in full view of ATOC. Who I suspect would be doing something about it if they were really bothered?

What's really surprising me are the number of examples of saving money by buying a ticket for a LONGER journey than intended, and playing the rule that I understand to say something like, unless it's an Advance you may start and finish your journey at a different station providing you do not exceed the geographical limits of the ticket.

Can anyone give possible reasons for such scenarios existing?

 

[John @ home]

What's really surprising me are the number of examples of saving money by buying a ticket for a LONGER journey than intended, ...

Can anyone give possible reasons for such scenarios existing?

This situation often occurs where the longer journey is priced by a different train company to the shorter. It is particularly common where a number of different routes are available and the longer journey assumes a different route than the shorter journey, but both are permitted routes.

 

[LexyBoy]

Also quite generally when only a Day Return is available for the intended journey - requiring two singles to return a different day, but period returns are available for a slightly longer journey.

It can also be the case that a "long" ticket has fewer restrictions meaning a SVR can be used in place of an SOR. For example to take the 0715 Reading-Manchester train I'd be looking at £337 for the SOR, but by buying from a station further away and starting short at Reading I can use an unrestricted SVR at <£100.

There's a journey I make fairly regularly where "buying long" in this way is both cheaper and gives more flexibility than buying to my actual destination where several routeings are available, all costing more than the Any Permitted ticket to a further destination. In this case it's priced by a different company.

 

[Starmill]

Sometimes it has been thought that train companies increase more popular 'flows' more quickly, while increasing less popular flows more slowly, or not increasing them at all.

York to Huddersfield and York to Hebden Bridge are very similar distances but Hebden Bridge is slightly further and both priced by TransPennine Express. An Anytime return from York to Hebden Bridge is £21.10. An Anytime Return from York to Huddersfield is £27.10.

 

[causton]

Don't forget our favourite one, where on the edge of TfL land half our paper tickets are alright prices and half are excruciatingly expensive as they want everyone to use Oyster. So other journeys where you can buy from a station that does not accept Oyster, you can buy more and pay less!

What's that? You and your two other mates turn up at Watford Junction and want to buy a return to Wembley Central? Sure, go have a look at the machines, yeah, £11.80 return, that'll be £35.40 please and thank you.

Only then you realise your other three mates went to the booking office and asked for the right ticket "Oh, on the way back, we want to go back to ... so can you sell us a return from there?" and got Groupsave discount and paid £12.45.

Oops.

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Then you have the people that save 90p by asking for a London Midland Only Euston - Milton Keynes Central ticket, as opposed to the Any Permitted Watford Jn - Milton Keynes Central one...