Virgin WC "Easyrider" ticket

[Polarbear]

Hi

A colleague of mine is travelling to London soon & has had tickets booked through work. The ticket for the outward leg from Liverpool to London is entitled as an "Easyrider" ticket and I can't seem to find exactly what this means?

The validity of the ticket appears to be for one month, suggesting it would have similar T&C's to an "Anytime" ticket, but it comes with a seat reservation for a specified train, (with the travel ticket not being valid without the reservation), which is similar to an AP ticket.

The VTWC website seems to be silent on the issue unless I've missed something (sorry, I'm posting this at work so don't have the time currently to do any detailed research).

If anyone could shed some light on what appears to be just another marketing wheeze from Virgin, I'd be grateful.

 

[Paul Kelly]

According to BR Fares: http://www.brfares.com/#!fares?orig=LIV&dest=EUS

It appears to be an advance purchase return fare, ticket type WCC. Reservations are compulsory on the outward journey and must be booked at least 2 days in advance. The return journey may be made on any train. As it's much more expensive than an Anytime Return I'm presuming there's something else included, e.g. some sort of supplement for upgrade to 1st Class, and a quick check through the supplements data (downloadable from data.atoc.org) seems to confirm that. So to summarise, it looks like a wheeze for business travellers to charge a Standard ticket on expenses but get to sit in 1st Class.

 

[Bletchleyite]

So to summarise, it looks like a wheeze for business travellers to charge a Standard ticket on expenses but get to sit in 1st Class.

"a wheeze" = "fraud".

 

[Mag_seven]

"Easyrider"

That term is oh so Branson isn't it?

 

[Bertie the bus]

The Easy Rider is more expensive than 1st Anytime according to that link so how is that a wheeze?

 

[Polarbear]

Ok thanks. I've just checked the tickets & the reservations for both legs are in Coach E, so definitely in Standard? The cost was £239.50 return, with the return leg being valid for one month. I've just registered on the RDG website, but will have to research this in more detail away from work.

Given that VTWC are retailing the ticket, it would be hoped that they may go to the trouble of extolling its virtues - especially if it involved any form of self-promotion on the part of the business such as a 1st class upgrade. Any wonder why punters get confused with ticket types!

 

[Polarbear]

That term is oh so Branson isn't it?

I did have visions of having to be clad in leather on the back of a motorbike...!!

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Easy Rider is more expensive than 1st Anytime according to that link so how is that a wheeze?

It's potentially sold as a Standard class ticket.

 

[Kite159]

Ok thanks. I've just checked the tickets & the reservations for both legs are in Coach E, so definitely in Standard? The cost was £239.50 return, with the return leg being valid for one month. I've just registered on the RDG website, but will have to research this in more detail away from work.

Given that VTWC are retailing the ticket, it would be hoped that they may go to the trouble of extolling its virtues - especially if it involved any form of self-promotion on the part of the business such as a 1st class upgrade. Any wonder why punters get confused with ticket types!

Sounds a bit like the "Scottish Executive" ticket on the East Coast, which for purposes for accounting a standard class ticket but comes with a free upgrade to First Class.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sounds a bit like the "Scottish Executive" ticket on the East Coast, which for purposes for accounting a standard class ticket but comes with a free upgrade to First Class.

It does...and if I was someone's manager in a company with a Standard Class only policy I would be kicking off a formal disciplinary if anyone played that game, unless it was for some reason cheaper than the cheapest other applicable[1] Standard Class ticket. I also find it quite disappointing that TOCs are essentially encouraging expenses fraud in that manner.

[1] Not "just buy an Anytime" which is an unbelievably profligate approach; even if you need flexibility of the return journey an Advance out and an Anytime Single back will suit most business journeys as most people know when their outward journey will be even if not their return.

 

[janb]

There seems to be,
WC2 The Easy Rider, standard corporate return
WC1 Virgin Trains West Coast Corporate Return (1st Class), first class corporate return
WCC The Big Easy, standard corporate return with complimentary upgrade

£498.40, £724.90, £724.90 respectively on my system although presumably those are false prices to stop people like me trying to sell them and more realistic prices appear on the selected corporate booking systems.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Maybe someone on here who runs a corporate site can enlighten us all.

 

[Starmill]

I also find it quite disappointing that TOCs are essentially encouraging expenses fraud in that manner.

Why? 'no first class' is a silly policy wherever it is found, concerned far more with shallow appearances than anything to do with actual expenses. If the company is happy paying almost £500 for a Liverpool to London return, why on earth should they be bothered about this?

Of course, we do not know how much the OP's employer actually paid.

 

[Polarbear]

Why? 'no first class' is a silly policy wherever it is found, concerned far more with shallow appearances than anything to do with actual expenses. If the company is happy paying almost £500 for a Liverpool to London return, why on earth should they be bothered about this?

Of course, we do not know how much the OP's employer actually paid.

The price on the ticket was £239.50 & our employer uses Redfern, which seems to mirror the publicly available booking engines. Our employer doesn't debar 1st class travel entirely, but it's normally only an option if it's cheaper than travelling standard, or for those in certain (senior) grades who normally have to have protected rights to be entitled to travel 1st class.

 

[sheff1]

The Anytime Return is £318, so it would appear the Easyrider at £239.50 is basically an Advance ticket outward coupled with Anytime Single (£159) for the return, but purchased as one "easy" ticket rather than two.

The T&Cs referenced above make it clear that the ticket is valid for return by any VT service within one month.

 

[Starmill]

The price on the ticket was £239.50 & our employer uses Redfern, which seems to mirror the publicly available booking engines. Our employer doesn't debar 1st class travel entirely, but it's normally only an option if it's cheaper than travelling standard, or for those in certain (senior) grades who normally have to have protected rights to be entitled to travel 1st class.

Ah ha, sounds about right then. So in this case the product offers business customers about a 25% discount over the walk-on Anytime Return rate in exchange for fixing the southbound leg.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Why? 'no first class' is a silly policy wherever it is found

That doesn't overly matter, the point is that the employee has breached the trust of the employer by disobeying a direct instruction.

That said, sensible employers with this kind of policy say "the cheapest applicable Standard ticket" which is almost never an Anytime Return anyway for a long journey.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ah ha, sounds about right then. So in this case the product offers business customers about a 25% discount over the walk-on Anytime Return rate in exchange for fixing the southbound leg.

That (in itself) makes some sense, though surely it's as easy just to book that combination online.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Apologies; I seem to have misled the discussion somewhat. I did indeed get confused between the Easy Rider and the Big Easy; the latter comes with a 1st Class seat reservation, the former does not. However both are shown in the data (and presumably the tickets print) as Standard class tickets.

 

[Polarbear]

Apologies; I seem to have misled the discussion somewhat. I did indeed get confused between the Easy Rider and the Big Easy; the latter comes with a 1st Class seat reservation, the former does not. However both are shown in the data (and presumably the tickets print) as Standard class tickets.

Certainly the "Easyrider" ticket prints as a standard class ticket. I had built up my colleagues hopes for some complementary booze on his return from London tomorrow, but I've let him down easy on that one!

Thanks to all for the advice & information - much appreciated.