Group Save

[whole diary]

[John R]

I'm trying to look at the best fare options for a party of 6 travelling from YAT (3), NLS (1)and BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) (2) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).  The cheapest fare would appear to be GroupSave, but I'm aware that everyone needs to travel together.  Is this likely to be a problem if all the tickets are from YAT to PAD, but 3 join the same train further down the line?   

[bobm]

One problem I can foresee is the two getting on the platform at Bristol when the minimum for a group save is three.

[grahame]

I would suggest a group of 3 from Yatton, a single from Nailsea to Bristol, and a group of 3 from Bristol. Then totally allowed.

If the two joining at Bristol are getting onto the same train as the one coming through from Nailsea, there may be some explaining to do at the barrier.   But conditions say "All members of the group must travel together for outward and return journeys" and I would argue that this refers to being on the same train, and not necessarily passing through barriers together or even through the same barriers.

[JayMac]

The chances of getting through the gateline at Bristol TM^‡(resolve) with no ticket are fairly slim I would say.

[John R]

Thanks all for your comments.  I had assumed that barrier access would not be a problem, as I can't imagine the barrier checks that all members of a group save party enter or exit. (If you think about it, how can an automated system check that, as even if it were super sophisticated to spot it, the lower number have by that point passed the gateline.)

It was more whether the tickets say Groups (6) or similar, so between Yatton and Bristol it would be obvious that not all were on board, and even though at all times the minimum of three would be on board, it might raise a question.

grahame - I think your idea is the optimum solution that ensures the rules are followed.  I had come to that conclusion shortly after posting, and so it is good to get confirmation of my thinking.

Out of interest the party are returning on Sat 15th Sep, so will be treated to a journey via Bicester and Oxford.  There aren't any advance tickets released for that date yet, so it looks as though a SOP^▸ (Standard Operating Instructions) Return is the best option on a Groupsave. With a third off that will still be reasonable value.