Regulated v Unregulated fares

[whole diary]

[Trowres]

Sevenoaks Rail Travellers' Association has its own version of the truth:

http://www.srta.org.uk/PDF%20files/Why%20have%20fares%20increased%20so%20much%20final.pdf

I don't see how this fits with the description in the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) stuff of the fares basket being based on an indexation of 2003 fares. However, this is SRTA's interpretation of what they've been told. Anyone else care to join in?

[ChrisB]

The SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) stuff confirms what are regulated & unregulated fares, both in commuter country & elsewhere. All you need to add to that is where any TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) has changed their off-peak regulated (the old SAver) to a Super off-peak now being regulated (In which case, the off-peak is no longer regulated)

Also confirms the times when the regulated off- (or super off-) peak fare must be valid on weekdays

[grahame]

Having reminded myself of the difficulty of following what's regulated, it's with some trepidation that I'm re-opening this thread ...

Question 1.   Has anything in the regulation regime changed in the last 22 months, or are we still to refer to the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about)'s 2003 documents and consider the fares renamed as we do so?  It seem extraordinary that a subject such as fares that generates so much interest at this time of year is only described in a document from an organisation that no longer exists, and in that document in terms of ticket type names that have been replaced and in some cases the tickets have moved on!

Question (set) 2.  "Regulated fares are weekly seasons, off peak returns, and standard returns where no off peak return exists" ... is my understanding.   Is this correct?   What conclusion did we reach about super off peaks - have they taken over from off peaks where they're on offer?  Where there is an off peak DAY return rather than (or as well as) an off peak period return, is that fare regulated, or does it drop back to the standard return being regulated if there is no period return?

Question 3. Where a new fare has been introduced within the set that's normally regulated (for example, the fares that were added from Westbury to London via Newbury), how does that fit into the regulation regime?

[ChrisB]

The off-peak regulated return *was* the Saver Return, usually valid for a month. That became (I Think) the Off-Peak return in most cases (certainly in the old NSE^▸ (Network South East) area) and it is that fare that is still regulated *unless* the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) has requested a change. So the answer to Q1 is to rely (to begin with at least) on the SRA^» (Strategic Rail Authority - about) document taking into account the fares 'simplification' documents for the renaming of tickets.

BUT - once you haver done whatever research you are doing, you DO need to check whether the TOC9s) concerned have made any changes -

Chiltern for example did exactly that - where they have Super off-peak Returns, it is now that fare that is now regulated, and only the Off-peak Return being regulated now where the Super off-peak fare doesn't exist for any flow.

The only way I believe to check current status is direct with the TOC concerned - although I suspect Passenger Focus / London TravelWatch can & do keep check & may well supply any data that you might require.

[JayMac]

A much more up-to-date overview of fares regulation:

www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn01904.pdf‎

On FGW^▸ (First Great Western), where a Super Off Peak Return exists this is the regulated fare for that flow. otherwise it's the Off Peak Return.

If there is no Super Off Peak Return or Off Peak Return on a flow then the Anytime Return or Anytime Day Return is the regulated fare.

A full list of regulated fares flows can be found in at this location. These are files I've uploaded to the cloud from a Freedom of Information request. The list is in four parts. The fifth and sixth parts are the index to the ticket type codes used in the list and the index to the route codes used. Unfortunately the lists aren't in truly alphabetical order, so some manual searching is required to find particular flows.

Where a flow is not listed this will be because the origin and/or destination is part of a fares cluster and the main, or a nearby, station in that cluster will determine the regulated fare for the flow. For example, flows from Melksham may be listed under Chippenham. You can find fares clusters by using brfares.com, entering the origin and destination and then selecting 'Expert Mode'. Look at larger neighbouring stations in the uploaded lists, or the first station named in the cluster. Not a perfect way of searching to find regulated fares for a particular flow, some trial and error is needed. Comparing the fares between actual origin/destination and the main location in a cluster is helpful. If the fare is the same then whether or not it is a regulated fare will also be the same.

For example, Melksham to York has the same fares as Chippenham to York. Finding Chippenham to York in the lists shows that the regulated fares are the Super Off Peak Return for the ✠Any Permitted routeing and the Off Peak Return for the Not London routeing.

Link to Regulated Fares Flows list: http://sdrv.ms/1gjJKkS

[Chris from Nailsea]

There you are, then: it's all perfectly simple. 

[JayMac]

There you are, then: it's all perfectly simple. 

Exactly. As I've often said, simplicity and UK^▸ (United Kingdom) rail fares rarely go hand in hand.

Self service, or you can do what ChrisB suggested and ask the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company). One suspects that a TOC's Customer Services dept will have to refer a query to someone who can decode the lists.

Using the lists or waiting for a reply may take an equal length of time.