Advance fares to be available as little as 10 minutes in advance?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10252359/Walk-on-train-fares-could-be-slashed.html

Passengers could be able to buy cut-price rail tickets as little as 10 minutes before boarding the train, under proposals being considered by ministers.

[paul7575]

Bad headline with the article, AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) these would still be 'Advance' fares, with the same booked train/seat restrictions that go with them.  You wouldn't end up with a true 'walk up' fare that would allow for that accidental delay or change of plan on the way to the station...

Despite pleas from consumer groups, train operators will still be able to demand passengers pay the full cost of the journey in addition to the price of the ticket they have already bought.

Is that bit not out of date as well?  The current guidance IS to charge the difference if a ticket is only invalid due to a time restriction, and I thought this now applied to Advance fares as long as you were travelling on the right day?
No it seems it doesn't, but what they've done is changed the rules so that you don't automatically have to buy a full price (Anytime) fare, just whatever you would have paid at the ticket office at the time...

Paul

[Super Guard]

I am sure I read a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) trial of routes Bristol-Exeter and Exeter-Plymouth were being considered.

You would have a reservation coupon with a specific train, but wouldn't have a seat allocated.

[paul7575]

I am sure I read a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) trial of routes Bristol-Exeter and Exeter-Plymouth were being considered.

You would have a reservation coupon with a specific train, but wouldn't have a seat allocated.

That will be an obvious limitation of conventional reservation systems, but presumably the likes of XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) could use their clever system that can update the reservations 'en route'?   Presumably any TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) whose fleet has electronic displays ought to be able to introduce such a system (even if it seriously annoys passengers whose seats suddenly become reserved)...

[bobm]

As I understand it, even the electronic systems have their limitations.

Say I reserve a ticket from Newton Abbot just as the train is leaving Plymouth (40 minutes away).  The mobile signal over the South Devon banks is far from perfect so I would bet there is a fair chance the train will not have been able to download any updates during that time.  That is an isolated example - but there are plenty of other places where the signal can be poor or nil for more than 10 minutes at a time.

However a system where you get a bargain fare just before travel but no guarantee of a seat, as outlined by Superguard above, is probably a price many people will pay.  If you want a seat - you book earlier.

[ellendune]

But they only sell bargain seats on trains where there they reckon there will be space. Otherwise they would have sold a full price ticket.

[Southern Stag]

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) already allow the purchase of Advance fares up to 10 minutes before departure but whenever I've seen fares available they've been so expensive that you'd just buy the walk up ticket anyway.

[sprinterguard]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) already offer these tickets, currently on a trial basis between Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter or Plymouth.

They are issued as 'Counted Place Booked' tickets and therefore do not have an actual seat reservation.

For a quick example, go on fgw.co.uk and the 21:56 tonight from BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) to EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains) is ^5.00

[Kernow Otter]

All well and good, but if this gets rolled out nationally not so good if your local station is unmanned and devoid of a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine).  High time that ticketing was dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and widespread use made of e tickets, and home print tickets.

[bobm]

As well as the TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) needing updating, the website could do with some attention. In sprinterguard's example the ^5 fare is described as "Advance - Available on day of travel" but then says it is changeable priorto date of travel for a fee. 

[ellendune]

XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) already allow the purchase of Advance fares up to 10 minutes before departure but whenever I've seen fares available they've been so expensive that you'd just buy the walk up ticket anyway.

It is when the train is busy that the fare will be high.

[IndustryInsider]

And as we all know, virtually all XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services are busy!