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Author Topic: Why don't tickets work on trains and buses (stupid question day)  (Read 6088 times)
grahame
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« on: September 28, 2018, 07:16:19 »

1. "If I'm making a return trip to Chippenham, why can't I buy a return tickets that lets me go on the train and come back on the bus - or vice versa - if the timing suits?"
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ChrisB
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« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2018, 08:57:51 »

Because no one hjas spent any time trying to organise this. And the operators would have to share the fares, and thus acceptance of the % using bus/train needs to be calculated and accepted by operators in order to share the farebox equally.
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eightf48544
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« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2018, 09:52:31 »

Even more fundamental answer buses compete with trains therefore they need every penny of the fare they charge.
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JayMac
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« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2018, 15:06:32 »

Because we have a fractured public transport system, rather than an integrated one. A symptom of applying market capitalist principles to a system that should be cooperative or, dare I say, socialist.

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Richard Fairhurst
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« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2018, 16:35:31 »

It has happened, on occasion. The X90 coach used to accept regular Oxford-London return train tickets, so if you missed the last train, you could catch the bus. But that was when Go-Ahead, who own the Oxford Bus Company, had the Thames Trains franchise.
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grahame
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« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2018, 06:34:33 »

It has happened, on occasion. The X90 coach used to accept regular Oxford-London return train tickets, so if you missed the last train, you could catch the bus. But that was when Go-Ahead, who own the Oxford Bus Company, had the Thames Trains franchise.

We had exactly the same arrangement in place for around six months in 2014 ... with the last bus from Chippenham (22:16) to Melksham and Trowbridge accepting rail returns long after the final train of the limited trial service (20:23) had left.  It made sense, and the bus left Chippenham Station with a goodly number of passengers - a mix of the local traffic and rail transfers.

Sadly, the commercial operation of the daytime bus came to an end, and with that the council supported evening service was also withdrawn, saving the council around £20 on each supported evening journey.

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grahame
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« Reply #6 on: September 08, 2021, 06:50:17 »

It has happened, on occasion. The X90 coach used to accept regular Oxford-London return train tickets, so if you missed the last train, you could catch the bus. But that was when Go-Ahead, who own the Oxford Bus Company, had the Thames Trains franchise.

We had exactly the same arrangement in place for around six months in 2014 ... with the last bus from Chippenham (22:16) to Melksham and Trowbridge accepting rail returns long after the final train of the limited trial service (20:23) had left.  It made sense, and the bus left Chippenham Station with a goodly number of passengers - a mix of the local traffic and rail transfers.

Sadly, the commercial operation of the daytime bus came to an end, and with that the council supported evening service was also withdrawn, saving the council around £20 on each supported evening journey.


Delighted to report that the 22:16 bus (or equivalent) should soon be back - see http://option247.uk/bbb_202109.html . At this stage, I do not expect it to take rail tickets beyond plusbus within Chippenham.  First stage of bus improvements along government strategy and finance lines - a pre-cursor to Bus Back Better.  The link I have given you is an introduction from our Lee - great work there!
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Phil
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« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2021, 07:11:26 »

My question to you would be, why is it even a problem?

Tap in and tap out with a smart card on entering and on leaving the train. Tap in and tap out with a smart card or phone when entering and on leaving the bus. It's hardly innovation.
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grahame
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« Reply #8 on: September 08, 2021, 07:31:41 »

My question to you would be, why is it even a problem?

Tap in and tap out with a smart card on entering and on leaving the train. Tap in and tap out with a smart card or phone when entering and on leaving the bus. It's hardly innovation.

Agreed, Phil - except that the total paid if you go out by train and back by bus (or out by bus and back by train) will be significantly more than using the same mode in both directions.  And I'm not sure that you can tap in or out at Melksham Station yet for the rail element.  Can you do so at Chippenham?
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Ralph Ayres
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« Reply #9 on: September 08, 2021, 10:35:45 »

the total paid if you go out by train and back by bus (or out by bus and back by train) will be significantly more than using the same mode in both directions

...which is the thinking behind the move to "single leg" pricing, where an out-and-back journey is charged at twice the single journey so you can be more flexible. 

Of course the crux of the matter is how the single leg price is set - is it based on half the old return fare, or the old single fare, or (probably) a compromise between the two to keep the overall income the same without deterring passengers too much?  Either way, it's a very different approach from how we buy most other things (fuel is an interesting exception); there's a general expectation that if you buy a multipack of something the unit cost will be less than just buying one.  Cheap Day Returns were marketed as good value because they cost hardly any more than a single ticket, but then people complained that it was a almost as expensive to go one way as there and back again.  It's a bit like supermarket meal deals which cost hardly any more than any one item, fine if you want the lot but you feel cheated if you only wanted one thing.
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