Couple penalty fared for misusing Advance tickets, go running to the press...

[whole diary]

[inspector_blakey]

Yes, you'd have thought so! Although it would appear that it never occurred to them that they couldn't alight short, so I assume that they wouldn't have considered that in the first place. But if I wanted to get to Eastleigh and there were tickets to Southampton for GBP 6.00 (unlikely but you never know!), that's what I'd do...

[Brucey]

The terms and conditions for Advance Purchase may indeed be very clear but take a look at the T&Cs that you accept when purchasing a Megatrain ticket:

http://uk.megabus.com/terms.aspx

Just one line that says 'Bookings are only valid on the journey(s) and places stated.' (Which ain't exactly great English!) That line comes three-quarters of the way through the T&Cs (some 2000 words!), after a disclaimer, website use, cookies, legal identity, copyright and trademark, applicable law and a privacy policy.

I just "simulated" a booking by getting through to the payment page and cancelling.  The conditions are by no means clear.  You are simply asked to tick a box to say you've read those Terms & Conditions.  The ticket's restrictions are not made explicitly clear as they would be with any other operator.

In addition, is it technically an advance fare as the ticket doesn't show up in the NFM^▸ (National Fares Manual).

[paul7575]

The email confirmation apparently includes this:

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  IMPORTANT INFORMATION
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  Please note that the departure and arrival times provided above are
  for the  main terminus points you selected...

  Megatrain passengers should note that you must alight and board at
  these points and it is a condition of travel that you do not alight or
  board at other points on the route. For South West Trains services, if
  you do attempt to board at a different point on the route, Penalty
  fares will apply.

Whether or not it is a true a Advance Fare is a bit of a red herring. AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) exactly the same procedure would happen, ie a PF^▸ (Penalty Fare) would be charged, if someone attempted to alight short on an Advance on an SWT^▸ (South West Trains) service, such as Waterloo - Brockenhurst at Southampton...

Paul

[paul7575]

But then I work on the theory you should be able to buy tickets on board etc - i.e. presumption of innocence

Of course you do.

I expect sooner or later that approach should guarantee you a PF^▸ (Penalty Fare) from SWT^▸ (South West Trains), because some of your excuses for boarding their trains without a ticket at Reading, eg as just quoted above, just wouldn't work if an RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) got involved.

Paul

[Tim]

Regardless of whether the rules are clear (and the PF^▸ (Penalty Fare) therefore justified), the rules are stupid.

If you ordered off the "3 courses for a tenner" menu in a Restaurant and only ate two courses, you would think it idiotic if you were charged more than a tenner for consuming less.  Why do we accept similarly idiotic rules for the railway.  It brings the whole fare system into disrupute.



 

[railwayfan]

But then I work on the theory you should be able to buy tickets on board etc - i.e. presumption of innocence

Of course you do.

I expect sooner or later that approach should guarantee you a PF^▸ (Penalty Fare) from SWT^▸ (South West Trains), because some of your excuses for boarding their trains without a ticket at Reading, eg as just quoted above, just wouldn't work if an RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) got involved.

Paul

It wouldn't happen - Some people get and expect rules to be broken / ignored or
bent to suit.



Edit note: Quote marks amended, for clarity. CfN. 

[vacman]

Regardless of whether the rules are clear (and the PF^▸ (Penalty Fare) therefore justified), the rules are stupid.

If you ordered off the "3 courses for a tenner" menu in a Restaurant and only ate two courses, you would think it idiotic if you were charged more than a tenner for consuming less.  Why do we accept similarly idiotic rules for the railway.  It brings the whole fare system into disrupute.



 

It is slightly different though, promotions such as mega train are there to fill empty seats, for^6 people could try any intermediete journey and then the railway loses revenue.

[smokey]

Would not have seemed sensible for the couple to have ridden to to Souhampton Central and bought 2 x CDS^▸ (Off Peak Day Single [ticket type] (formerly 'Cheap Day')) back to Eastleigh.  May have taken 30 mins, but the Megatrain fare + 2 x CDS would have been cheaper than the walk on fare anyway!

Perhaps I'm stating the obvious??

Now if two Winchester to Eastleigh singles had been purchased in advanced and the couple got off two stops early at Eastleigh but with valid tickets WHO would have picked that up?

[inspector_blakey]

No-one, I would guess! I'm not sure it's technically legitimate (it strikes me as analogous to "dumb-belling" in fact, so is probably not permitted), but I can't see any way it could be detected.

[thetrout]

I must admit I once stopped short on an a 1st ADV ticket...

Was a little while ago when I was travelling from BHM - BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service where the term overcrowded was a major understatement, It was either get of the train at Bristol Parkway, or let a serious panic attack take it's course... I decided to alight and take the 73 to Broadmead and change onto the 70 to BRI... (Was a sunday).

Ticket barrier wouldn't let me out, so I showed my ticket to the gateline assistant who merely pointed out I was at Parkway and not Temple Meads... I acknowledged this but he just let me through

I know technically I was breaking the rules, I'm sorry...