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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Ticket offices - changes afoot?
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on: April 08, 2025, 09:42:10
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The 'average customer' is only after the cheapest option and probably doesn't understand the full implications of split ticketing, particularly when combined with Advance Tickets.
Agreed, and that's only a part of the story. bradshaw travelled short to Exeter St Davids on an Exeter St Thomas ticket - perfectly allowed - then on an Exeter St Davis to Truro train that did not stop at St Thomas. I doubt that any split ticket site would offer that. Without the full story (and only bradshaw can confirm that), but I suspect the split tickets sold by the ticket office would have been AXM-EXT and EX D-PYN, so technically not a split ticket in the accepted sense, but multiple tickets covering the journey ?? |
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Ticket offices - changes afoot?
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on: April 07, 2025, 20:02:12
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As has been pointed out elsewhere, split tickets are widely available via a number of other sources who will work out the best deal for the customer and present them with the options - the need to be "in the know", is limited only to having the knowledge that the opportunity for these savings exists.
The 'average customer' is only after the cheapest option and probably doesn't understand the full implications of split ticketing, particularly when combined with Advance Tickets. How often does a customer turn up early for their train; find out that there is an earlier train headed to their destination; then ask at the ticket office if their tickets are valid for the earlier train - only to find that there is a significant cost for them to do so, because.... a) the earlier train does not stop at one or more of the split ticket destinations; or b) there is an admin cost per ticket to change their Advance ticket(s) Specific examples of the above are... 0718 Newton Abbot to London Paddington.... Off-Peak and stops everywhere and is overtaken by the 0731 Newton Abbot to London Paddington limited stop Peak service and 1054 Newton Abbot to London Paddington limited stop service followed by the 1113 Newton Abbot to London Paddington stopper. |
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All across the Great Western territory / Fare's Fair / Re: Ticket offices - changes afoot?
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on: April 07, 2025, 13:36:23
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<devils mode=advocate>In an accountant's or treasury eyes, of course, it might be seen as a damned good example of why the ticket offices should be closed as this clerk has just cost the train operator / DfT» / government nearly £40 in lost revenue, in addition to the salary he drew while advising you.</devils>
So, whilst I agree with the above Devil's Advocate, why are the various ticketing websites that advocate split-ticketing allowed to continue to operate? |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Extreme Day Trips
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on: April 04, 2025, 09:40:19
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You can never simply walk up & get on - even without luggage.
Whilst we had to go through Norwegian security on arrival at Tromso on my day (or rather night) trip from Exeter, we simply walked from coach to aircraft when returning to Tromso airport, with no checks whatsoever. A complete contrast when just transiting at Los Angeles on a (rather longer than a day) trip to New Zealand ten years ago! All I did was walk from aircraft to transit lounge and back to the aircraft 90 minutes later, but much of that break was spent going through (hardly!) LAX security - body scanner, fingerprints taken, etc, etc. Obviously no luggage check as that was still on the aircraft. |
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All across the Great Western territory / Buses and other ways to travel / Re: Extreme Day Trips
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on: March 23, 2025, 10:53:11
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Back in the late 1980's, [I forget the company's name] operated day trips from Exeter Airport - usually within a three-hour flight radius. I took advantage of trips to Naples, Bergen, Reykjavik, Berlin and Tromso - the latter actually being a 'night trip' to experience the land of the midnight sun, where it was as black as the Ace of Spades in the midst of a terrific thunderstorm!
I missed out on Barcelona and Rome due to heavy work commitments.
**** edited to correct a typo noticed long after the event! ****
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Journey by Journey / Cross Country services / Re: Taunton Station and headed north - not clever
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on: March 22, 2025, 13:40:23
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Surprised with an island platform that the railways don't plump for shelters with a central divider, roof at either side, and open at either side to the platform face. Probably subjectively warmer than the enclosed but ventilated box pattern, flexible - and easier to scale to the likely numbers of travellers.
Mark
Always wanted to write this....... Òooooz gunna pay for it? |
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Journey by Journey / Shorter journeys in Devon - Central, North and South / Re: GWR responds to concerns over rising rail fares in North Devon
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on: March 15, 2025, 09:54:50
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A bit off-topic: difficult not to reflect that with a season ticket into London, depending on what it is, the cost can buy the traveller 24/7/365 access to the London rail and tube network.
Buy a season from e.g Barnstaple to Exeter, the traveller receives 24/7/365 access from the awkwardly sited station at Barnstaple to... Exeter.
Apart from that commute being capacity constrained, for the Barnstaple example, would there be something to be said, as part of the season ticket offer, for throwing in off-peak access to the rail system on the same basis as a 'Freedom of Devon' ranger ticket perhaps.
Mark
The purchase of an Annual Season Ticket from A to B within Devon and Cornwall entitles the purchaser to a free Gold Devon and Cornwall Railcard, so it does, in a way, throw in off-peak access to the Devon and Cornwall rail system. |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: When is a window seat not a window seat?
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on: March 08, 2025, 08:55:18
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Many moons ago - October 1999 to be precise - my wife and I flew from Exeter to Toronto on a direct Air Transat flight. We were offered the option of choosing our seats at £7 a time (i.e £28 for the whole return flight). No plan of the aircraft (a 737 IIRC▸ ) was available, so we chose a Window and middle seat roughly in the middle of the aircraft. Imagine our surprise when boarding to find the only window seat 'without a window' and no chance of moving. So, what turned out to be an 'interesting 13 hour (instead of 7 hour)' flight was none too pleasant! Returning to the present, I've noticed that, when booking Cross Country seats, the descriptions 'Window view' and 'Window no view' frequently crop up. Presumably to cater for the seat adjacent to a bulkhead situation |
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