Advance fare increase with new timetable?

[whole diary]

[SDS]

I reckon the reason for the price increases severely limited availability on the cheaper advance tickets is mainly because of coming out of revenue support.

I know FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have taken on a new fares implementation manager who maybe actually managing the quota much more closely now.

[John R]

I've just checked a Thursday either side of the timetable change for 1st class fares from BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) to PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains), and there is currently plenty of availability on most off peak services at ^31.70. So on admittedly a limited survey, there wasn't any clear evidence of a change in quotas.

[matth1j]

Would be interested to know if anyone else has noticed this on other routes

My standard class advance 0712 Didcot Parkway - Bath Spa appears to have jumped from ^8.80 to ^16.10, which I reckon is an 83% increase.

This is serious for me. When the 0742 jumped in price a year or 2 ago at least I had the option of the earlier service, although I have to get up at 5.30 to catch it. The only service before the 0712 is an hour earlier - a 4.30 start isn't practical!

[ellendune]

Would be interested to know if anyone else has noticed this on other routes

My standard class advance 0712 Didcot Parkway - Bath Spa appears to have jumped from ^8.80 to ^16.10, which I reckon is an 83% increase.

This is serious for me. When the 0742 jumped in price a year or 2 ago at least I had the option of the earlier service, although I have to get up at 5.30 to catch it. The only service before the 0712 is an hour earlier - a 4.30 start isn't practical!

Yes it is a big percentage increase, but it is from about 14p per mile to around 25p per mile for a very high speed service. That is still very cheap.  Consider that peak time Swindon to London Passengers are forced to pay 78p per mile you are getting a bargain.

[John R]

How busy is this service usually? I'm guessing a service that arrives into Bath Spa at around 8am, and Bristol at 8.15 will be pretty heavily loaded. So it would appear commercial sense not to offer ultra cheap tickets designed to fill otherwise empty seats when there aren't any (or many).

Do you commute daily? If so, a weekly is ^103.

[matth1j]

How busy is this service usually? I'm guessing a service that arrives into Bath Spa at around 8am, and Bristol at 8.15 will be pretty heavily loaded.

Well... yes and no. I get on at Reading (split ticket trick), where I would estimate 'my' coach C at less than 5% occupancy. A few people get on at Didcot, and a few more at Swindon, but I doubt it's more than 20% full.

A lot of people do get on at Chippenham, although like this morning the seat next to me isn't always taken. But they always have done, and I don't think the numbers have increased.

Do you commute daily? If so, a weekly is ^103.

'Fraid not - just Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Tuesdays/Thursdays are holidays working-from-home days.

Regarding the value-for-money aspect - yes, I'm very grateful I head west rather than into London. But presumably the old price wasn't just plucked out of thin air; there must have been a reason for it. Anyway, I still don't think that gives them the (moral) right to almost double it overnight. Perhaps I'm biased

[ChrisB]

I think they're entitled to assess/amend/revise Advance prices as they see fit - a lot of pax^▸ (passengers) take Advances as a fixed price ticket whereas they aren't really - as various folks have said - they're priced to fill 'empty' seats and thus a fresh assessment will always be done at intervals, while also looking at pence per mile pricing too.

I suspect that a full revision of Advance pricing is/has been underway since FGW^▸ (First Great Western) started to take all risk on their services rather than splitting it with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) under revenue support. Whether pax will vote with their feet, we'll just have to await & see.

[JayMac]

Comparing a few journeys using the new fares program (NFM^▸ (National Fares Manual) 18) I see no changes in Advance Purchase fares at the various price points.

That doesn't mean to say quotas at each price point will remain the same though.

[matth1j]

Comparing a few journeys using the new fares program (NFM^▸ (National Fares Manual) 18) I see no changes in Advance Purchase fares at the various price points.

I wasn't sure whether you were talking about tickets for your journey(s), or my journey, or just in general.

However, today I get a response from FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to a query I sent yesterday (the original automated reply warned it might take 7+ days!). They said the same thing, and suggested it was just down to increased demand.

Seems odd though - I've been buying the ^8.80 tickets 6 weeks in advance for over a year, yet now there are none available right up to the 3 month limit. So...

That doesn't mean to say quotas at each price point will remain the same though.

...I've asked whether the number of tickets available has changed.

Anyway, apologies to FGW for maligning them.