Great Western Coffee Shop

The majority of us who post here are regular rail users - or are campaigners for an appropriate service as we would like to use the train much more often. And every one of us who posts has gone to the trouble of signing up, has read / studied to a greater or lesser extent, and as such makes ticket purchasing decisions and travel plans with a much more informed background than most travellers.  And that's not because the other travellers who don't post here are "thick" or "dumb" as I have recently see written in other threads - it's typically because they've got a different balance of interests.

Let's say that I was working in Amsterdam from Monday, and flying out on Sunday to Schipol to transfer on by train to the City centre.  I would probably know that there was a rail service, and a reasonably frequent one, from Schipol into the City ... but I doubt that I would have researched the fare, checked whether or not I should look at specific or open returns for that part of my journey, considered asking for a cheaper fare by a slower train or "via xxxxx", or to seeing if I could do better by getting a Netherlands Rover ticket or a break of journey ticket (Schipol to Ootesendorf and Ootesendorf to Central) to save me money. No - I would trust to the system to provide me with a fair fare for the journey.

And we must acknowledge and accept that the majority of people who travel by train from time to time, and who try it out, also trust the system to deliver them a fair fare.  Regrettably, at times it does not, and at times I get the feeling that the Train Operating Companies actually take advantage of the complex system to provide the traveller with a higher priced ticket than is really necessary, sometimes leaving a very bad taste indeed in the mouth.

Here's a recent example ...

We have a lot of overseas visitors coming to visit us at work, and at times I'm frankly ashamed when they tell me how much they have been charged for a train journey from - say - Stanstead to Chippenham and ask if they'll be charged the same on the way back.

Stansted to Liverpool Street ... 18 pounds
Tube to Paddington ... 4 pounds
Paddington to Chippenham ... 57.50

So total single fare - 79.50

And ... do you know what - by catching the 17:15 rather that the 16:45 from Stansted, they could have reduced the return fare to just 53 pounds.

In summary.   The fare system as it stands remains overcomplex and liable to throw up some fares which are a rip-off ... and no-one should expect that people who've not made something of a study of the system will be able to find the fairest fare.

Comments, anyone?

Totally agree about the fares system being still far too complex for your occasional punter to ever be able to, or have time and inclination to get the best fare available for a particular journey.

My recent experience was trying to get a late deal to Stoke, travelling tomorrow return Tuesday, managed with the FGW ^5 deal to get it for ^33, with the return leg midday Tue being 12.50.  :o :o

If I had no option but to travel peak Mon morning and late back Tue it was up in the ^100's, and I think I would have given up trying split journey's long before I found the ideal fare.

Fare engines were no better, as I was offered ^33 from both trainline and other ToC websites none of which were available when I tried to book them.  >:(

agree with you tramway but by asking at the ticket office the avalible options and prices the occasional traveller should be able to get a deal to suit.
but just arriving at the station and purchasing a ticket to xxxx at peak time you are going to paying a high price, remember the ticket office staff cant assist you if you dont actually ask them what you actually want

And if you arrive at peak time, ten minutes to departure at peak time, one ticket window closed and a queue of passengers, what chance of a sensible discussion of fares?