Great Western Coffee Shop

For quite a while now, I've been buying my advance tickets online, hopping on the train at Redland, showing the printout and showing the same at the barriers at Temple Meads, then collecting my tickets from the TVM.

Anyway, yesterday I ran into the most difficult Ticket Examiner (she wasn't the guard) who said I had to buy a ticket to Temple Meads.  Fair enough as I wasn't in possession of a ticket and was trying to bend the rules.

My problem is that I tend to book tickets less than 7 days in advance, so I can't have them posted.  Walking down to Temple Meads takes up a good chunk of my day, so this isn't an option (although I will have to resort to that today).

Is there a list of rail appointed travel agents (or is it a case of contacting local agents and asking them)? (Or can anyone recommend one in the Clifton, City Centre or Gloucester Road/Bishopston areas?)

Are they able to sell advance tickets and am I likely to be hit with booking/credit card/admin fees?

Thanks

_{Edited to amend heading to reflect thread-drift}

I can't answer your question, but can I suggest since you are a genuine paying passanger who wants to travel but does not have the facilities to collect tickets at the origin station that you contact First and see if they can be flexible. The reason I ask is if they realise enough people are in similair situations then the rules may be "relaxed" for genuine travellers who are unable to collect tickets at origin station but still have them so can make appropriate arrangements. A TVM on the other side of the barriers at Temple Meads that only dispenses advance tickets for example to collect tickets from for those who started journies like you at a station without the facilities and should not benefit fare evaders as they would still be ticketless at the barriers. In theory the only people to benefit would be genuine fare paying passangers with FGW being seen to be helping with what is an annoying yet common problem

But the TVM's will only sell FROM bristol to XYZ not the other way round

you would need a complete new class of ticket machine that only dispenses prepaid and does not issue new ones

A good case in point for FGW to introduce 'print at home' and download to your mobile phone ticketing.

Actually you don't as it connects to the database. I worked this out when I accidentally printed my Bristol to Swansea tickets at Swansea as opposed to the other way round. Even though it's different TOCs they use the same database so in theory you can collect any tickets from anywhere. It would also probably only require a software patch to disable the buy tickets feature as well

TVMs will only SELL ticket from where they are , but will issue pre booked tickets (with a reference) for any journey irrelevent of where you might say you will pick it up from

I, too have had issues with Advance Purchase, where my start station is one without a TVM (Shirehampton). I've not yet encountered an officious Conductor or Assistant Ticket Examiner. Normally proof of valid travel in the form of a printout will suffice, but the strict interpretation of the rules is that you must be in possession of a valid ticket (or purchase one) from the station where you boarded.

I'm fairly certain there are no 'Rail Appointed Travel Agents' in the Clifton area of Bristol, so that idea ain't going to be a runner.

Fortunately the SVB Line is outside the scope of the Penalty Fares scheme on FGW, so the worst that can happen is you will be charged for a SDS to Temple Meads.

I agree that flexibility and discretion should be shown, but that is always going to be at the whim of the individual staff member you encounter.

No harm in dropping a line to FGW to see if they are prepared to offer some 'official' flexibilty. Of course they may be wary of folks trying it on by saying they've got tickets to collect at BRI when in fact they are going to bail out at Stapleton Road or Lawrence Hill.

This has been brought up many times before and FGW will say the same as now, main reason being is that people will buy a ticket from Bristol to say London online then expect a free ride from Avonmouth.

Well why not? First are now doing a free ride on certain buses for train tickets over a certain price so why not allow free travel on the SVB, especially as it is subsidised by Bristol City Council. Would it really cost FGW that much to do this for all advance purhases?

Thanks for the replies.  I might send an email to ATOC and see if they can recommend anywhere more local to buy tickets.

I assume printouts (that can't be checked on the train) aren't really acceptable as they can be very easily faked.  Plus you might have people who don't have a printer or who have booked over the phone.  These people will only have a reference number (which could be for any journey!)

Does this reply even deserve an answer?????

Hmm.

To be fair, vacman: using your own example of someone purchasing an advance ticket from Bristol to London online, from their home address in Avonmouth - where there are no ticket collection facilities - how much would it 'cost' FGW to allow such passengers the option of ticket collection from BRI?

I'm not saying it's right - just practical, in terms of the cost of a ticket from Avonmouth to BRI, compared with the time it takes for a member of FGW staff to deal with such a situation?

I think there's something flawed in the system here.

I have just checked for a journey next Tuesday evening journey from Melksham (19:47) to London and I'm offered an 18 pound advanced fare - or 26 pounds if I pay on the train.   But although FGW offer me this fare, they don't provide me with any way of collecting my ticket without making a round trip of over 10 miles ahead of time which would more than eat up the saving. 

I am aware of the "grace and favour" often shown in allowing people to travel the first leg on a printout, but what a silly system that sells a product that I've no practical way to get my hands on before I start to use it in the first place.

Vacman - you have given a reason why FGW will tell people they can't travel before collection. Can you also provide a constructive and practical suggestion for people from Avonmouth, Melksham and perhaps other places as to how we can actually make use of the product that your company is selling within the rules?

My suggestion would be a PERMIT TO TRAVEL from such destinations, with a unique code, linked to the national d/b which could be checked, if required, on the train.  It could be printed at home with wording similar to.... Permit to Travel for the Acquisition of Pre-Paid tickets valid for travel between Shirehampton and Bristol Temple Meads on (date) with travel before (time of first pre-booked ticket.

This kind of pulls together previous contributors' suggestions.

Well, you can already get a 'free' ride from stations on the SVB Line to lots of destinations beyond Bristol with Off Peak tickets. Many SVSs/SVRs are priced the same as if from Bristol.

Out of interest I've just selected a ticket for tomorrow morning from Avonmouth to Paddington, and when I was given a choice of collection points entered Temple Meads.  A warning message flashed up:-

The station at which you have selected to collect your ticket is not the station from which your train will leave. You must have collected your tickets before starting your journey. If this is correct please click on Continue to proceed.

So it's fairly clear that you should collect beforehand, but this is hardly customer friendly, as Graham points out. And whilst Vacman's comments about people expecting a free ride into Temple Meads may reflect FGW's view, I suspect the original poster had purchased an advance ticket that included travel on the branch, and if so was not trying to get a free ride, and had a printout of the booking to prove it.

If the national rail industry offers sales by internet, it has to keep up with technology. As an example, famille JohnR went to a concert in Birmingham at the National Indoor Arena this weekend (Jean Michel Jarre - tres bon!). Booked online the tickets were emailed and the barcodes scanned at the door.  Simple! Another example, the Italian rail network has sent tickets to mobile phones for at least the last three years, so why can't UK companies?

Honest passengers should not be penalised because the rail industry can't get it's act together. Even worse that they are accused of being dishonest.

   

Seeing as this thread has evolved to have almost nothing to do with rail-appointed travel agents, but quite a lot to do with mechanisms for collecting advance-booked tickets, I've amended the title...

I have previously seen a technical specification document for Avantix Mobile which says it can connect to the National Rail database using 3G, GPRS and 802.11.  Here is the document: http://www.casio.co.uk/pdf/mtd/Case%20Study%20-%20Atos%20for%20web.pdf (middle column on second page).

So a solution exists to issue pre-purchased tickets on the train, but the TOCs choose not to use it (perhaps due to the cost of upgrading the machines?)

Edited to add link

ATOC have replied to my original query, namely are there are Rail Appointed Travel Agents in Bristol.  Apparently there are only three in BristolI might pop into the one on Baldwin Street next time I'm in the city centre, but don't hold much hope for the other two.

On a related note, am I correct in assuming that there are no provisions for collecting advance tickets at Heathrow Terminal 5, if you're catching the RailAir to Reading? I'll be booking my train journey from there home for Christmas shortly, seeing as bookings are now available up to 23 Dec - in the absence of any collection machines at Terminal 5 I'll get them mailed to the parents and ask them to forward them to me, since I'm assuming FGW telesales won't mail tickets internationally, but it's not exactly user-friendly! I noticed at Bristol Airport last week there are FastTicket machines available, just a shame that there don't seem to be any at Heathrow!

The NRE website states that collection from the counter is available.  It also says about collection from TVM, but does state this "Ticket machines can only issue tickets, including collection of pre-purchased tickets for journeys on Heathrow Express or Connect services ONLY."

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/hwv/details.html

I spotted that one too...I'm just not entirely sure I trust it! AFAIK the ticket office at HWV is some kind of hybrid that issues tickets for LUL and HEx/Heathrow Connect, but not sure if it can do ticket collection or sales for the whole network. Anyone able to advise...?!

Or do what they do in Norway with advance tickets.  The Guard prints them all out at the start of his turn and as he passes down the train he hands you your ticket in exchange for a look at your booking print out and your credit card.  

If that is too dificult then I would favour the current "grace and favour" system and it FGW are worried about fraud then why not just have the guard start his day with a printout of all the day's advanced tickets from stations on his line.  If your ticket isn't on the list (or he has forgotten the list) he can call control to have your booking print out verified if he is suspecious.  

Oooh, that would stop you travelling on any train but your booked one!

Well, no. It wouldn't stop you boarding the wrong train. Dunno what sort of penalty scheme the NSB have in place though!

But if the ticket was only issued to you on the *right* train, it would bugger up any connections you might need to make with no ticket!