Great Western Coffee Shop

Strange title I know but......

I had a few minutes to wait for my train the other day at Worle and noticed (09:15) the machine was still offering the standard day return price of ^10.40 for travel to FAW. Having purchased my ticket for this journey from Hyden in the Green box 5 minutes earlier at ^5.90 (the 09:17 (?) is the first train where an off-peak ticket towards Bristol can be purchased).

Question i pose is what margin of time does the clock on the ticket machine work to before it switches to the correct price band; I certainly won't buy a ticket from the machine should the Green Box be unmanned if the price isn't right!!! 

I don't know what the margin is but if you are unable to buy the correct tickets for your journey a few minutes before the scheduled departure of your intended train, then I would suggest that this is classed as 'having no opportunity to purchase before boarding.' The TOCs argument is that allowing TVMs to sell off peak tickets in the peak will lead to people either mistakenly or deliberately buying the cheaper product thus depriving the TOC of revenue. I don't buy that argument. All it takes is a clear message in large type to be flashed up on the screen before the transaction is completed. Something like:

WARNING. Tickets are issued subject to The National Rail Conditions of Carriage and Railway Byelaws. This ticket is not valid for travel on any train scheduled to depart before 0915. If you board a train before this time you may be liable to prosecution for fare evasion.

Currently in these circumstances the rail industry wants you to either purchase a 'Permit to Travel' or a ticket that covers part of your journey. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage say:


Whilst this is the official line, in practice it is very difficult to enforce. How does the passenger know whether the price they will be paying for a ticket that covers part of the journey will be less than the correct fare? Also a passenger may be unfamiliar with the route they are taking to their destination and they may not know which station to pick that, 'entitles you to make at least part of the journey.' And I'm fairly certain most guards/conductors/train managers would rather just issue the correct fare than faff around doing an over-distance excess.

Related, but irrelevant to your specific point, Worle Wonder: the two analogue station clocks on the platforms at Weston super Mare are exactly five minutes fast. It was interesting (and rather amuzing!) to compare them with the brand new digital CIS screens on the same platforms, while waiting for my train to depart from Weston this morning, and watch the obvious confusion amongst potential passengers ...  ::)

Apart from that, I have raised a rather similar point in the past, at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=45.msg9401#msg9401 with no definitive answer being offered ... ::)