Heart of Wessex Day Ranger

[whole diary]

[grahame]

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=85

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=2069

Heart of Wessex Day Ranger at 14 pounds or 15 pounds?   Web site contradicts itself!

"Ranger and Rover tickets can be purchased at most staffed stations anywhere in Britain.  You can also buy them from our Customer Services team on 08457 000 125.  Lines are open 0700 to 2200, please allow three working days for delivery of your ticket."

Does that mean they can NOT be bought from on train staff by people joining to start their day at Chetnole, Melksham ...

[anthony215]

Well i have bought it on the train  in september 2009 so i dont see why you cant

[bobm]

Well the National Rail site says ^15 but adds that holders of the Devon & Cornwall railcard can obtain a discount which seems a bit strange!

[grahame]

Well the National Rail site says ^15 but adds that holders of the Devon & Cornwall railcard can obtain a discount which seems a bit strange!

I'm pretty sure the fare is 15 pounds ... but the top hit on Google for "Heart of Wessex Day Ranger" took me to the 14 pound fare page - so anyone just getting the name of the ticket and looking it up online is being given that figure.  There are elements of the fare system in this area for which the logic has been lost in the mists of time, but I'm struggling to work out the Devon / Cornwall discount.   How close does the Heart of Wessex line get to the Devon border - does it even run just into the county somewhere, even though there are none of its stations in Devon?

Well i have bought it on the train  in september 2009 so i dont see why you cant

Thanks for that - good to know.   On careful re-reading of the various statements of where the ticket can be purchased, none of them uses the word ONLY so it's probably OK on the train if you get on at an unstaffed station that doesn't have a ticket machine.  I suppose that at "ticket machine only" stations you're supposed to buy something else and get it excessed up to a Ranger on the train?

[bobm]

How close does the Heart of Wessex line get to the Devon border - does it even run just into the county somewhere, even though there are none of its stations in Devon?

Looking at the map I would suggest the nearest it gets to Devon is Yeovil - and that's nearer the Dorset border than Devon.

This leaflet specifically rules out the Devon & Cornwall discount. It is also dated May 2010 and sets the fare at ^15.

[Brucey]

I suppose that at "ticket machine only" stations you're supposed to buy something else and get it excessed up to a Ranger on the train?

This is what you are supposed to do, however I understand it can create an unnecessary headache for the conductor who has to process the fare.  My advice would be to have a word with the conductor before boarding to check they'll sell you one.

If a member of staff doesn't know what to issue on board the train, ask them to look on the "Rover Enquiry" screen then enter "HT^▸ (Hull Trains) OF WSX RANGER" (which has an NLC^▸ (National Location Code) of I858).

[grahame]

I suppose that at "ticket machine only" stations you're supposed to buy something else and get it excessed up to a Ranger on the train?

This is what you are supposed to do, however I understand it can create an unnecessary headache for the conductor who has to process the fare.  My advice would be to have a word with the conductor before boarding to check they'll sell you one.

If a member of staff doesn't know what to issue on board the train, ask them to look on the "Rover Enquiry" screen then enter "HT^▸ (Hull Trains) OF WSX RANGER" (which has an NLC^▸ (National Location Code) of I858).

I can just imagine the conductor being presented with a lot of these and it causing meltdown.  Perhaps I'm being overoptimistic on ridership levels  ... planning a bit more this week, but I'm very hopeful that we'll have people "in the know" to hand on the Westbury - Swindon - Westbury leg on each of the mornings; I'm certain the conductors can cope, but we'll be wanting to ensure people know about other TransWilts opportunities such as the Shopper Saturdays in Swindon.

[Brucey]

Another thought too Graham: purchases of rovers/rangers don't count towards a station's usage figure.  If FGW^▸ (First Great Western) aren't doing headcounts themselves, it could be worthwhile getting someone from TWCRP^» (TransWilts Community Rail Partnership - about) to do one after every station, especially if you are predicting many passengers to be using such tickets.

[grahame]

Another thought too Graham: purchases of rovers/rangers don't count towards a station's usage figure.  If FGW^▸ (First Great Western) aren't doing headcounts themselves, it could be worthwhile getting someone from TWCRP^» (TransWilts Community Rail Partnership - about) to do one after every station, especially if you are predicting many passengers to be using such tickets.

Totally agreed, Brucey.

Heart of Wessex Day Ranger 15.00
Swindon to Weymouth 15.60, train runs via Melksham
Melksham to Weymouth 21.60

I can't in my heart recommend to people that they buy Melksham to Weymouth tickets considering there are other valid tickets which are considerably cheaper - it's called "doing the right thing by people".  With the fare system sorted out, mind you, that 21.60 isn't a bad price in terms of pence per mile, and it could be argued that it could be used as a starting point - an anchor, if you will, for revisions.  That would put Swindon to Weymouth up, and Swindon to Salisbury down ....

[Timmer]

They would be able to count the number of Day Rangers sold though on any one journey surely? I would imagine the train manager's ticket machine gives a full report of what has been sold for cashing up purposes.

[Brucey]

They would be able to count the number of Day Rangers sold though on any one journey surely? I would imagine the train manager's ticket machine gives a full report of what has been sold for cashing up purposes.

True, but whether someone will proactively do this...

[Chris from Nailsea]

... or be able / willing to allocate them to any particular boarding point on the route ... ?

[inspector_blakey]

I can just imagine the conductor being presented with a lot of these and it causing meltdown. 

I wouldn't be too worried - I'm open to my correction but my understanding is that Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains) has a function that allows the operator to recall any of the last 'n' transactions (something like 10 or 16) so they can simply scroll back through the list of recent ticket purchases and re-issue another without having to go through all the menus to find the appropriate rover again. So having found the rover ticket once subsequent issues of the same ticket should be fairly quick.

I've been issued with rovers on-board in the past with no fuss at all.

[readytostart]

From my understanding Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains) offers a menu of the previous sixteen issues, providing these have been issued from the fare enquiry menu, things such as rovers, post dated seasons and items from the supplements menu (some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) weekend upgrades) will not show up on the last sixteen screen.