Advance Fares on August Bank Holiday

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

I knew it would be a waste of time but I thought that I would contact FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to ask why Advance Fares for three early morning trains between Bristol and London on Bank Holiday Monday 26th of August had no Advance tickets available, yet the trains before and after did. And this was the reply:

Dear Mr xxxxxxxx

Thank you for your email received on 28 June 2013. I'm sorry for the
inconvenience you have experienced when attempting to book tickets on the
website.

As these services are during commuter times and Advanced tickets are
provided as an offer for the less popular train services and times during
commuter times less Advanced tickets would be available and have already
sold it.
If you require any further assistance please feel free to reply to this
email and we will be happy to help.

Thank you once again for contacting First Great Western Web Support.

Yours sincerely

xxxxx xxxxxxx
Web Support Advisor
First Great Western

Someone give me a brick wall so I can bash my head on it!

Just to clarify that the 5.30, 6.00 and 8.00 onwards ex Bristol show Advance fares but the 6.30, 7.00 and 7.30 do not. Just needs someone to make the adjustment on the fares system that Monday the 26th of August IS a Bank Holiday, except Scotland of course. Anyone with contacts within FGW able to sort this?

Thanks

[Timmer]

Update: I did send a reply to the above explaining that the 26th was a Bank Holiday and this is what I got:

Thank you for your email received on 28 June 2013. The tickets you mention
are not only unavailable on that day they are unavailable on many different
days. The fact its a Bank Holiday simply means that commuters will be
replaced with general travel and with it being August this is generally a
busier time for travel and Holiday makers. These tickets are not available
because those times are genuinely busy. As my colleague mentioned Advance
tickets are offered to encourage travel at less busy times this is not the
case with those times unfortunately they are offered as a promotion and are
not a mandatary ticket that has to be sold on every service. We can't
release Advance tickets for these times because currently they simply do
not exist. If you wish to make a complaint regarding this please contact
our Customer Relations team to log an official complaint.

What an absolute load of tosh. I've traveled many times early on Bank Holidays and the trains are practically empty, busier later in the day yes but not early in the morning when commuters who normally travel to London on early morning trains are still tucked up in bed. I have never had problems buying Advance tickets for travel early on Bank Holidays until now. I give up.

[JayMac]

It would be more appropriate of them to say, "We can do what we like with Advance Purchase tickets to maximise revenue."

They've probably balanced up the income from selling APs in the past on the 0630, 0700, 0730 versus the revenue received from walk-up fares and decided the latter offers up more income.

Don't forget though that you can use Super Off Peak at any time on August Bank Holiday, and if it's a Single or day trip then there's the split at Didcot to consider.

To my mind, what is even more perverse is why they are currently selling Standard Class APs on the Bank Holiday Monday on the 0600 for ^50.50, and on the 0800 for ^36.50. The Super Off Peak Single is valid on both those trains for ^30.50!!! 

That should most definitely not be allowed.

I know of a few other ways to save money on Bristol to London, Timmer. If you want to let me know your travel plans in more detail I may be able to save you some money. That'll probably be the best way to stick it to FGW^▸ (First Great Western)!

[Timmer]

Thanks BNM. All I was asking when I emailed the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) web team was that someone could let the right department know that Advance tickets are not showing up for some services on Bank Holiday Monday. All I got was some copied and pasted reply both times which I wasn't surprised at. Just hoped it would be different this time that someone would understand what I was trying to point out but no.

If they don't change soon I will look at split ticketing as all early morning services stop at Didcot on Bank Holidays if I remember rightly as it's based on a Saturday timetable.

As you have rightly pointed out the Advance tickets that are available on some of the early morning services are priced higher than a Super off peak single! So they have rightly instructed the fares system to offer super off peak and off peak tickets on services that would normally be peak services on a normal weekday but haven't adjusted Advance fares both in price, and in three trains cases availability, to reflect that it's a public holiday and should be treated like it was a Saturday (subject to engineering work of course).

To say that Advance fares for these early morning services on a Bank Holiday 'simply don't exist' is IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) incorrect unless of course FGW plan to only operate two car 150's between Bristol and London for these three trains, then I could believe that they can't offer Advance tickets!

[ChrisB]

As BNM rightly states, TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) are under no requirement ro offer any Advance fares on ANY train. They are an offer tthat they can make to sell seats.

I agree that pricing an Advance fare above any generally available Super off-peak fare (when it's available) is peverse. But other than that, they are completely withon their rights on thus issue.

[Timmer]

As BNM rightly states, TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) are under no requirement ro offer any Advance fares on ANY train. They are an offer tthat they can make to sell seats.

I agree that pricing an Advance fare above any generally available Super off-peak fare (when it's available) is peverse. But other than that, they are completely withon their rights on thus issue.

Totally agree with all that you have written above Chris. What I have an issue with is that it's clearly an error IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) that settings for Advance fares for Monday 26th of August are still set for it being a normal working weekday and not a bank holiday, hence three 'peak services' having no Advance fares as per usual for a working weekday and the Advance fares for services before and after being priced higher as per usual for a working weekday but not a Bank Holiday.

I don't think it's intentional by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) on this occasion because the services involved won't be busy at that time of day and yes if this doesn't change right up to and including the 26th of August, there is no comeback on FGW because they are under no requirement to offer Advance tickets. Up until now I have never had a problem in getting Advance tickets for travelling to London early on a Bank Holiday. Always a first time I suppose 

If they really wanted to restrict Advance tickets and make more revenue why not sell any for the 8.00, 8.30, 9.00 services which are going to be busier than the 6.30, 7.00 and 7.30 on a Bank Holiday as people tend to travel later on Bank Holidays?

By writing to the FGW web team, all I was doing was making an enquiry if there was an issue as to why these Advance tickets were not available on these three trains and I got was robotic answers not a 'we'll pass this onto the relevant department to be looked into'. Bit harsh that it could mean passengers paying more than they should for travelling on lightly loaded services but there we go.

[bobm]

Just a thought but the Reading Festival ends the night before and the first few services on the Monday are often full and standing. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

That's a very good point, Bob. 

And isn't that exactly what the First Great Western Web Support Advisor meant, when they originally wrote to Timmer,

As these services are during commuter times and Advanced tickets are provided as an offer for the less popular train services and times during commuter times less Advanced tickets would be available and have already sold it.

Pure gibberish.