Family travel from Thatcham to London on Saturday 7th December 2013

[whole diary]

[BerkshireBugsy]

Hi guys, looking for advice on travelling to London on the above date. We would like to arrive at Paddington by at about 10am

In our party there will be 3 or 4 adults (if I am working in London the week before I will not need a ticket as my weekly will cover me)

There will be 3 children aged 1,9 and 14 at the time of travel

I seem to remember in a previous question mention was made of a family rail card.

Thanks in advance

[BerkshireBugsy]

And I have just seen the post about a ^20 family railcard ...just missed the offer !

[brooklea]

GroupSave4 plus one or two 'kids for a quid' may well be your best option.

The one year old goes for free anyway, and if you have 3 adults travelling, one of the other two children can make the group upto four, so you would only require one additional child ticket (one GroupSave Child - cost ^1.00).

The GroupSave4 ticket is ^41.80 day return (^41.60 single!), or ^50.80 if you require Day Travelcards (children are still only ^1.00 each with the travelcard option).

No time restrictions apply on a Saturday and the ticket can be purchased from the booking office on the day, or booked in advance and collected from the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) (note the TVM will not let you puchase GroupSave tickets). Only other thing to be aware of is that everyone in the group has to travel together at all times for the ticket to be valid.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Thanks Brooklea - can I ask a really stupid question? Well I am going to!

Is that ^51.80 for the 4? I am assuming it is but it seems line too much of a bargain!

Does the ^1 each for the kids include the underground bit?

Thanks very much

[brooklea]

^50.80 really is for four adults (or three adults and one child) return to Paddington and a zones 1-6 Travelcard, so yes, it is a good price!

And yes, up to four additional children can also join the group and get a Travelcard for ^1 each.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Thanks Brooklea I wanted to be sure !

[BerkshireBugsy]

And I should have said 7th December but I guess that doesn't make any difference

[brooklea]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) do sometimes bar the use of GroupSave tickets to or from certain stations on specific dates or times e.g. if a major event is likely to increase demand on a particular route, but there doesn't appear to be any restriction to or from London (or Thatcham!) on December 7th. Certainly National Rail Enquiries offer it for that date, so I would take that to indicate that it is valid.

[bobm]

And I should have said 7th December but I guess that doesn't make any difference

I've taken the liberty of re-naming this thread to avoid any confusion.   

[BerkshireBugsy]

And I should have said 7th December but I guess that doesn't make any difference

I've taken the liberty of re-naming this thread to avoid any confusion.   

Many thanks bobm

[eightf48544]

Does anyone else think TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) should sell Groupsaves? Especialy at stations with limited booking office times or no booking office? I suppose they want the extra ^50 for 4 people going to London when the booking office is shut!

Can you buy them on the train or at Paddington if the booking opffice is shut?

[John R]

Yes. If the ticket (in this case GroupSave) you want is not available from a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) and there is no other means of purchase then you are entitled to join the train and buy a ticket at the earliest available opportunity.

[JayMac]

Yes. If the ticket (in this case GroupSave) you want is not available from a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) and there is no other means of purchase then you are entitled to join the train and buy a ticket at the earliest available opportunity.

Strictly, if there is a PERTIS^▸ (Permit to travel) machine or TVM at your origin station, then, to comply with the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, you must either buy a Permit to Travel or a ticket that allows you to make part of the journey, for all those travelling. These must then be exchanged, as part payment, for the actual tickets required as soon as is reasonably practicable.

In practice, this can be a bit of a faff, particularly onboard when excessing up a batch of TVM bought tickets to GroupSave.

Nonetheless, the strict legal requirement, where facilities exist, is to have some form of ticket, be that a Permit to Travel or part distance ticket, before boarding.

From the National Rail Conditions of Carriage:

3. Where the full range of tickets is not available

If you cannot buy an appropriate ticket for the journey you want to make because the
range of tickets that is available at the station from which you intend to start your journey
is restricted, you must buy a ticket or Permit to Travel before you travel that entitles you to
make at least part of the journey. Then you must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, buy
an appropriate ticket to complete your journey. In these circumstances, you only need to pay
the fare that you would have paid if you had bought a ticket immediately before your journey.
The price you will have to pay will be reduced by the amount paid for the ticket or Permit to
Travel.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Yes. If the ticket (in this case GroupSave) you want is not available from a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) and there is no other means of purchase then you are entitled to join the train and buy a ticket at the earliest available opportunity.

Not ignoring the comments later regarding penalty fares and what is stated in the conditions of carriage does an avantix have the capability to issue groups save tickets?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Yes, Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains) machines can issue GroupSave tickets.