Price difference

[whole diary]

[NickB]

hello,
Why is an anytime return from Paddington-->Maidenhead ^15.60 whereas an anytime return from Maidenhead-->Paddington ^21.30 ??

Surely they are the same thing, given that they are Anytime tickets?

Cheers

[JayMac]

Market forces allegedly. More people want to travel to London than from. There are many examples of such fares in the former Network SouthEast area.

[paul7575]

hello,
Why is an anytime return from Paddington-->Maidenhead ^15.60 whereas an anytime return from Maidenhead-->Paddington ^21.30 ??

Surely they are the same thing, given that they are Anytime tickets?

Cheers

Anytime only refers to the period of use.  It doesn't have anything to do with the fare being 'reversible'.  There are a few places where a season becomes uneconomic for people travelling in the reverse direction, because the reverse flow from London is sufficiently different for 5 x anytimes to undercut the season price.   As BNM says, common in the former NSE^▸ (Network South East) area for flows away from London.

As another example of fares being different in the other direction you only have to look at SWT^▸ (South West Trains), where 'super off-peak' fares do not even exist for journeys starting in the direction away from London...

Paul

[NickB]

Interesting. Thanks.
But I presume that there is nothing stopping someone buying the ticket "the wrong way round" from Paddington a day in advance? Ie. I buy a Padd-->Maid return ticket today for use tomorrow and board at Maidenhead tomorrow morning.
I'd just be using the RTN ticket first.

[grahame]

But I presume that there is nothing stopping someone buying the ticket "the wrong way round" from Paddington a day in advance? Ie. I buy a Padd-->Maid return ticket today for use tomorrow and board at Maidenhead tomorrow morning.

Sorry, not allowed -  http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46544.aspx says:

The outward part of an Anytime Return ticket is only valid for travel when accompanied by an unused return part of the same ticket.

[NickB]

Interesting again! 😀
Good thing that my trains run through platforms without barriers... 😉

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmmm. 

The perils of 'taking advantage' of the lack of barriers at any station are rather well illustrated in a discussion on this forum at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=13870.0

[NickB]

Haha! Yes, quite - though rather a different scale.
To be honest this query was all brought about by the ticket man at Paddington not listening to what I requested, 3 times, and ignoring my questions about why the price was different to when I purchase at maidenhead.  So on his head be it.  Rest assured, this is not the start of a mass fraud. 😃

[ellendune]

When you talk to people in Bristol about Swindon it is a long way a way. Ask the same question of people in Swindon about Bristol and it is not so far.

So it must be that that there is a quirk of the space time continuum that means the distance is longer in one direction than the other.  That might explain the difference in fares. 

[JayMac]

Eh? No timey wimey continuiniuinuim stuff going on between Swindon and Bristol. Fares are the same in either direction

[grahame]

When you talk to people in Bristol about Swindon it is a long way a way. Ask the same question of people in Swindon about Bristol and it is not so far.

Not sure about the fares, but I know what you mean.

We live in Melksham and people say it's "the West".   Rubbish - the west starts at WESTon-super-mare.
Talk to people in Weston, and they'll say the West starts just beyond Taunton.
Talk to people in Wellington and they'll refer you to Exeter
And in Exeter, people will tell you that "west" means beyond Newton Abbott
In Plymouth, people will say that Cornwall is the West (but complain at journey time to London)
And in Truro, they'll point you at Camborne.
Get Penzance, and they'll say that "The West" is Mousehole.
And finally the people at Lands End will tell you, YES, we live in the west.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I think you'll find it's pixies who live at Lands End ... 

[LiskeardRich]

But I presume that there is nothing stopping someone buying the ticket "the wrong way round" from Paddington a day in advance? Ie. I buy a Padd-->Maid return ticket today for use tomorrow and board at Maidenhead tomorrow morning.

Sorry, not allowed -  http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46544.aspx says:

The outward part of an Anytime Return ticket is only valid for travel when accompanied by an unused return part of the same ticket.

If using a multiple times in a rolling 30 day month but not enough for a season, would it represent a saving to buy a single to London, then an anytime return on the way home? Using the return portion a few days later, and then working that way? Assuming the Return portion is valid for 30 days?

[JayMac]

And in Truro, they'll point you at Camborne.

...and tell you that the train don't stop Camborne Wednesdays.

One of my all time favourite Jethro tales. You probably needs to be wes cundry to rilly preciate it.

 

[grahame]

If using a multiple times in a rolling 30 day month but not enough for a season, would it represent a saving to buy a single to London, then an anytime return on the way home? Using the return portion a few days later, and then working that way? Assuming the Return portion is valid for 30 days?

On London ->  Maidenhead journeys, the return tickets are day returns which expire in the early hours - not even 24 hour tickets.  Brings all sorts of oddities and quirks, even where the return ticket prices are "reversible"

I'm going to quote a journey that I'm much more familiar with which is "Day" returns only like I think the Maidenhead to London journey is. Scenario - I live in Melksham and work occasional  shifts in Swindon.
* If I travel up to Swindon on the train after 7 a.m., I pay 9.40 for my return journey
* If I travel up to Swindon on the train after 10 a.m., I pay 6.80 for my return journey
* If I travel up to Swindon on the train just before 8 p.m., I pay 14.50 for my return journey
The night shift is a single off-peak to Swindon, and a single peak (by pricing, but on one of the quietest trains) back.