Old Story, new example

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Gareth David at Railwayworld.net

The pressing need to simplify railway ticketing has been a long running theme on Britain’s fragmented network, but nothing tangible ever seems to happen, and we continue to live in a crazy world where getting the cheapest fare for my most recent day return journey involved buying no less than four separate sets of tickets.

My Sunday trip from Haslemere to Cardiff – for the Wales vs. Italy Six Nations rugby international – would have cost me £55.50 (using a railcard) had I opted for the cheapest direct ticket, a super off-peak return (not via London), travelling to Guildford, then on to Reading and from there directly to Cardiff.

But checking with a split-ticketing website knocked more than a third off the fare, when I was able to make the return journey for just £36.85 by buying four separate day returns: Haslemere to Blackwater (£8.30), Blackwater to Didcot Parkway (£6.45), Didcot to Swindon (£7.65) and Swindon to Cardiff Central (£14.45).

He goes on to explain more about split ticketing and concludes

There have been endless promises by Governments, ATOC^» (Association of Train Operating Companies See - here) and now the Rail Delivery Group, to simplify train fares, but all we end up with is even greater layers of complexity, inconsistent rules applied by different operators to the time when advance purchase tickets can be bought and used, and increasingly draconian restrictions on when the most attractive off-peak fares apply.

I count myself lucky to have the time and patience to find the cheapest fare, but despair at how so many leisure travellers will be bamboozled into paying more than they should, or be ripped off, by buying inflexible and sometimes unnecessary advance purchase tickets, which they then find the need to change at considerable expense.

A duty of what is called “impartial retailing” is supposed to mean that every ticket office in the land will offer you the cheapest fare for the journey you wish to book. I wonder, though, how many of them would ever suggest buying four separate sets of tickets for one fairly straightforward day return journey? Precious few, I suspect.

Do readers here agree that it has indeed get more complex, or is it just that with modern information systems as our finger tips, we're now much more aware of that complexity?

[GBM]

Whilst forumites have the benefit of being able to search out split ticketing, that in itself bring into debate timing of said tickets (peak/off peak, etc, etc).  It is a minefield.
If you have the time to research, then good luck to you!
On here we also have the benefit of many who are more than aware of rules and regulations and will happily advise the pro's and con's.  A great many thanks to them for their constant and consistent knowledgeable input.
In general I suspect most of the public might be aware of split ticketing but still opt for the ticket office/website purchase "as it's safest" (not cheapest!).
It needs a Parliamentary working party to force TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s to change the rules.
I can't see that happening, and so the TOC's continue to rule the rails and make even more money off passenger fares.

[didcotdean]

The specific example would have been the result of discontinuing long-distance day returns, which was I thought a BR^▸ (British Rail(ways))-era initiative. It may have been compounded by the Thames Trains initiative to reduce fares on many non-London in the early 2000s - this accentuated splits at Didcot which were already there because of the historic Network area boundary.