Passenger Focus Urges Discretion Over Penalty Fares & Long Queuing Times

[whole diary]

[Lee]

A rail-passenger watchdog is calling on ticket inspectors to use discretion and not issue fines when people have faced unacceptably long ticket queues (link below.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7428348.stm

Passenger Focus's comments follow a study into queuing times for tickets.

The study suggests one in every six passengers wait for more than three minutes in off-peak times.

The Department of Transport says penalty fares should not be charged if people have to wait longer than three minutes, or five at peak times.

[Super Guard]

You mean to say that customers are struggling to use the Self-Service Machines?  As Victor would say... I don't belieeeve it... 

[Andy W]

You mean to say that customers are struggling to use the Self-Service Machines?  As Victor would say... I don't belieeeve it... 

I may be proved wrong but I don't think all ticket types are sold at the self service machines.

[John R]

I often wonder how many people miss their train when the queue at Temple Meads is out of the ticket office (particularly around 8am). Of course there you don't have the option of boarding without a ticket, you just miss your train.

[Super Guard]

I may be proved wrong but I don't think all ticket types are sold at the self service machines.

I don't deal with the machines myself, but you can buy all types of Same day tickets as far as i'm aware, and then tickets for tomorrow from about 3pm onwards.

[John R]

I may be proved wrong but I don't think all ticket types are sold at the self service machines.

I don't deal with the machines myself, but you can buy all types of Same day tickets as far as i'm aware, and then tickets for tomorrow from about 3pm onwards.

Groupsave?

[Mookiemoo]

You cant buy an off peak ticket at 0928 when your train is a valid train leaving at 0935 for example.

Took me 35 minutes to renew my season last week - because a group of girlies wanted to go shopping to Cheltenham but couldnt work out where they wanted to return to then there was a couple of OAP's who wanted to know the entire timetable from A to B and the combinations of tickets they could possibly think of taking

aaaaaaaagggggggghhhhhhhhh

Why cant they tell people to move aside when there is only ONE window and make up their mind off line then re-queue once they have made their mind up.

I was only renewing on the sunday to avoid holding the queue up on Tuesday morning - would have been quicker to get it in the peak on Tuesday!

[grahame]

You cant buy an off peak ticket at 0928 when your train is a valid train leaving at 0935 for example.

Took me 35 minutes to renew my season last week - .....

Sounds like they've been taking lessons from the Post Office - I just love the "out of the door" queue when it's co-inciding pension day and car tax renewal day.

You weren't the lady behind me last December at Chippenham when I bought return tickets for a party of 80 ... total print run 160 tickets ... were you?

I don't deal with the machines myself, but you can buy all types of Same day tickets as far as i'm aware, and then tickets for tomorrow from about 3pm onwards.

Groupsave?

The other ticket type which (as far as I am aware) you cannot buy at machines is tickets that start from other stations.  For example, if I was going from Chippenham to London in the morning, but only returning as far as Didcot in the evening, I would want a Chippenham to Didcot single (do-able) and a Didcot to London return (not do-able from the machine at Chippenham, as far as I know).

Probably my odd travelling habits, but I'm forever doing slighhtly different out and back journeys with some fairly odd ticketing needs!

[swlines]

Graham, if you were doing that Chippenham - London on the outward and London - Didcot on the return, I'd recommend getting a Didcot - London return excessing the outward portion to Chippenham.

[vacman]

I wish the people who make these statements were in the real world, so you go through the train, one person says "I was waiting for 3 and a half minutes in the queue so can't get a penalty fare", you then get to someone else who was waiting 2 minutes so you have to Penalty fare them? people need to arrive at the station earlier, 3 minutes before a train is not time enough!

[grahame]

Graham, if you were doing that Chippenham - London on the outward and London - Didcot on the return, I'd recommend getting a Didcot - London return excessing the outward portion to Chippenham.

Good grief - that wasn't even an option I had considered.  But I think I would be hard pressed to get the machine to do it!

[swlines]

The machine nope, but any ticket office can do it!