But why charge more for a months return? It doesn't put the TOC▸ out. So why charge more?
How should ticket prices be set? If your starting point is that they should be set at costs + operating margin then different prices for the same journey make little sense.
But of course many other factors are at play. At one end there is a desire to price people off overcrowded train at the other end of the spectrum there is the desire to price people (especially leisure travellers) onto lightly used trains (charging a ^1 fare is better for the TOC than an emply seat - but only if you assume that the bargains are only being snapped up by people who would not otherwise have travelled). There are also "political considerations" - promoting mobility and keeping commuters sweet.
The conflicting motivations and the fact that for regulated fares the solutions worked out 12 yeras ago are still set in stone, have resulted in the fares mess that we have today.
IMO▸ the system is starting to slowly breakdown because price diferentials have risen and passengers are using the net to get wise to various methods of saving money by using fares not really designed for them (ie the assumption that business travelers will always buy a flexible ticket is being erroded as more or these lucrative passengers are buying in advance or learning how to rebook).
Two example:
1, A whole generation of net savy students is growing up thinking that advanced fare are the only way to travel whereas when I was a student 15 years ago the mentality and expecation was that so long as you had a YP railcard and kept out of London in the peak a reasonably priced supersaver or saver could be brought on the day for virtually any journey in the country (such freedom!)
2, Business is starting to realise that fares are too high to pay for their staff to travel without a very good reason. My firm has offices in Bath and London. 15 years ago all new trainees starting in the Bath office were told that they needed to spend two non-consectuive days a week in London. 10 years ago it was 1 day a week. Now it is "go to London once when you start to introduce yourself and then only go when you really need to - and try to get a cheap train fare when you do" - which works out at perhaps 6 times a year. Perhaps 1000 fewer open returns per year are being bought by the company compared with 15 years ago.
The current system is not the best for passengers but I no longer think that it is neccessarily the most profitable system for the TOCs either because passengers are starting to rebel against some of the extortionate fares and complicated restrictions by finding a way around them or by not travelling at all.
I suspect that the ressesion has caused passenger numbers to drop only very slightly if at all, but that revenue has dropped significnatly as people with jobs are still travelling but on cheaper tcikets. When the recovery comes very few of those peopel will trade up again to the very expensive tickets.
There are plenty fo properous passengers and people on company expenses on many routes who are travelling on 30 quid advanced fares and who would willingly pay say 60 quid for a flexible walk-up fare, but who will not be willing to pay ^120 for that fare.
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