Callum Johnstone
2003-12-29 08:11:00 UTC
Source: The Scotsman
29/12/03
Scots rail travellers hit by ticket price muddle
ALASTAIR DALTON TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT
Rail passengers could save almost one third of the price of some train
journeys by asking booking staff the right questions, travelling with
a different train operator, or even by buying two separate tickets for
the same trip, The Scotsman has found.
As passengers steel themselves for next month's fare increase - the
largest since privatisation - ScotRail has admitted finding the best
deal is not always straightforward.
For example, a single ticket from Glasgow to Dundee is £20.70. But by
asking for separate Glasgow-Perth and Perth-Dundee tickets, the
traveller can save £6.50, or nearly a third.
To complicate things further, tickets are cheaper in some parts of the
country than others because ScotRail does not set fare levels in
Strathclyde, where two-thirds of its trains run.
While fares will go up across the rest of Scotland by 4.1 per cent on
4 January, the increase will not be introduced until May in
Strathclyde, where fares are fixed by the local authority- controlled
Strathclyde Passenger Transport, which froze them last year.
This means it can be cheaper to buy separate rather than through
tickets for journeys between Strathclyde and elsewhere in Scotland
where a change of train is required, such as at Glasgow Central or
Queen Street.
The complex fares picture derives from a combination of British Rail's
legacy and the fragmentation of the railways under privatisation.
ScotRail was forced to inherit British Rail's fare structure, leaving
anomalies that even some conductors do not know about.
ScotRail claim that anomalies such as the Glasgow-Dundee route are
rare, but passengers can also save money by travelling via GNER or
Virgin rather than ScotRail, using fares specific to these firms.
Both train operators offer some cheaper fares than ScotRail on
journeys within Scotland, although they run far fewer services, so the
discount comes at the price of reduced flexibility for the passenger.
This is partly to fill seats on less busy sections of the trains'
cross-Border routes.
A cheap day return on GNER, for example, which cannot be used at peak
hours, is £5.30 between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, compared to
ScotRail's £7.90 to Glasgow Queen Street. However, while the ScotRail
service runs every 15 minutes during the day, there is fewer than one
GNER train an hour.
On the Edinburgh-Aberdeen route, a GNER return bought one week in
advance is £17.50 compared to ScotRail's cheapest return, bookable two
days in advance, of £22. The cheapest tickets are normally those which
have to be booked furthest in advance - between two days and two weeks
- and have the most restrictions.
Don Roberts, the marketing director of ScotRail, said that all rail
staff selling tickets are obliged to give impartial advice about
fares.
However, he said the trick for passengers was to be aware that the
fastest or most frequent services were not always also the cheapest.
He advised passengers to ask for the cheapest way of getting to their
destination, and whether there were any special offers available, such
as for travelling on particular days or at particular times.
Mr Roberts said: "I think the situation is getting better, since the
range of information services has improved, such as by phone and
online.
"The only pricing decision BR [British Rail] faced was, There are too
many people on this service, let's put £10 on the fare'. We are much
more market - and local market - focused."
29/12/03
Scots rail travellers hit by ticket price muddle
ALASTAIR DALTON TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT
Rail passengers could save almost one third of the price of some train
journeys by asking booking staff the right questions, travelling with
a different train operator, or even by buying two separate tickets for
the same trip, The Scotsman has found.
As passengers steel themselves for next month's fare increase - the
largest since privatisation - ScotRail has admitted finding the best
deal is not always straightforward.
For example, a single ticket from Glasgow to Dundee is £20.70. But by
asking for separate Glasgow-Perth and Perth-Dundee tickets, the
traveller can save £6.50, or nearly a third.
To complicate things further, tickets are cheaper in some parts of the
country than others because ScotRail does not set fare levels in
Strathclyde, where two-thirds of its trains run.
While fares will go up across the rest of Scotland by 4.1 per cent on
4 January, the increase will not be introduced until May in
Strathclyde, where fares are fixed by the local authority- controlled
Strathclyde Passenger Transport, which froze them last year.
This means it can be cheaper to buy separate rather than through
tickets for journeys between Strathclyde and elsewhere in Scotland
where a change of train is required, such as at Glasgow Central or
Queen Street.
The complex fares picture derives from a combination of British Rail's
legacy and the fragmentation of the railways under privatisation.
ScotRail was forced to inherit British Rail's fare structure, leaving
anomalies that even some conductors do not know about.
ScotRail claim that anomalies such as the Glasgow-Dundee route are
rare, but passengers can also save money by travelling via GNER or
Virgin rather than ScotRail, using fares specific to these firms.
Both train operators offer some cheaper fares than ScotRail on
journeys within Scotland, although they run far fewer services, so the
discount comes at the price of reduced flexibility for the passenger.
This is partly to fill seats on less busy sections of the trains'
cross-Border routes.
A cheap day return on GNER, for example, which cannot be used at peak
hours, is £5.30 between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, compared to
ScotRail's £7.90 to Glasgow Queen Street. However, while the ScotRail
service runs every 15 minutes during the day, there is fewer than one
GNER train an hour.
On the Edinburgh-Aberdeen route, a GNER return bought one week in
advance is £17.50 compared to ScotRail's cheapest return, bookable two
days in advance, of £22. The cheapest tickets are normally those which
have to be booked furthest in advance - between two days and two weeks
- and have the most restrictions.
Don Roberts, the marketing director of ScotRail, said that all rail
staff selling tickets are obliged to give impartial advice about
fares.
However, he said the trick for passengers was to be aware that the
fastest or most frequent services were not always also the cheapest.
He advised passengers to ask for the cheapest way of getting to their
destination, and whether there were any special offers available, such
as for travelling on particular days or at particular times.
Mr Roberts said: "I think the situation is getting better, since the
range of information services has improved, such as by phone and
online.
"The only pricing decision BR [British Rail] faced was, There are too
many people on this service, let's put £10 on the fare'. We are much
more market - and local market - focused."