Ticket to Ride – best deal?
Cheap ticket anyone?
Ticket to ride confusion
Do you find British train ticket deals confusing?
The other day I dashed off to a meeting in the Borders. The cheapest ticket available on-line was around £24.80 ($32.60) with the need to commit to a specific train and no refunds. Return tickets weren’t available, although I see there are today – don’t know why.
Nice guy
For a variety of reasons I went to a local booking office, the day before travel ,and asked for the best deal. I bought a return ticket for £19.85 ($26.28). I could travel anytime the following month on any train.
The man who sold me my ticket knew his stuff and worked quickly. We bantered. It’s good to have a pleasant, professional purchase.
Pity is …
All ticket purchases are a buyers responsibility. You rely on the Internet sellers to give you the best deal. Are the ticket systems fair?
Is the complexity of train and bus ticketing designed for optimal fairness to the customer? In whose interests will unregulated businesses, within captive markets, operate?
Who benefits
Yield management is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, perishable resource (such as airline [train] seats or hotel room reservations or advertising inventory).
So, there’s this thing called yield management. In an unregulated environment the definition applies – maximising revenue and profit … from you and me.
In whose interests do the fare models work? Was privatisation a good idea?
Mustn’t forget the subsidies either, these have increased 56% in real terms in ten years, based on the figures above. Is this best value?
Ticket to Ride
I like train travel. The gravy train is a concern. I want any profiteered money to educate, provide health support, look after older people, oh … and leave a wee bit extra for my night cap.
© Mac Logan