9:38 to London no more after 13 December.
| Chris Bates |
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Thu 4 Dec 2008, 13:07 According to the National Rail Season Ticket checker on the National Rail website, the annual ticket from Charlbury to Paddington (not the Travelcard) currently costs nearer £5000 - £4940 to be precise. An annual season ticket is calculated by allowing for 5-day / week travel, with a 4 week hoiliday and 8 public holidays deducted. So thats 232 days of travel. By my calculation, that's a daily cost of £21.29, not £16/£17 as mentioned below. That's a discount of 41p / day over the CDR. The average annual interest earned on that near-£5000 must be more than that! Secondly, a Netword Card / Senior Railcard can cut 33% off the daily CDR cost - down, I think, to £14.55 / day. Multiply that by 232 and that annual cost is 'only' £3375.60. Compared to £4940, that's a 31.668% discount over the annual season ticket.....stupidly cheap *in compartison*?....arguably so, I contend. Derek wrote: £14.55 return expensive? How far is Charlbury to London Paddington? According to the AA's journey planner, it's 68.8 miles each way. So that's 137.6 miles for your £14.55 - nearly 10 miles for each £1. HM Revenue & Customs allow to you claim 40p/mile as a fair mileage allowance in a standard car without making a profit (and therefore taxable) - that totals over £55. The peak fare is less than that! I think that's an excellent fare in comparison. "A lot of season ticket holders have their tickets paid for by their employers" These days that is complete rubbish! Many moons ago, this was done because there was a gain against tax to be made - but the taxman closed that loophole years ago. The best ANY employee gets these days is an interest-free season ticket loan from their employers, and unless you work for one of thg multi-national corprates, chances are that your employer no longer offers even that. Sorry Derek, but you're info is well out of date! "why not introduce special carriages for season ticket holders?" - they have - it's called peak-hour travel, when 'proles' (your words, not mine!) aren't allowed on the trains.... And as stated before, season ticket holders and those paying full fare daily tickets fill those trains, so there is no room for your proles....I see no reason why those paying up £5000 / year (or nearly £50 / day) shouldn't rely on getting a seat, especially over someone whose just paid £14.55 on the day. "FGW set the prices high for certain trains to stop them from getting too overcrowded. They don't reduce them commensurately for the very unpopular off-peak trains in order to encourage more people to travel by train." Errr.....from nearely £50 (to London) to £14.55 (off-peak, with discount card)?.....perleeze. Of course, on very short distances (and Charlbury to Oxford, as opposed to LOndon, is a very short distance) the options to discount prices are fewer, if one thinks that it is reasonable to charge at least a couple of quid as a minimum (the trains need maintaining whether you go 2 miles or 200, so there's sn argument for a minimum fare for a one stop journey) There used to be an evening-out fare into Oxford - does this still exist? That was set at pretty much a minimum. There's also consideration to be given to counter the (unpalatable) fact that people will try and evade the proper fare, so it would be difficult (and no doubt confusing for some)to have an after-lunch-but-before-tea fare and stop people using it at the 'wrong' times....more revenue protection costs more money..... "How about half-price tickets if you travel outside of the morning and evening peaks?" £46.50 peak as opposed to £14.55 after 10 (and avoiding a couple of hours in the evening)?....that's a 68.71% discount, Derek....far more than half-price!!! "Presumably FGW knew that the CL was single line before they took over the franchise? Presumably they commissioned a feasibility study beforehand? Presumably they thought they would be able to cope with the unique challenges and difficulties that the line presents? Like it or not, FGW agreed to take over the running of this line and I don't think they should continue to blame everyone else for problems that should have been apparent before they were awarded the franchise." I'm sure they did think that they could run the services on the Cotswold Line exactly as they were before winning said franchise.....at a punctuality of what? 64%?.... BUT after winning the franchise, the line was moved, and they were told this was unacceptable. So yes, I don't see why they can't properly apportion blame in this instance. Legally, thet aren't responsible for the track (and its upgrade) - so how on earth one can hold them to account for it's upkeep, beats me! Sorry, Derek, get real! "They've made their bed and now they have to lie in it and get on with running the best rail service they possibly can." These days, I reckon they are close to running the best railway they can with the constraints they still face on the network - they have little staff absence, and now staff are available as cover, so cancellations are the best in their history. Punctuality is close to 90% which is comparable to other long-distance operators. The autumn Passenger survey reports are due out in January, and I think they'll show a large improvement. Having attended a get-together with the management and Directors (the Chair & new MD just announced included) only last night, they know there's still more to do, and they've charged the Customer Panel to challenge them further. We'll ensure that happens. |