RA written on ticket

[maniacmartin]

I've just bought an Anytime Day Single for travel next month. The booking office clerk wrote "RA" on the topright corner of the ticket. What does this mean?

 

[bnm]

"Restrictions Advised" possibly. Although the only restriction on an Anytime ticket will be its routeing and any minimum fare rule if a railcard was used.

 

[bb21]

"Restriction Advised" I think. Did you enter a conversation with her?

 

[maniacmartin]

We had a short conversation about railcards only being valid after 10am

 

[richw]

We had a short conversation about railcards only being valid after 10am

Not strictly correct unless the ticket cost under £12. Railcards are valid before 10am if the discounted fare is over £12.

I'm assuming your ticket cost less than £12 and she is covering herself having had that conversation by writing RA on the corner

 

[maniacmartin]

Im on my phone so didn't type the conversation as fully to this thread as I should have. This ticket is under £12, and the month isn't July/August.

Is the RA marking common? This is the first time I've come across it.

 

[bb21]

I don't think she should have written it on the ticket. She should have stamped the ticket with the phrase as the letters RA could essentially mean anything.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

The clerk should have marked it 'Restriction Advised' or 'Validity Advised' and, as bb21 points out, ideally this should be by rubber stamp. The problem with these new thermal tickets is that some stamp inks quite often wipe off with no trace, so writing the words is the only real option.

 

[NLC1072]

I don't think she should have written it on the ticket. She should have stamped the ticket with the phrase as the letters RA could essentially mean anything.

RA is quite common place, it just covers the clerk and let's rpi's know that the holder has already been advised

 

[island]

I don't think she should have written it on the ticket. She should have stamped the ticket with the phrase as the letters RA could essentially mean anything.

Not everybody has a "restrictions advised" stamp handy.

 

[GadgetMan]

It's quite amusing coming across passengers with invalid tickets who give you the "I didn't know" excuses until you point out what the RA stands for

 

[jopsuk]

Um, if the Railcard is a Network Railcard and the travel is on a weekday, then 10am IS, apart from listed exceptions (mainly hourly services leaving after 0945 as far as I know), a hard and fast limit. It is a condition unique to the Network Railcard.

 

[LexyBoy]

It is a condition unique to the Network Railcard.

...and the Gold Card

 

[maniacmartin]

I knew you pedants would start discussing railcard conditions! Hopefully my post implied it was a 16-25 Railcard.

 

[reb0118]

...........The booking office clerk wrote "RA" on the topright corner of the ticket..............

Under no circumstances should you show this ticket to the guard unless the signal is off & all the doors are closed ~ he may depart the train as you will have given him the Right Away or RA.

Seriously though as stated above it will just note that you have been advised of any restrictions to your ticket.

 

[the sniper]

I don't think she should have written it on the ticket. She should have stamped the ticket with the phrase as the letters RA could essentially mean anything.

I always imagined that RA was widely understood. My retail training wasn't extensive but we were taught to write RA where restrictions were advised, using a thermal pen.

 

[island]

I expect it is widely understood by staff,p.

 

[LexyBoy]

Writing it out in full or using a stamp is better in that it's clear what it means to the customer, so they could query it if they'd not been paying attention or if the clerk genuinely hadn't made it clear.

 

[09065]

Yes but consider the additional time and expenditure on ink to British Rail to write Restrictions Advised in full. It would cost the salary of a member of staff in a busy station if everyone wrote it every time.

To add substance to RA though, when I previously had a Network Railcard I had a keen member of staff write RA next to both my "NSE" and Route because she did correctly advise me of both and it was for travel the next day. Personally I say credit to her.

 

[Deerfold]

I knew you pedants would start discussing railcard conditions! Hopefully my post implied it was a 16-25 Railcard.

As you said in post #4 it wasn't valid until after 1000, I assumed it *wasn't* a 16-25 Railcard. I didn't see anything to suggest it was.