2019 fares yet on system?

[gray1404]

I am looking at booking some Advance tickets for January 2019 which I am able to book. I notice that the fare at the tier I am looking at for the journey concerned is currently the same as it is this year. Does that mean that this particular fare will not be increasing next year or could it be if I go back at a later date the fare could have gone up? I am wondering if the 2019 fares have been loaded into the systems yet given it is possible to book into 2019 now?

Thanks

 

[Wallsendmag]

They won't show until the start of December.

 

[gray1404]

OK so better to book now and still get it at 2018 prices while the system is still allowing me to. Good that I have until the start of December to confirm though. Thanks.

Have all the TOCs announced what their price rises will be yet? If so, is there a place this information can be found.

 

[swt_passenger]

OK so better to book now and still get it at 2018 prices while the system is still allowing me to. Good that I have until the start of December to confirm though. Thanks.

Have all the TOCs announced what their price rises will be yet? If so, is there a place this information can be found.

I don’t recall individual TOCs announcing their own rises normally. They just appear in retail systems on the due date. All the annual media hype has already happened when the RPI figures were published, in September was it?

 

[Hadders]

OK so better to book now and still get it at 2018 prices while the system is still allowing me to. Good that I have until the start of December to confirm though. Thanks.

Have all the TOCs announced what their price rises will be yet? If so, is there a place this information can be found.

Who are you travelling with? It's highly unlikely that prices of Advance fares will reduce although historically some TOCs have had seat sales in January. I'd expect most Advance fare tiers to increase in price in January although as these are unregulated it's difficult to predict what the TOCs will do. Some TOCs might keep the lowest tier unchanged as a 'headline' but then reduce the number of tickets sold at this price.

All the annual media hype has already happened when the RPI figures were published, in September was it?

Round 1 of media hype happened in September when the RPI figure was announced
Round 2 of media hype will be in early December when the size of the increase for each ticket becomes known
Then the 3rd, and biggest round is on 2nd January when the rises are implemented. This is inevitably a slow news day so will be the lead item in the papers and on the news (the railway really shoots itself implementing the fares increase on a day which is always a slow news day)

 

[gray1404]

Its Southern I want to book some Advances with.

 

[Hadders]

Its Southern I want to book some Advances with.

I'd book asap. I don't think they have ever had a seat sale.

 

[MikeWh]

Its Southern I want to book some Advances with.

The lowest tier price (£5) has remained constant for a while now. Others went up earlier in the year.

 

[Paul Kelly]

The official on-sale date for the January fares this year is Friday 30th November. Seems to be creeping back earlier every year; used to always be 5th December.

 

[Starmill]

The official on-sale date for the January fares this year is Friday 30th November. Seems to be creeping back earlier every year; used to always be 5th December.

I was always surprised they didn't try to make sure it was in months ahead. Every year there must be some very small amount of cash lost when people buy walk-up tickets for journeys they know for sure they'll need to make (or even ones they don't, given some of the refund guarentee schemes that are out there now) and save on the increase. Of course, making it earlier requires it to be signed off earlier, and good data managemment.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Tickets for journeys on or after the Fares Change Date (which has been fixed as 2nd January - in this particular instance - for several years now) should be sold at current prices until four weeks before the fares change date, with the new fares applying thereafter (assuming they're available to the TIS being used).

This has been the case for as long as I've been on the railway, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was the case pre-privatisation as well.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I was always surprised they didn't try to make sure it was in months ahead. Every year there must be some very small amount of cash lost when people buy walk-up tickets for journeys they know for sure they'll need to make (or even ones they don't, given some of the refund guarentee schemes that are out there now) and save on the increase. Of course, making it earlier requires it to be signed off earlier, and good data managemment.

The fares setting round has only just finished.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Tickets for journeys on or after the Fares Change Date (which has been fixed as 2nd January - in this particular instance - for several years now) should be sold at current prices until four weeks before the fares change date, with the new fares applying thereafter (assuming they're available to the TIS being used).

This has been the case for as long as I've been on the railway, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn it was the case pre-privatisation as well.

Alas, it is not so predictable any more. See below for a quote from a RDG bulletin I've had sight of:

The January 2019 new fares which are valid from 02 January 2019 will be released to industry TIS
Suppliers & Information Suppliers through fares data feeds during mid November 2018 but must not
be displayed until 30 November on any ticket issuing system, rail retailing system or any other systems
displaying rail fare information that can be accessed by either customers or staff retailing rail.

The date is different every year, and seems not entirely unpredictable. For a few years it was on the Friday closest to the magic "four weeks before", i.e. 5th December, but this year that rule of thumb has been violated. Perhaps it is "the Friday on or before 5th December"? Having it different every year keeps TIS suppliers on their toes, at least.

Now it could still be that I've misinterpreted that, because it does refer to fares being displayed and not being sold, but I think the intention is that they should also be sold at the new price from 30 November onwards.

 

[trainophile]

I wonder what the chances are of TfW making any Advances for the remainder of the old prices available before the deadline. Not optimistic, they are still weeks behind everyone else.

 

[gray1404]

So just to confirm we have up to and including 29 November to book advances (and indeed walk ups) for travel next year at this years prices? Naturally only up until reservations are currently open for in the case of advances.

 

[gray1404]

Will be interesting to see what 2019 appear in the system tomorrow.

 

[JonathanH]

Seems to be live on webtis booking engines - certainly Southern fares updated

Season ticket calculator disabled on NRE with the following message which I don't believe.

FACILITY DISABLED
Due to an extremely high demand on our site, we are not able to give you the information you have requested at this time.

Please try again later.

 

[gray1404]

So we have a situation whereby the new fares are showing on WebTIS but old fares still bookable on Trainline sites?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Moving here from a less relevant thread:

It’s the loss of evening restrictions that mean I’m a winner (now it’s public). I purchase quite a few Network Card discounted Anytimes.

x20 and xx43 are doublebacks via MKC I believe.

It looks like the LNR MK dedicated fares are gone - if that’s right that’s going to be a big hit on their custom. I had expected added Super Off Peaks which also seem to be missing. Those did exist under a "grandfather rights" system from when VT owned the flow - if they've lost them in error - and they won't be able to have them back - VT are going to be laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[nesw]

I noticed that BRfares website is showing the last update as 30 November and wondered whether the Jan 2019 fares are uploaded?
I’ve searched in the usual way but this obviously only shows the current fare data.

Thank you.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I noticed that BRfares website is showing the last update as 30 November and wondered whether the Jan 2019 fares are uploaded?
I’ve searched in the usual way but this obviously only shows the current fare data.

Thank you.

It appears they are not.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Somewhat amusing that, having only reduced the price of the LNR only ticket shortly ago, it is now being eliminated. Something to soften the blow, perhaps?

Abellio showing their true colours, anyway, as this is the first full fare round where they've had control of fares. I can't help feeling WMT fares are increasing to help try and balance AGA's and Scotrail's haemorrhaging money situation.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Somewhat amusing that, having only reduced the price of the LNR only ticket shortly ago, it is now being eliminated. Something to soften the blow, perhaps?

Abellio showing their true colours, anyway, as this is the first full fare round where they've had control of fares. I can't help feeling WMT fares are increasing to help try and balance AGA's and Scotrail's haemorrhaging money situation.

The WMT Only MKC ticket was only allowed because of grandfather rights. Has the DfT perhaps withdrawn this?

In any case VTWC will be laughing all the way to the bank as all day trippers switch to them.

 

[HowardGWR]

Fares are to rise by 3.1. percent but London Transport fares are frozen. Will London Transport see many more pax, at the expense of London TOC routes, as a result of people switching to LU, LO or bus, where that is a possibility?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fares are to rise by 3.1. percent but London Transport fares are frozen. Will London Transport see many more pax, at the expense of London TOC routes, as a result of people switching to LU, LO or bus, where that is a possibility?

Doubt it. One masterstroke of Oyster/contactless is that you don't pay as much attention to what you're spending because you don't have to actively spend it, it just happens. Same reason why people drive extra journeys without really noticing the cost of fuel.

 

[yorksrob]

Brilliant. London can have frozen fares, but the clownocracy running the country can't manage it up here. What a surprise.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Brilliant. London can have frozen fares, but the clownocracy running the country can't manage it up here. What a surprise.

London fare freezes are being funded in part by service cuts - the axe is swinging heavily on London bus services. There will also be the Ultra Low Emission Zone income to add in too - fancy that round by yours? Manchester rejected its Congestion Charge proposal...

 

[Wolfie]

Brilliant. London can have frozen fares, but the clownocracy running the country can't manage it up here. What a surprise.

Frozen fares only on TfL operated services and sadly TfL's finances are slowly going to rats***.

Given that the London/SE TOCs, which had mostly been paying money to the Govt, seem to be struggling financially any suggestions of yet further subsidies for the North have no chance of fulfillment.

 

[yorksrob]

London fare freezes are being funded in part by service cuts - the axe is swinging heavily on London bus services. There will also be the Ultra Low Emission Zone income to add in too - fancy that round by yours? Manchester rejected its Congestion Charge proposal...

We'll be getting a "clean air" zone around ours thank you.

And our bus services have already been slashed everywhere that hasn't had London's exemption from deregulation.

 

[Paul Kelly]

I noticed that BRfares website is showing the last update as 30 November and wondered whether the Jan 2019 fares are uploaded?

BR Fares only shows current fares; always has done. So you will see the new fares on 2 January! In the long-term I'd like to update it to show historic, current and future fares (the latter within the period when they're on sale for future travel, of course). But it's a big change and a long-term project.