Brighton/Preston Park to Gatwick - fare oddity

[Mrdini]

Hello,

Whilst figuring out season ticket options for the above, I was struck by an oddity. (Prices below are for anytime with a disabled railcard).

So searching without any specific times in mind but at peak times, I get...
Brighton - Gatwick = £13.45 return on any services
Preston Park - Gatwick = £13.45 return on any services

But wait, what's this?
Brighton - Gatwick = £7.80 on Thameslink services.

"Oh. So if the Thameslink stops at Preston Park, it'll be £7.80 too!" Ha, yeah right!

So why on earth are certain trains from Brighton to Gatwick (that DOES stop at Preston Park) £7.80 yet if I get on the exact same train at Preston Park, it's £13.45? Where's the logic in that? What exactly are the fare rules for this mysterious £7.80 ticket then.

On a bit of an aside, I can't seem to find the equivalent season variant of this £7.80 "Thameslink only" ticket - how comes?

EDIT:
Tinkering about with brfares.com and I've found the tickets...
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=BTN&dest=GTW&rlc=DIS&rte=789&tkt=SDR
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=PRP&dest=GTW&rlc=DIS&tkt=SOR
Why on earth can I only buy these Thameslink tickets from Brighton & not Preston Park despite both stations having the same price generally?!

 

[yorkie]

EDIT:
Tinkering about with brfares.com and I've found the tickets...
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=BTN&dest=GTW&rlc=DIS&rte=789&tkt=SDR
http://www.brfares.com/#faredetail?orig=PRP&dest=GTW&rlc=DIS&tkt=SOR
Why on earth can I only buy these Thameslink tickets from Brighton & not Preston Park despite both stations having the same price generally?!

These fares were originally introduced by a previous franchise holder, before Govia Thameslink Railway took over all services, and it looks like FCC never had cheap fares from Preston Park to Gatwick. This is probably because - back when it was a separate company - they got most of the revenue for journeys from Preston Park so there was no point undercutting the fares! People 'in the know' would buy from Brighton and people not 'in the know' are often seen as fair game to be milked by many train companies, and FCC were no exception.

The fares were renamed from "FCC Only" to "Thameslink Only" (to reflect the change in operator from First Capital Connect to Govia Thameslink Railway) in 2015 and only still exist temporarily for political reasons (so buy them while you can!) and there is no prospect of GTR introducing any more.

 

[JB_B]

Hello,

Whilst figuring out season ticket options for the above, I was struck by an oddity. (Prices below are for anytime with a disabled railcard).

So searching without any specific times in mind but at peak times, I get...
Brighton - Gatwick = £13.45 return on any services
Preston Park - Gatwick = £13.45 return on any services

But wait, what's this?
Brighton - Gatwick = £7.80 on Thameslink services.

"Oh. So if the Thameslink stops at Preston Park, it'll be £7.80 too!" Ha, yeah right!

So why on earth are certain trains from Brighton to Gatwick (that DOES stop at Preston Park) £7.80 yet if I get on the exact same train at Preston Park, it's £13.45? Where's the logic in that? What exactly are the fare rules for this mysterious £7.80 ticket then.

.....

As far as I can see you're comparing a day return with a period return.

 

[yorkie]

As far as I can see you're comparing a day return with a period return.

The Anytime Day Return (SDR) and Anytime Return (SOR) are the same, in this case.

 

[JB_B]

The Anytime Day Return (SDR) and Anytime Return (SOR) are the same, in this case.

Sorry - being a bit dim - same in what way?

Just to double check - I wasn't fully clear if the OP is aware they can travel from Preston Park on these Brighton-Gatwick tickets and they can buy this ticket from PRP ticket office (and possibly from the machines there - don't know if they've gone over to the new type.)

I regularly do Brighton - Three Bridges but always buy to Gatwick to get access to the TLK-only fares (and for period returns).

 

[yorkie]

They're the same price, so the comparison was a fair one.

 

[JB_B]

Thanks, Yorkie

I think I get what you're saying now - it's the SOR and SDR both from PRP that are the same price (rather than the two tickets cited by the OP) - because of the lack of TLK-only fares - so they should be buying from Brighton tickets if they want the cheaper fares.

 

[yorkie]

That's right; GTR are charging significantly more to someone who turns up at Preston Park wanting to go to Gatwick, than someone who turns up at Brighton (travelling via Preston Park).

However anyone 'in the know' can ask for the cheaper Brighton fare, which permits starting/finishing short.

This is an example of how those of us who are familiar with the fares system can ensure we do not end up paying more than passengers making other journeys (such as a journey that starts/finishes somewhere 'beyond' our start/finish) would pay.

There are loads of examples of this, however when they are exposed it often leads to the lower fare increasing in price or having its validity altered, rather than the higher fare decreasing to a fair level.

In this case there is no harm exposing this anomaly; GTR can't get rid of the cheaper fares which are only valid on services they operate until the DfT (who are the ones actually pulling the strings) allows them to.

And I don't think the DfT are going to do that until the London Bridge works are completed.