TfW Does Not Show Rover/Ranger Tickets

[gazthomas]

Are you sure there's no direct trains between the two places?

There absolutely are, but that's not the map is showing. There are direct trains from North Wales to Wrexham but that isn't and does need to be presented by this map

Are you sure there's no direct trains between the two places?

There certainly are, as there are from say Holyhead to Wrexham, but that doesn't necessitate a point to point line. This map shows lines and there isn't one directly between Colwyn Bay and Llandudno, as per my original point

 

[Djgr]

Most likely due to that station previously only seeing a token service, only since December has most (if not all) trains called there (by request, although in practice I suspect most call)

Perhaps but it is still incorrect. The railway industry is not great at detail.

 

[MCR247]

In which case you should be able to buy from the guard on the train.

In my experience the excess fares office at Cardiff Central will happily refund a single from a Valley Lines station and issue a Rover instead.

Yes the train guards happily sell them to you, but sometimes you have to explain to the barrier staff who can (somewhat understandably) be hesitant to resistant to letting to you through.

Another potential problem (as I found out on Good Friday) is if the first service you want to use is an Avanti and the ticket office isn’t open yet. Thankfully, a really helpful staff member opened the ticket office for me early so I just made my train

 

[Tazi Hupefi]

I don't think that Rover tickets just appeal to enthusiasts as surely, they would encourage use of the rail system given the freedom to hop on/off trains at will in a given area? Just think if someone say in Cardiff or Newport wanted to visit Abergavenny, Ludlow and Shrewsbury on a single day trip. Not knowing when exactly they would be ‘done’ with each town means that they would have to purchase separate tickets for each leg. A Marches Day Ranger would make things so much simpler and surely boost rail use by the general public?

There is really no market for these things, most people don't want to potter about on a train to "do" a town in the way you describe.

You might get the odd solo traveller doing something like this, but once you add in a partner or kids etc, the car is likely to be the best choice from a time, cost and comfort perspective.

 

[AdamWW]

You might get the odd solo traveller doing something like this, but once you add in a partner or kids etc, the car is likely to be the best choice from a time, cost and comfort perspective.

I see quite a few families on trains when I travel. Presumably they either don't have access to a car or choose the train anyway.

On another matter, I'm not so impressed with this (from the TfW web site)



For those who can't read the image, the "headline" quotes a price of £4.80, the table below says £5...

I'm also curious about it being better value than a return, given that the most expensive return I can find in the area of validity is £4.80.

Not to mention the fact that a child under 11 travelling with an adult holding a rover ticket should go free rather than needing the £2.50 child ticket.
Likewise children under 16 off peak.

I suspect the idea of this ticket is to compete with the Cardiff Bus fare scheme where a day ticket costs the almost same as a return.
(Which also just happens to be called a "day-to-go" ticket).

 

[Krokodil]

The only problem is when the ticket office is closed!

If the ticket office is closed then the barrier staff should have access to a machine.

I don't think that Rover tickets just appeal to enthusiasts as surely, they would encourage use of the rail system given the freedom to hop on/off trains at will in a given area? Just think if someone say in Cardiff or Newport wanted to visit Abergavenny, Ludlow and Shrewsbury on a single day trip. Not knowing when exactly they would be ‘done’ with each town means that they would have to purchase separate tickets for each leg. A Marches Day Ranger would make things so much simpler and surely boost rail use by the general public?

I think that if they were better advertised there would be more uptake. Journeys between the Conwy Valley and Bangor or Rhyl are generally cheaper (so long as you haven't got a railcard) using a two zone rover than a Day Return, so I always offer such passengers the rover ticket, with the added bonus that they can use it on buses too.

 

[Kite159]

If the ticket office is closed then the barrier staff should have access to a machine.

They don't at Wakefield Westgate, neither do the staff behind the assistance point. Arrive at a time the ticket office is closed (either planned due to the time of day or unplanned due to staff shortage) and want a rover the only solution is to buy on the train as the LNER TVMs don't sell ranger/rover products.

Also the barrier staff (especially if agency) might not be revenue trained.

 

[Wallsendmag]

They don't at Wakefield Westgate, neither do the staff behind the assistance point. Arrive at a time the ticket office is closed (either planned due to the time of day or unplanned due to staff shortage) and want a rover the only solution is to buy on the train as the LNER TVMs don't sell ranger/rover products.

Also the barrier staff (especially if agency) might not be revenue trained.

None of the LNER gate line staff have a retail role

 

[Krokodil]

They don't at Wakefield Westgate, neither do the staff behind the assistance point. Arrive at a time the ticket office is closed (either planned due to the time of day or unplanned due to staff shortage) and want a rover the only solution is to buy on the train as the LNER TVMs don't sell ranger/rover products.

Also the barrier staff (especially if agency) might not be revenue trained.

That's an LNER issue. Not one that applies to TfW.

 

[MCR247]

If the ticket office is closed then the barrier staff should have access to a machine.

They haven’t at Chester on the two occasions I’ve had this issue. One the first occasion (when I was faced with missing my Avanti to Holyhead) the staff member was helpful enough to go into the back of the ticket office and ask the member of staff to open early to sell it to me, so I assume if he’d had a machine he’d have just used that instead.