I only discovered a couple of days ago that ScotRail are introducing a minimum fare of £10 for tickets bought on the train, except when you've boarded at a station where there is no ticket office open and no ticket machine available. I've been thinking about how that will actually work in practice at my nearest station of Cumbernauld.
I don't use it very often because it's an hour's walk from where I live, but I've used it maybe half-a-dozen times over the last year, including when I went to the SNP conference on Saturday. Every single time I've been there recently, the ticket office has been shut. There is a ticket machine, but to the best of my knowledge there's only one, and it's on the opposite platform from the main entrance. That means if you were getting the train to Falkirk or Edinburgh, you'd have to make an otherwise needless trek over the bridge and back - which I can tell you on Saturday morning was a pretty treacherous trek because of ice.
Now, it may be that common sense would apply and the minimum fare wouldn't be imposed on journeys from stations like Cumbernauld because of the special problems. But passengers aren't mind readers, and on a technical reading of the rules they might well make the pointless crossing of the bridge, even if they have a disability. To even put the thought in people's minds that they may have to do that is, I would suggest, pretty poor.
There's also the problem that if you feel forced to use ticket machines, they're not always very easy to navigate and you may, through no fault of your own, end up with a ticket that is not technically valid for your journey. Last summer I had to take a train from London to Portsmouth, but for the ticket to be valid for the journey it had to specify that I was not going via a particular station (I can't remember which one). The ticket machine simply refused to offer me the right sort of ticket, and I couldn't find a ticket office. In desperation I bought the wrong ticket just to get through the barriers, and thankfully the conductor took pity on me and pretended not to read the ticket very carefully.
Of course the main inconvenience of the minimum fare is that it leaves you with a dilemma if there's only a minute or two before the train leaves - do you take the time to buy the ticket in advance if it means you might miss the train? It's needless hassle like this that makes you feel like rail travel just isn't worth the bother and it might be better to stick to buses.
I understand your frustrations and ticket machines can be a problem if there is a queue or the touchscreen is not very responsive. But deliberate fare dodging is a problem and most people buy a ticket online before they leave home or wherever, allow time to buy a ticket at the station or obtain an e-ticket on their mobile phone.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the real agenda is to force everyone to use e-tickets. That would also be unfair to older or disabled passengers.
DeleteFor the record, I've never bought an e-ticket for a train, except for a couple of very long-distance journeys, and until now it would never even have occurred to me that I was "supposed" to.
My suggestion would be that the rule should only apply if there is a manned ticket office at the station. Nobody should be forced to use a ticket machine or to buy online.
DeleteI dont think most people buy online. Id put it below 50% do so
ReplyDeleteTickets can be bought quite easily on the ScotRail app and various other online outlets. Tickets are also available at staffed stations and ticket machines.
ReplyDeletePeople also need to manage their own time better to ensure they have a valid ticket.
I'm sorry, but that really is a load of patronising nonsense. I assume you're the same commenter as Anon at 8.47 who was saying that people need to allow enough time to buy a ticket when they arrive at the station. I'm guessing you've never been reliant on a bus to get you to a train station on time? Good luck if you ever do try it. People inhabit the real world, not a schoolteacher fantasy where all problems can be solved with just a little self-discipline.
DeleteThe only problem here is that ScotRail have made a terrible decision and need to change it
Hear, hear.
DeleteHas anyone tried ordering a Smartcard from Scotrail recently? The website does not work right. It says: "Address: INCOMPLETE, INCOMPLETE, INCOMP" even after you add your address to your online account.
ReplyDeleteI Googled this issue and a search has someone with that same problem in December 2024 !
Scotrail staff say they are aware of the problem and IT are working on it. How long before they fix it is anyone's guess.
Are Scotrail washing their trains now? Last couple of trips I could even see out of the windows. Prior to then the windows were so manky I had to read the overhead LED display to see where I was.
According to Google AI around 77% of UK rail passengers report using websites or apps for ticket purchases. Usage of digital ticketing decreases with age, ranging from 86% for under 26s to 59% for those aged 66+.
ReplyDeleteSee also https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/ihvdlttd/smart-and-integrated-ticketing-in-scotland-analysis-of-the-results-of-the-2023-survey.pdf
Google AI is notoriously unreliable and I think we all know from our own experience the number is nowhere near that high.
DeleteThe cherry on the cake is that even if you want to pay by cash, you still have to go to a ticket machine and get a "I promise to pay by cash later" ticket. Sod right off with that. As the blog says, if ScotRail are going to behave as dickishly as that, don't give them your money at all, just go by bus.
ReplyDeleteThey also have the "kids for £1 if with an adult". I'd be happy to buy that on the app but it's not available, presumably so that someone can check it is for a child and that there is an adult present. So now what? Hopefully common sense prevails but to James's point, can we be sure? Every time?
ReplyDeleteAnd surely technically possible to make the activation of the child ticket conditional on an adult ticket being activated. But I'll not hold my breath for that to happen.
I hadn't heard about this, and having checked I'm dismayed to find that it's completely true. Think again, Scotrail. Big mistake. Listen to your customers, and whatever you do, don't start treating them by default as suspected criminals, which very much sounds like the intention here.
ReplyDeleteThinking about the scenario James paints, if a disabled person or someone not very steady on their feet has to cross a bridge twice in icy conditions to buy a ticket and then return to the correct platform, that's potentially going to take them 5-10 minutes, which puts into perspective the condescending message from Anon above about how people need to organise their lives better and get to the station early. It's actually Scotrail who need to organise themselves and provide adequate facilities before even thinking of bringing in a ridiculous rule like this.
ReplyDeleteExactly
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