January 18th 2024.
According to a recent study by consumer group Which?, it seems that ticket machines at railway stations are charging passengers more than double the amount for certain journeys compared to major online retailer, Trainline. This is quite a significant difference and it's causing some concern among travelers.
The study found that at least two out of five stations in England do not even have a ticket office, which means that the majority of tickets are being purchased from machines. In fact, in 2022 alone, around 150 million train tickets were bought from these machines. To further investigate this issue, Which? sent mystery shoppers to 15 different stations, each run by a different train operator. They compared the prices of 75 journeys offered by the machines with those from Trainline.
Their findings were quite surprising. It turns out that buying tickets online is actually much cheaper, with savings being made around three-quarters of the time. When purchasing tickets for the same day, the average difference in price between the machines and Trainline was a whopping 52%! For instance, a journey from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire to London was priced at £66 from a machine, while Trainline offered the same trip for just £26. Similarly, a trip from Northampton to Cardiff was priced at £107 from a machine, but only £43 online.
So, what's causing this huge disparity in prices? According to Which?, there are a few factors at play. Some machines do not offer cheaper Advance fares or split-ticketing options, and they may not make off-peak fares as visible as they should be. Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, expressed his shock at the difference in prices and advised travelers to book their tickets online whenever possible. However, he also acknowledged that this may not be an option for everyone, especially the elderly who may not have internet access.
In response to the study, a spokeswoman for the Rail Delivery Group stated that while progress has been made in terms of fare reforms, there is still more that can be done. She highlighted the introduction of single-leg pricing and pay-as-you-go contactless fares as important changes that have made fares easier and simpler for customers. The industry is committed to working with the government and other stakeholders to achieve further reforms and ultimately benefit customers.
It's worth noting that Trainline charges booking fees, while many other websites and apps, including those belonging to train operators, offer ticket purchases at no extra cost. This raises the question of why passengers are being charged more for using the machines when they have no other option.
This issue of overcharging by ticket machines has been a hot topic for some time now. In November, there were plans to close down railway station ticket offices across England, but those plans were eventually scrapped due to public opposition. Transport Secretary Mark Harper then asked train operators to withdraw their proposals, which were a response to pressure from the government to cut costs.
In light of all this, it's interesting to note that London North Eastern Railway has recently launched a two-year trial for some of its routes, which involves reducing the number of fares and pricing tickets based on demand. It'll be worth keeping an eye on the results of this trial and seeing if it has any impact on the prices charged by ticket machines.
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