Bairnardo Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Hopefully they bring in a social media team that have customer service skillsShay Logan likes this 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiG Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 5 minutes ago, jamamafegan said: That’s great news. Is it wishful thinking to hope this might lead to prices dropping for rail travel? You'd like to think there would be some reduction in costs. You used to be able to get a £5 Advance ticket for Edinburgh to / from Inverness but they seem to be non existent despite Scotrail's claims (sadly the amazing £10 First Class Advance ones died a death). Now it seems to be £20 minimum which isn't terrible but walk up prices are still absurd (almost £50 for a walk up single for a journey tomorrow) so hopefully they can be reduced. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamamafegan Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 You'd like to think there would be some reduction in costs. You used to be able to get a £5 Advance ticket for Edinburgh to / from Inverness but they seem to be non existent despite Scotrail's claims (sadly the amazing £10 First Class Advance ones died a death). Now it seems to be £20 minimum which isn't terrible but walk up prices are still absurd (almost £50 for a walk up single for a journey tomorrow) so hopefully they can be reduced. £5 quid advance ticket is incredible. No chance that’s a thing anymore.I hate the whole buying in advance thing anyway, usually you have to buy a ticket ages in advance with no option of a refund. It’s shite if your plans change. Just make walk up prices cheaper. Still think the way forward would be a card you can load money onto that gets you onto other modes of public transport i.e the Edinburgh trams and Glasgow subway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairnardo Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 You'd like to think there would be some reduction in costs. You used to be able to get a £5 Advance ticket for Edinburgh to / from Inverness but they seem to be non existent despite Scotrail's claims (sadly the amazing £10 First Class Advance ones died a death). Now it seems to be £20 minimum which isn't terrible but walk up prices are still absurd (almost £50 for a walk up single for a journey tomorrow) so hopefully they can be reduced. Surely simplification/standardisation of prices is the priority alongside cost. No more of these bullshit split journeys etc 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrif John Bunnell Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Hopefully prices drop across the board, but I'll be seething if they get rid of the very generous Teuchter discount on the Far North and Kyle lines 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonS Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 33 minutes ago, 101 said: Hopefully they bring in a social media team that have customer service skills I've always found their Twitter bods to be pretty good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael W Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 The profit margin the operators get is 3% so anyone hoping this will reduce fares is in for a disappointment. I think all the rail franchises will end up similar. They are on life support from the State currently and even a modest drop in their commuter revenues will cripple them. Most of them were financial basket cases anyway, but the model is now dead in the water. There is a wider discussion on how the fallout of this should be managed. Five days a week in the office won't return for a lot of people and unless the train companies are looking at pricing in part time season tickets at a decent rate, the resolve of some to minimise/entirely eliminate returning to the office will grow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanius Mullarkey Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 21 minutes ago, Bairnardo said: 36 minutes ago, 101 said: Hopefully they bring in a social media team that have customer service skills Shay Logan likes this Racist. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superandy_07 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 The profit margin the operators get is 3% so anyone hoping this will reduce fares is in for a disappointment. I think all the rail franchises will end up similar. They are on life support from the State currently and even a modest drop in their commuter revenues will cripple them. Most of them were financial basket cases anyway, but the model is now dead in the water. There is a wider discussion on how the fallout of this should be managed. Five days a week in the office won't return for a lot of people and unless the train companies are looking at pricing in part time season tickets at a decent rate, the resolve of some to minimise/entirely eliminate returning to the office will grow. They make most of their money from leisure tickets. It'll be interesting to see if they now jack these prices up or try some new initiatives. I reckon the trains will be bouncing once summer hits and pubs etc. are open so it'll be interesting to see which way they go with it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Patterson Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere but there's a really good video on it last week 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFCinthearea Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 1 hour ago, RiG said: From next March Scotrail will be taken over by an "arms length SG company". https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56432919 Another one to add to the Scottish Governments list of successes like BiFab, Fergusons, Prestwick Airport etc. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FFCinthearea Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 54 minutes ago, RiG said: You'd like to think there would be some reduction in costs. You used to be able to get a £5 Advance ticket for Edinburgh to / from Inverness but they seem to be non existent despite Scotrail's claims (sadly the amazing £10 First Class Advance ones died a death). Now it seems to be £20 minimum which isn't terrible but walk up prices are still absurd (almost £50 for a walk up single for a journey tomorrow) so hopefully they can be reduced. I'm £16.50 for a return from Falkirk to Glasgow. I take the car because it's cheaper. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginaro Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Just now, jamamafegan said: That’s great news. Is it wishful thinking to hope this might lead to prices dropping for rail travel? Probably not as the Scottish government already had it within their powers to adjust prices for most rail ticket types (i.e. regulated fares). Just means more money would need to be put into the railway. Maybe a few more Greens in parliament will help bring about more investment and a national Oyster-style scheme. 8 minutes ago, FFCinthearea said: I'm £16.50 for a return from Falkirk to Glasgow. I take the car because it's cheaper. £11.25 going by HMRC's 45p / mile, how much is the parking? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvo Montalbano Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Scotrail do have a contactless smartcard so hopefully they'll be able to integrate it somehow with buses etc. You used to be able to buy a rail+ ticket (a paper one) for train and buses or ferries in some places so something like that would be great. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Their prices are absolutely pish, and I hold pretty much zero hope of that changing. A return from Dundee to Glasgow if you buy on the day is currently £43.20. In fact I've just checked and a ticket for that journey a month from now is £49.10. Same with 2 months from now too. Who do they think these prices are for? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginaro Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 10 minutes ago, DA Baracus said: Their prices are absolutely pish, and I hold pretty much zero hope of that changing. A return from Dundee to Glasgow if you buy on the day is currently £43.20. In fact I've just checked and a ticket for that journey a month from now is £49.10. Same with 2 months from now too. Who do they think these prices are for? People who don't want to spend 90 minutes driving or in a bus? Driving the 82 miles would cost £37 one way though (not including parking) and take 10+ minutes longer so in that sense it's not that bad. Of course it should be cheaper to encourage less driving, but the problem is the costs of motoring haven't increased at the same rate as public transport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamamafegan Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 People who don't want to spend 90 minutes driving or in a bus? Driving the 82 miles would cost £37 one way though (not including parking) and take 10+ minutes longer so in that sense it's not that bad. Of course it should be cheaper to encourage less driving, but the problem is the costs of motoring haven't increased at the same rate as public transport. £37 quid Dundee to Glasgow one way in a car? That’s a load of shite m8 unless you assume the person is driving a gas guzzler. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonS Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 54 minutes ago, Salvo Montalbano said: Scotrail do have a contactless smartcard so hopefully they'll be able to integrate it somehow with buses etc. You used to be able to buy a rail+ ticket (a paper one) for train and buses or ferries in some places so something like that would be great. It's not a real smartcard, it's pretty shite really. All you can do is pre-load it with specific tickets, which achieves almost nothing other than save a bit of paper. 2 minutes ago, jamamafegan said: £37 quid Dundee to Glasgow one way in a car? That’s a load of shite m8 unless you assume the person is driving a gas guzzler. Your car isn't free, and you have to tax, insure and maintain it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 2 hours ago, GordonS said: I've always found their Twitter bods to be pretty good. Some of them are needlessly arrogant and rude especially the guys imo 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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