Are the Wed 2nd January 2013 inflation busting train fare rises fair?

[Manlinose]

The time of a departure from Sheffield does affect the price you pay. The standard fare will be charged at peak time. To entice people to use off-peak services they charge less- in the same way as any similar business would do.

 

Unless you are well aquainted with this journey you should always ask for advice. The ticket sellers cannot be expected to list all the permutations but if you ask about EMT daytime trains to Leeds with an at seat trolley service they will know you need help- there aren't any. Trains that leave Sheffield do not always arrive in Leeds before a subsequent departure. Faster, with catering and more comfortable trains are provided by XC or TPE/EastCoast trains which only go about evey hour and often more costly-ask its your choice.

 

i know - i'm not especially interested in the train service to Leeds, it was just an example - i could have picked Barnsley, York, Doncaster, Chesterfield or anywhere else to illustrate the point i was trying to make - although obviously not very clearly.

 

i know the fares change at different times of the day and I know the cost varies depending on when, how, and often from where you buy the ticket - I use trains frequently - although not to Leeds! - the point i was trying to make was not specific to leeds (or any particular journey) - it was simply that there is no real competition between the train companies (other than when they bid for the franchises)

 

you don't buy a ticket for east midlands, cross country, northern, virgin or anyone else - you buy a ticket for a journey and then go with whichever train company covers that journey - in some cases you have a choice of routes/train companies/journey times and in some cases you don't, but there is no competition between train companies on, just to use one example, price

 

i would quibble with one comment you made though - i'm not sure off peak prices are lower to encourage you to travel at off peak times - i suspect that peak travel tickets cost more because the train companies know they can get away with charging more "as any similar business would do" - it isn't a question of supply and demand because there isn't a limited number of tickets available at the standard peak rate - any number of tickets can be sold irrespective of the capacity of the trains available

 

i suspect we are at cross (or is it crossed) purposes, and i suspect that may be due to my inability to make my point any clearer than i have

 

i know there are different prices on the same route for different journeys, but they are not as a result of competition between the train operating companies