In article ,
lid (Arthur Figgis) wrote:

On 22/10/2012 15:12, Mizter T wrote:

On 22/10/2012 14:47, Roland Perry wrote:

In message , at 14:13:40 on Mon, 22 Oct
2012, Mizter T remarked:
It's not a particularly fun journey either by train or car (and
traffic/parking in Oxford is even worse than Cambridge).

Park and ride.

Got the t-shirt. It adds about an hour to the round-trip time.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that anywhere with P&R is only
worth visiting if it's either essential, or one can arrive by train.

But that's what I'm sure the residents think too, so it's a bit of a
win-win situation.

Oxford P&R seems pretty well patronised (the car parks and the buses).

I don't know about Oxford (although I used it a year ago), but one
problem my family always moan about is P&R schemes which stop running
early in the evening, so they are okay for workers/shoppers but
useless for leisure travellers who might want to eat out. York has
been mentioned as having had this issue.

Cambridge too though there are workarounds if you choose the right car park.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

On Mon, 22 Oct 2012 22:40:08 +0100, Arthur Figgis
wrote:

I'm pretty sure the people at Cambridge ticket office will have some
experience of selling tickets to foreign tourists wanting to visit
London for the day. I think the situation will have arisen before.

Probably - but the OP had better take a tent with him as a recent
local newspaper article highlighted the horrendous queuing problems at
Cambridge. I think the number of people in the queue was roundly 75
people and the queue stretched into the street and down the side of
the station. This despite statements from whoever operates Cambridge
Stn that all machines were working and all ticket windows open.

It's not that bad most of the time fortunately. It will be next week before
the main off-peak departures, however, being half term here. Cambridge
station is operated by the Greater Anglia franchise despite most of the
passengers using FCC.

There are major development plans around the station which include paying
for a major upgrade to the ticket hall and vending provision. The 3 Shere
ticket machines have just been replaced by 3 new alternatives. The hall was
perfectly big enough until they dumped a barrier line in it. :-(

When I went to brighton the other weekend I was mildly gobsmacked to
see massive queues for every ticket machine, the ticket office and the
travel centre. You certainly couldn't work on the basis of turning up
with 10 mins before your train went and getting a ticket!

They still aim to meet that standard at Cambridge.

Obviously they're both busy stns with strong off peak travel due to
the tourist trade but queues like that need dealing with. I am,
however, reliably informed that the Travel Centre at Brighton is to be
closed down and converted into a retail unit. So much for progress.

There are also major plans to expand ticket selling facilities at Brighton.
It seemed to have fewer ticket vending machines than the 4 at Cambridge when
I was there in September.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In message , at 21:11:59 on Mon, 22 Oct
2012, Mizter T remarked:
Oxford P&R seems pretty well patronised (the car parks and the buses).

Lots of people over a barrel, I'm afraid.

You're suggesting that none of the users are making a discretionary
journey?

No, just that lots don't have a choice. And some don't realise they
could have a choice.

Choice is inherent in the concept of a discretionary journey.

And what choice do these 'some' not realise they could have? (This is
starting to sound like a riddle - bit of plain English never goes
amiss.)

They could do their shopping somewhere else. Just because you live in
Oxfordshire doesn't mean Oxford is the only place - but a lot of people
seem to think so!
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 21:34:51 on
Mon, 22 Oct 2012, Paul Corfield remarked:
Oxford P&R seems pretty well patronised (the car parks and the buses).

Lots of people over a barrel, I'm afraid.

What's the alternative? Massive, choking traffic jams or demolishing
tracts of the City Centre to create massive car parks?

Work/shop/study somewhere else. That's what I did (shopped in Henley,
Thame and High Wycombe rather than Oxford, when I lived around those
parts).

Just so you could use a car and avoid using a P&R service? How odd.

The P&R service doesn't avoid using a car, you have to drive to the
"parking" bit! The reason for shopping somewhere else is to avoid the
wasted half hour each way between the P&R and the City Centre.

Why do all that when there's eg a large John Lewis with its own car park
off the M40 at High Wycombe, and a Waitrose in Thame?

What is wrong with using a bus?

From my village it was one bus an hour (which didn't always turn up)
that took the best part of an hour to get to Oxford. I think there was
one bus a week to Henley. So a distress purchase.
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 22:24:22 on
Mon, 22 Oct 2012, Paul Corfield remarked:

However we have no idea quite how well off the OP is

Reasonably so, to be proposing staying in a hotel in Cambridge, hiring a
car and driving 100 miles a day in it.

Don't FCC have some complex restrictions on trains out
of KX if you happen to hold an off peak ticket?

Not really. If you have an off-peak day return ticket from Cambridge
there's a simple blackout period of 4.30pm to 7pm. To avoid whatever the
rail equivalent of "rat-running" is, FCC have a rather complex system of
rules for other journeys, but that's not relevant to the OP's
requirements.

In any case the sensible ticket to buy is a weekly season, so all the
time/route restriction stuff is irrelevant.
--
Roland Perry

In message , at
22:40:08 on Mon, 22 Oct 2012, Arthur Figgis
remarked:

Don't FCC have some complex restrictions on trains out
of KX if you happen to hold an off peak ticket?

Yes, but they will probably be time specific,

A very simple time-specific restriction.

rather than something else specific (though the option to go via
Liverpool Street potentially complicates things with the Cambridge -
London specifically).

The normal Off Peak Day Return has the same restriction from Liverpool
St. However, there's a Greater-Anglia-only off peak Travelcard which has
no evening blackout period.

--
Roland Perry

In message , at 19:15:49
on Mon, 22 Oct 2012, remarked:
Cambridge station is operated by the Greater Anglia franchise despite
most of the passengers using FCC.

There's life (and quite a lot of trains, few of which are FCC) north of
Cambridge, you know!
--
Roland Perry

On 23/10/2012 08:24, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 19:15:49
on Mon, 22 Oct 2012, remarked:
Cambridge station is operated by the Greater Anglia franchise despite
most of the passengers using FCC.

There's life (and quite a lot of trains, few of which are FCC) north of
Cambridge, you know!

Not much, though...

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at
19:15:49 on Mon, 22 Oct 2012, remarked:
Cambridge station is operated by the Greater Anglia franchise despite
most of the passengers using FCC.

There's life (and quite a lot of trains, few of which are FCC) north
of Cambridge, you know!

Do you have to be such a troll, Roland? The vast majority of Cambridge
passengers travel to and from London, mostly via the Kings cross route. The
only 12-car trains, for example, are towards London. Almost no trains North
of Cambridge are more than four cars, if that.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article , (Roland Perry)
wrote:

In message , at
22:40:08 on Mon, 22 Oct 2012, Arthur Figgis
remarked:

Don't FCC have some complex restrictions on trains out
of KX if you happen to hold an off peak ticket?

Yes, but they will probably be time specific,

A very simple time-specific restriction.

rather than something else specific (though the option to go via
Liverpool Street potentially complicates things with the Cambridge -
London specifically).

The normal Off Peak Day Return has the same restriction from
Liverpool St. However, there's a Greater-Anglia-only off peak
Travelcard which has no evening blackout period.

Not any more. Evening peak restrictions only apply to GA Super-Off Peak
tickets, now available on weekdays, and not to Off-Peak tickets via the West
Anglia Route including Tottenham Hale.

--
Colin Rosenstiel