On 10 Dec, 00:44, "Michael R N Dolbear" wrote:
wrote

I checked a fare from Fleet to Rochester. *Before and after 11.00 I
got the same price, where for Fleet-London I would normally pay a
different price due to the OP/SOP differential. *So what price am I
paying for the Fleet leg of a Fleet-Rochester ticket?

Try pricing it as two tickets ?

Two tickets was more expensive, whatever time of day.

Actually I suspect that I'm getting the Cheap Day Return equivalent as
the day return is much the same price as a single. So I think SWT are
pricing at SOP. However I suspect they do something for "near London"
fares to make sure you can't save money by breaking your journey in
London - so a Fleet-Greenwich ticket is £17 and the Fleet-Shep Bush I
mentioned earlier is £16. So these seem to be based on the OP fare. I
can only presume the national fare structure for two-operator journeys
means SWT has to price at one or the other of OP/SOP and they can't
change the price according to the time of day.

"Phil C" wrote
I can only presume the national fare structure for two-operator journeys
means SWT has to price at one or the other of OP/SOP and they can't change
the price according to the time of day.

"The national fare structure for two-operator journeys"? Never heard of such
a thing.

On 10 Dec, 10:00, "John Salmon" wrote:
"The national fare structure for two-operator journeys"? Never heard of such
a thing.

It's not actually a bad description of what's happened. As best I can
tell, when SWT introduced SOP they just put up the prices of all the
OP fares they controlled*, including those that overlap into another
operator's territory, but they only introduced SOP fares for journeys
wholly within SWT territory. Whether they did this because the fares
structure forbid them, or because they're arseholes, I can't tell.

U

(* as I said earlier in the thread, each pair of stations is assigned
to a single operator to set fares)

However in this case, whilst checking to find a station near Fleet, such as
Basingstoke, that might have 'open tickets', when comparing the price from
Fleet I now find the NR OJP shows Fleet (36 miles) to Waterloo has:
Super Off-Peak Day Return - £13.20
Off-Peak Day Return - £16.20
Off Peak Return - £24.20
The latter is the same price as the Anytime Day Return.
Has Philip just not found the ticket on the machine after all, or not
realised that the 'Off-Peak Return' is valid for a month?

I haven't found it on the machine, I do plan to spend some time
checking it out. *When buying "period returns" from the TO I am fairly
sure I have been sold two singles so I didn't realise it existed.
However I have checked on NRE for going out today and back tomorrow,
and as you say, an Off Peak Return to Waterloo is priced at £24.20
which is cheaper than two singles £25.40).

Well, this is annoying.

I can only think that earlier occasions included travel at least one
way at peak time - so two singles was indeed the only option.

I now know that I could have bought an Off Peak Return for travel Sat
AM returning Mon PM, and presumably could have got a Network Card
discount thus paying about £18 in total including two Oyster returns.
Or if I'd heard of a return to London International, an Off Peak
Return to London International is £24 which means with Network Card
reduction I could have got to St Pancras for £15/£16 including Tube.

It would help if an Off Peak Return was called an Off Peak Period
Return or an Off Peak 1-Month Return. Then you'd know what they did.

And it's another reason why SWT should keep ticket offices open and
not rely on machines: the staff can advise you of the best fare.

Phil C wrote:

It would help if an Off Peak Return was called an Off Peak Period
Return or an Off Peak 1-Month Return. Then you'd know what they did.

That of course is a solution to a national problem, not of SWT's making. Too
sensible by far, especially as the validity is a calendar month so there is
no need for debate about a particular number of days...

Paul S

On 10 Dec, 19:24, "Paul Scott" wrote:
Phil C wrote:
It would help if an Off Peak Return was called an Off Peak Period
Return or an Off Peak 1-Month Return. *Then you'd know what they did.

That of course is a solution to a national problem, not of SWT's making.

True, but is there any reason why they can't amend the name on their
ticket machines or call it Off Peak Return (1 Month). After all, they
had Super Off Peak returns some time before other operators.