什么是火车票"off peak "时间段的意义

正想买off peak return 车票，就开始研究它的定义结果发现一篇超级好玩的文章。原来这off peak 竟然有这么多好玩的故事呢。看样子，如果坐上错误时间的车，有可能会被罚款？大家有没有类似经历啊？如果各个火车运营商的OFF PEAK定义不同，就得一个个去查？

感觉连英国人自己都搞不清楚这票适用的时间呢。算了，还是分段买ADVANCE好了。查来查去，觉得还是买的没有卖的精。


原文：http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11092037


Restrictions

The magazine said the East Coast train company and West Coast Main Line operator Virgin Trains began their evening peak in the mid-afternoon. In the case of East Coast, that means the evening peak period lasts four hours.


But Chiltern Railways and Merseyrail had no specific evening peak times.


Which? said: "You'd be forgiven for not knowing if you're coming or going, yet Atoc claims 'four out of five passengers are happy with their journey'."


The magazine said the fact that different tickets had different restrictions was also confusing.


For example people who bought super off-peak tickets were subject to more restrictions than normal off-peak tickets.


Other restrictions vary according to destinations and the train company that is offering the service.


For example, East Coast morning peak services to London end at 10.05 unless commuters have bought a first class ticket, are travelling using an off-peak day return ticket or travel card or have a super off-peak ticket.


But Merseyrail and train company Northern Rail tend to have a set morning peak time - ending at 0930.


Which? also urged commuters to think carefully about where they begin their journey as that also can affect the amount they will pay for their ticket.


'Right trains'

BBC transport correspondent Richard Scott said some train companies have recently been expanding the peak times, squeezing off-peak travellers into smaller time slots.


One argument is that this manages demand by encouraging people off crowded services onto less busy trains. Of course it is also a way to make more money, he said.


By redesignating trains as "peak", this allows train companies to increase fares without needing permission from the regulator.


Edward Welsh, Director of Corporate Affairs at ATOC, said: "The issue is that a record number of people are travelling by trains and there's only so much capacity.


"Each train company has to be able to manage this demand in its own way, because people travel in different parts of the country. And that's the fundamental point which Which? has failed to grasp in its survey.


"You can't compare Merseyrail, for example - which is a local and a commuter service in and around Liverpool - with people travelling on services from Plymouth to Newcastle or London to Glasgow - it's a very different kind of service."


Read a selection of your comments below.


I travelled from London to Doncaster. I booked a super-saver return for £79 from the website, but at the time of Booking I couldn't find what times were applicable to the different ticket options. I had to pay an extra £49 on the train. I have just looked on the same website, and still can't find the times for the ticket options.


Mark Smith, RotherhamI regularly travel between Cardiff and London Paddington with a super-off-peak return ticket because it's the cheapest. Just recently I've started getting questioned by the ticket inspector about the validity of my ticket despite getting on a train from London Paddington at just after 1630. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but there are so many caveats, exclusions, restrictions - and all in terms I'm not familiar with - that it feels like a lottery as to whether I'm going to get booted off the train.


Steve, Cardiff

The problem is the lack of transparency in the system. The cheapest ticket for a longer journey on the same train can be cheaper than the cheapest ticket for a shorter journey, but you don't know this unless you explicitly search for all possible journeys that cover the part you want to travel on. For example, two days ago I found an advanced single ticket from Beeston, (in Nottinghamshire), to Cambridge, that involved travelling via Derby and London St.Pancras/King's Cross, for only £6. However the cheapest advanced single ticket on the exact same trains but only to London (i.e. just skipping the last leg of the journey) was £9. How can this be?


Alex, Nottingham

As a regular user of the train in off-peak times, I can say that even the guards do not know peak time. I get the Manchester - Chorley route all the times, and the ticket machines say both 0930 and 1000 in a double negative way.


Daniel Gent, Chorley

I recently took a London Midland train from Euston to Birmingham New Street with a super off peak ticket. I rang the day before I travelled, explained what ticket I had and where I was going and was told that the first train I could get was at 1845. When I arrived at the station, I checked again at the desk and was told the first train I could get was at 1945. I then rang customer services and asked them again, and was told 1845 was the first train I could get. If they cannot give a clear message about off-peak times, no wonder customers are confused.


Daisy, Birmingham

I have been travelling between Leeds and London for the last five years - often using the train because it offers a speedy and comfortable journey. However after a recent incident where I was left having to pay a fine that brought my total fare to above £120 pounds for my journey I have decided to forgo the extra hour I save using the train and am using coaches instead - with my most recent return journey on the same route costing £9 in total. I shan't be using the trains again!


Kyle Green, Leeds

As I'm a commuter myself, I have much to say about the state of rail travel. My local rail provider seems to want to force everyone onto a faster service that costs 40% more and has slashed the number of trains to Cannon Street and Victoria. The ticketing system seems to be deliberately confusing so passengers simply buy the most expensive ticket to avoid hassle - shifting the peak time threshold is simply a way of liberating more cash from the travelling public. The cost of rail travel is an absolute disgrace, no matter how punctual the trains are, it still doesn't hide the fact that we pay the highest price per passenger kilometre in the developed world. I welcome Which? magazine's findings and only hope that it leads to a more thorough investigation of rail industry practice.


Paul, Faversham

I travelled from Diss to London Liverpool Street yesterday by coach for the first time in ages. £37 "off-peak" return didn't sound too horrific though considerably more than it should cost. Anyway, unfortunately I missed the 1600 out of London and had to catch the 1630. This was off-peak if I got off before Ipswich but peak otherwise! How can the same train be peak and off-peak dependant upon where you get off? To add insult to mental injury, I then had to pay an extra £41 for the return journey totalling £78 for a 90 mile journey. I could have hired a car for that. Needless to say, rail will be bottom of my travel plans wherever possible in the future.

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