This morning I attempted to purchase a 7 days ticket from Potters Bar to Oakleigh Park and was amazed to find that the price had increased by a staggering £10 to £25 from £15 the previous week.

How on earth can they justify this kind of increase with no prior warning at all.

Absolutely ridiculous - it seems we get less and less service at higher and higher costs.

No wonder no-one want to use public transport and prefers to use their cars.

I don't know how they can justify such an increase at all.

Crikey that's terrible! I paid £552 for an annual from Potters Bar to Oakleigh Park in December, the new price for next year is £1040. I think it's a result of the introduction of zonal fares between national rail stations, allegedly to simplify the fares so they can bring in pay as you go travel. I imagine whereas the old fare was based on a logical pence per mile, the new one will be the same as a ticket to Hadley Wood and then zones 4,5,6 (though the actual validity of the ticket is still only between two named stations!).

Bizarrely the cost of an annual ticket from Hatfield to Oakleigh Park seems to be £920, I can't explain that one.

Disgusting.

This probably isn't as a result of zonal fare pricing as this came in 2nd January according to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fare...Fares.html

Very bizarrely it seems to be the same cost to go from Welwyn Garden City to Oakleigh Park as it does from Potters Bar to Oakleigh Park?

I have emailed FCC asking why.

They have to pay for the new station roof somehow.


Err, I wrote that as a joke, but now I'm not so sure.

Try buying a ticket to Alexandra Palace and see if that's cheaper. For whatever reason I've just been playing with the online checker and that seems to be the case - a ticket going further costs less - only in the UK!!!

These days everything seems to go in exactly the opposite direction of what everyone believes would be common sense?

Thanks, the PB-AP ticket combined with a 1-3 oystercard @ £105 seems to bring it back down to almost the same cost it was..

i wonder how long it will be before they insist that the train must stop at alexandra palace for the crossover to be valid...

amazing thing is that i managed to get a weekly ticket from PB-OP this morning for the original price of £15??

Yes it does bring it close but at the loss of a zone which is sometimes useful if you have to go via Cockfosters of High Barnet (though weekends when there have been no trains I've just waved the FCC ticket at them and been let through the barrier for free).

I think technically the train does need to stop there according to the conditions of carriage, although I have an email from WAGN saying a combination of two such tickets is permitted (don't know about FCCs position). In most cases when I get to Kings Cross I again wave the FCC ticket and get let through even though it ran out at Oakleigh Park. They just seem to see the gold card and expiry date, not the validitiy. I could show the Oyster travelcard but it just takes longer, I only show it if they specifically ask.

I work shifts and what with leave, having to drive at weekends etc where I can't use the ticket, it probably costs me £100 a year more to have the season ticket, and that's doing it in two halves. It certainly won't be worth it if I have to pay the new price, so I'll probably end up paying each day and/or driving into work instead. Roll on some sort of integrated pay as you go scheme!

If in doubt, blame the government. I was wrong about the five days, they've already managed to compose a suitable standard reply for this kind of email

"Thank you for contacting First Capital Connect on 21 May 2007 regarding your price enquiry for you journey between Potters Bar and Oakleigh Park.

This fare increase is due to the Department for Transport's plan to harmonise fares prices in and around the London area and involves all Train Company Operators. Without any doubt, any increase in fare is never popular amongst passengers but we must however follow the policy that has been set by the Government and we expect that the simpler pricing system will prove beneficial to all in the long term.

Thank you for contacting First Capital Connect."

Yes, it's beneficial to all, of course, that's going to appease me!!!

Fools.

What a complete cop out...

What i find really amazing is the fact that these rises were not advertised in advance so people could have purchased tickets in advance of this outrageous increase... i expect that wasnt there fault either.

Did this rise happen over the weekend when the new timetable came into force, or did it happen as usual on 2nd January?

I can't believe someone somewhere didn't look at all the fares for each station and think it's daft that you pay less to travel further!

Who can you complain to though? The rail company clearly don't give a stuff, and the government have never listened to what people want. Shame, if they carry on this way they're going to end up breaking this country.

jaf Wrote:They have to pay for the new station roof somehow.

That was the first thing I though aswell...

I found this press release which suggests the fare rises should only be applied to fares wholly within London and then only for single/return tickets from January 2007. It also states the zonal fares will apply from 2010 to season tickets, but again only those journey wholly within London.

I have emailed the MD of FCC asking for a response.

Stevenage ... £2180
Knebworth ... £1500
Welwyn North ... £1200
WGC ... £1040
Hatfield ... £920
Welham Green ... £1320
Brookmans Park ... £1160
Potters Bar ... £1040
Hadley Wood ... £632
New Barnet ... £256

Received this in an email earlier today

"I understand that you spoke to my colleague recently concerning this issue
and he advised that there has been an error with tickets from this station.
I can inform you that this issue is currently being taken to DfT so that we
may change the cost of these tickets, please note that I regret this can
take a month to rectify. In the meantime I would request that you safely
hold on to any tickets that you have purchased and when the cost has been
amended we can then refund any additional costs you have incurred."

I've now had an email back from the MD of FCC and their customer relations, both saying this was a keying error which had been approved by DfT so they have to pass it back through DfT to gain approval to change the price. The new price should have been £16 - a rise of £1. Local posters will be displayed to advise people and refunds will be given once the new price has been applied.

Phew!