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-   -   Online tickets less than 90 minutes before departure (http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=15770)

danm14 05-04-2019 01:33

Online tickets less than 90 minutes before departure
 
Is there any sensible reason why tickets cannot be purchased online less than 90 minutes before departure? It appears to be a means to impose a (possibly very significant) financial penalty on those who need to travel at short notice on the last train of the day?

If I need to travel with less than 90 minutes notice on a train other than the final train of the day, I can simply purchase a flexible ticket for a later train and use it (minus seat reservation) on the train it's too late to buy a ticket for.

But if I need to travel at such short notice on the last train of the day, I can't do this - the first train I can book is tomorrow so the ticket wouldn't be valid today. I must pay the full walk-up fare, which could be more than double the price of the most expensive flexible online ticket.

I can purchase a ticket online for the very same train from a station further up the line, as long as the train leaves that station in more than 90 minutes. But it's a breach of the conditions of carriage to use more than one ticket on a single train if it saves you money, so doing this and just paying the walk-up fare to that point isn't allowed.

I seem to even be able to purchase a ticket from a station that same train is due to leave in more than 90 minutes, while the train is already moving which makes a mockery of the excuse I'm sure I've read somewhere that closing bookings a certain time before departure from origin is to ensure seat reservations are displayed.

Jamie2k9 05-04-2019 07:59

Reservations booked along the route after 90 minute cut off for terminus departures rarely display. Additionally boarding for a service can start anywhere from 60 minutes before departure. It would not be fair for a customer to sit in a free seat only for someone to book lets say 30 minutes before departure.

90 mins is short compared to many other operators.

James Shields 05-04-2019 10:21

It makes sense to disallow seat reservations 90 mins before departure. However it would still make sense to allow tickets to be purchased with no seat reservation. Especially if travelling from a station with no TVM.


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