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> The UK has a hybrid model which is also in use in countries like Germany, which means that seat reservations can be made on many trains but aren’t compulsory.

by lol768 4y ago

> The UK has a hybrid model which is also in use in countries like Germany, which means that seat reservations can be made on many trains but aren’t compulsory. > This optional seat reservation system is so much better as it means that trains can technically never sell out and you can always hop on board of a certain service. The UK system is starting to move away from this "get up and go" model, unfortunately. A number of train operators are now setting the "Reservations are mandatory" flag on their services in the timetable data, which means that online journey planners cannot sell walk-up tickets if there is not seat reservation availability (or indeed, if reservations have not yet opened which is increasingly the case for west-coast services until very close to the travel date), even if it would be possible to buy that same ticket from a machine at the station or in-person at a ticket office and it would be perfectly valid for said service. It ends up with really poor UX.

techsupporter 4y ago
This is the problem I recently encountered with Avanti West Coast in particular, so often that I am kind of astounded that the author didn't hit it once and instead praises Avanti. Avanti's ticketing system would flatly refuse to sell me an "anytime single" for virtually any route. I had to scroll through and finally find one that claimed to have a seat reservation available and then I could use the actual train I wanted--which, I might add, had buckets of unreserved seats. Once I got griped at by a conductor for taking the "wrong" train when he missed that I had any anytime (1st!) ticket, which was the only thing their own booking engine would sell me. This month, every Avanti West Coast train I've tried to use has been canceled, and they seem utterly incapable of running direct trains. I've seen the inside of Crewe quite a few times more than I originally intended. (I understand that it is partially due to "industrial action"--such a nice phrase for "striking workers because they don't get paid enough"--and partially due to limited overtime by those same workers. That's, frankly, not my problem. Pay your people and run your trains.)
nicoburns 4y ago
> even if it would be possible to buy that same ticket from a machine at the station or in-person at a ticket office and it would be perfectly valid for said service. You can also buy a ticket which is nominally for a different train online, which will still be valid so long as it's not an advance ticket. But I agree this has bad UX.

by lol768 4y ago

techsupporter 4y ago

This is the problem I recently encountered with Avanti West Coast in particular, so often that I am kind of astounded that the author didn't hit it once and instead praises Avanti. Avanti's ticketing system would flatly refuse to sell me an "anytime single" for virtually any route. I had to scroll through and finally find one that claimed to have a seat reservation available and then I could use the actual train I wanted--which, I might add, had buckets of unreserved seats. Once I got griped at by a conductor for taking the "wrong" train when he missed that I had any anytime (1st!) ticket, which was the only thing their own booking engine would sell me. This month, every Avanti West Coast train I've tried to use has been canceled, and they seem utterly incapable of running direct trains. I've seen the inside of Crewe quite a few times more than I originally intended. (I understand that it is partially due to "industrial action"--such a nice phrase for "striking workers because they don't get paid enough"--and partially due to limited overtime by those same workers. That's, frankly, not my problem. Pay your people and run your trains.)

nicoburns 4y ago

> even if it would be possible to buy that same ticket from a machine at the station or in-person at a ticket office and it would be perfectly valid for said service. You can also buy a ticket which is nominally for a different train online, which will still be valid so long as it's not an advance ticket. But I agree this has bad UX.