On Jul 10, 7:30*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:00:38 -0700 (PDT), Mizter T
wrote:

[x-posted to uk.transport.london, for the attention of Londoners
interested in a cheapo escape for the day!]
FWIW, I've just taken a speculative punt and bought a load of tickets
for a weekend day trip from London down to Brighton, all at just 75p
each so £1.50 for a round trip! I'm sure I'll be able to muster up
interest from one quarter or another in a little jaunt to the seaside!

Well done Mizter T - you've just sorted out the venue for the next group
event for either ukr or utl. *What day are we going? * ;-)

eeek!

;-)

FWIW, I did check the system at 1am after rocking back in last night,
and the super-discounted cheapo fares were no longer on offer (though
the promotional page as linked to in the OP's post was still up,
though that might have just been the result of it being stuck in a
cache somewhere - it's gone now).

Earlier in the evening, after buying the first batch of tickets which
I'd described, I thought I'd try and buy another batch - I wasn't
quite sure of what date would be best for my compadres, and given they
were all so cheap I thought I might as well get some for an alternate
date.

However by now it was obvious that word had got around (that Money
Saving Expert website had perhaps latched onto it) and tickets were
being snapped up left right and centre - either that, or I'd just got
lucky first time round - anyway each time I thought I'd secured the
requisite tickets, I'd click on "buy now" and find myself on a screen
with some red text, with words to the effect of 'sorry, there are no
more reservations available on your selected train any more, go back
and search again' - essentially the booking engine was not keeping
synchronised with reality, and was still offering tickets that had
already gone.

I'm guessing that some people probably procured cheapo tickets for
potential day trips for the next three months running! (I was of
course checking for what I suspect was a particularly popular route,
i.e. London to Brighton.) Anyway after a bit of frustrated searching I
realised I'd been sucked into the bargain-obsession black hole, where
one loses all perspective! So I managed to wrench myself away from the
75p ticket challenge, as I had to be elsewhere.

More to the point, I also realised that instead of shelling out for a
bucket load of tickets that may never get used, there was a really
good alternative option on offer, if one's willing to plan ahead - and
that's Southern's *Group* DaySave ticket which costs £20:
http://www.southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=189

This allows for up to four travellers to travel together anywhere on
Southern during off-peak times (basically after 10am weekdays, with
weekday evening restrictions for travel *from* London termini stations
and East Croydon - but no restrictions at the weekend and on bank
holidays of course). It does need to be booked seven days in advance,
but there's none of the hassle of having to catch specified trains or
even decide on exactly where one's going.

Comparing Southern's Advance tickets to DaySave - both the £10 DaySave
solo ticket and the £20 DaySave Group ticket - and DaySave actually
comes out pretty well too. For yesterday's promotion, the tickets were
priced at 50p, 75p and £1.25 - all very dirt cheap. But these actually
translate to the normal prices of £3, £4.50 and £7.50 - and if you
look you'll see there aren't actually that many tickets priced at £3.
Therefore, for a return trip you're likely looking at 2x £4.50
tickets, so £9 for each traveller - in which case why not just buy a
DaySave solo or group ticket with all the added flexibility and
freedom that brings.

Where Southern Advance tickets might prove useful is for trips during
the morning peak as DaySave cannot be used before 10am - there are,
for instance, a number of contra-peak Advance tickets on trains out of
London in the morning peak. (In the evening peak leaving London
termini, DaySave cannot be used 16:45 and 19:15 - but there don't
appear to be any Advance tickets available in that window anyway, well
Advance tickets are available on one train I can see - the 18:49
Victoria to Brighton - but big deal!)

Another potential advantage of Southern Advance is that they can -
like all 'normal' Advance tickets - be purchased up until 6pm the
previous day, as opposed to the seven days in advance requirement for
purchasing DaySave. (That is, only if there's any Advance fares still
available for these morning trains of course!)

So one could even use a Southern Advance ticket purchased a day or two
in advance to escape London during the morning peak and get to
Brighton, and then buy a DaySave ticket on the day there - as DaySave
is actually available for purchase on the day but *only* in Brighton
at two outlets - the tourist office and the One Stop Travel Shop (but
only the main one in the Old Steine, not the one in Brighton station).
One would then have the freedom of the Southern network and would be
in Brighton, able to take advantage of the 10am start time of the
DaySave ticket to get further out along the coast, for a walk or a
visit somewhere, before heading on elsewhere should one feel so
inclined.

Of course, the other big advantage of Advance tickets is obviously
when one is only making a one way trip - or at least not a return day
trip!