Following on from my original post yesterday I noticed a few things that were missed in the Telegraph article and should also be considered.
Rail Staff Discounted Tickets (PRIV) are only valid for Anytime Single and Return Tickets, otherwise known as the full price walk up fare. In reality it is often cheaper for rail staff to obtain other railcards that are available to the public as these allow discount on off-peak tickets.
In the Telegaff article there are a couple of glaring omissions from the article relating to other industries that receive travel discounts.
Transport for London employees and their spouses/children receive free travel on the Underground, Overground, DLR, London Buses, Tramlink and selected NR routes! In addition to this, those who joined TfL before 1st April 1996 also get the 75% discount that National Rail employees receive.
The real kicker in this debate is that Travel Agents and National Rail Enquiries Staff can get discount authority documents entitling them to 75% off most walk-up fares, including Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak! meaning that they get 75% off the REDUCED fares.
To give an example of this:
London Euston – Manchester Anytime Return is £279.00, the railstaff discount (PRIV) price is £69.75
London Euston – Manchester Off Peak Return is £70.00, the Travel Agent Discount Authority (TADA) price is £17.50!!!!
This means that a member of rail staff and a travel agent could be sitting next to each other on an off-peak train and the travel agent has paid £52.25 LESS for the same journey!!!
In conclusion, IF the Telegraph article had contained this information, then it might have been a balanced article and the “fury” of commuters could have been directed in the correct way. Unfortunately, the Telegaff have gone off half cocked again, which means that the rail industry once again receives a bashing that it does not really deserve.
Posted by allticketsplease 
All Tickets Please 