07 Jan 2017, 8:46 am
#891
(07 Jan 2017, 8:35 am)ifm001 Now I think this price difference is a bit too much
X1 Gateshead to QE Hospital £2.15 single or £4.00 return.
X25 Gateshead to QE Hospital £1.50 single or £2.90 return.
Same operator same express route same limited stop point .
This needs to be investigated by BBC Rip off Britain
In years gone by, it was common practice for Go North East to have higher prices on its 'Gold Standard' routes, especially on shared corridors with other Go North East services. I think that the idea was that customers would pay the premium for a premium service.
As time has gone by, services which weren't originally 'Gold Standard' have been upgraded to that specification or better (ie Fab Fifty Six), so is no longer relevant and I think it was planned to have the fares standardised. The online fare calculator may suggest that this hasn't happened (yet), or I could be wrong.
Historically, these price differences have also been used as a ploy to get customers from one service and onto another. I am not sure whether it applies in this instance, but I recall a price cull on what presently operates as Coaster service 1 between Gateshead and Wrekenton, with this being heavily promoted in order to reduce passenger numbers on the Angel 21 and increase passenger numbers on the indirect service operating via Allerdene etc. I am inclined to suggest that the Angel was operating with the OmniCitys at the time, as this is when the service suffered with overcrowding issues.
I don't think it needs investigation by a third party. Go North East can charge whatever they like for customers to use their service. It was perhaps more of an issue in the past, but Go North East is now open and honest about its fares (they're available on the website's fare calculator and Customer Services can also provide this information on Social Media or by e-mail/phone etc). The price being different between two different services on a shared corridor is comparable to a supermarket selling its own brand bread cheaper than a premium brand of bread - a lot of people still opt for the premium brand of bread despite it still being bread.
