LNER: Why we're reforming our fares

David Flesher, commercial director at LNER expands on the operator's divisive trial to remove 'Off-Peak' tickets.

LNER is at the forefront of fares simplification for the UK Rail industry and we've delivered two significant reforms with the support of the Department for Transport and Great British Railways Transition Team: a successful pilot and expansion that saw the removal of return fares across most of our network, and most recently Simpler Fares, that aims to transform the fares structure making it easier to find the right fare.

Why change?

Our customers and non-customers alike tell us that the current fares structure is too complicated and that change needs to happen. Its complexity and the amount of change that needs to happen means that there is no overnight fix. It’s a continual programme of reform to make fares simpler and fairer, to encourage more people to choose rail.

On the East Coast, eight million people that could use the railway for leisure or business travel choose other modes of transport.

Rail Delivery Group Research has revealed that a main reason for choosing to fly or drive is the complicated fares structure. LNER’s programme of reform aims to simplify it and tackle the known pain points of complexity, flexibility, crowding and value for money – all reasons why people don’t choose rail.

After identifying the deterrents to rail travel that can be resolved by fares reform, we set to work on how to resolve them. The first step of the programme was Single Leg Pricing (SLP), expanded across most of our route in 2023 after a successful three-year pilot. SLP saw the removal of return fares, where all fares are priced on a single journey basis, enabling customers far greater flexibility to mix and match their fares and find better deals. It also removed instances where return fares are only £1 more than a single fare.

The expansion of SLP allowed for the next step of the programme and the biggest change to rail fares in the UK in 30 years - Simpler Fares - to really focus on changing rather than reducing the fares structure. The two-year Simpler Fares pilot includes journeys between London King’s Cross and Newcastle, London and Berwick-upon-Tweed and London and Edinburgh, for travel with LNER. Simpler Fares tackles complexity by removing outdated and complicated Off-Peak and Super-Off-Peak fares. Instead, journeys are priced dynamically, which will then smooth out demand for services over the course of the day reducing overcrowding and helping customers select less busy services.

The second part of Simpler Fares created a more modern type of flexibility with the introduction of a new fare – the 70min Flex. An industry first, the 70min Flex allows customers to travel on any train up to 70min before or after their originally booked train. Customers can either “flex” online or through the LNER app or just board the service they want and find a seat. This means that if your business meeting is running late there will be an opportunity to get a later train at no additional cost; or even better, the meeting finishes early, there will be an opportunity to get an earlier train home.

Both of the changes make fares simpler and means just three fares remain on these three journeys:

• Advance (Fixed) – the best value fare, booked in advance for a fixed journey with a guaranteed reserved seat for travel with LNER.
• ‘70min Flex’ (Semi-Flexible) – a new type of ticket offering customers the flexibility to travel on other LNER services, which can be 70 minutes before or after their original booked journey.
• Anytime (Fully-Flexible) – this ticket can be used at any time of day (but tends to be a more expensive ticket type).

These fares have been on sale since the January 16 2024 for travel from February 5, bringing benefits to customers by introducing opportunities for cheaper flexibility than previously with the introduction of the 70 Min Flex. As of February 5, the first day customers could travel on the 70min flex, 86 per cent of the total Advance availability is priced lower than the Super Off-Peak ticket on trains where the Super Off-Peak product was valid previously. This amounts to 513,000 tickets in the booking horizon up to May 31 2024.

Altering perceptions

A big part of the fares reform programme is to help customers choose the best fare for them, so they feel confident and fully informed about their decision. For example, there is a misperception that Anytime is now the only walk-up fare left with the removal of Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak fares. But this is not the case, Advance Fares are often available up to five minutes before departure, and in all cases, these will be cheaper than Anytime. Advance Fares also have the added benefit of a guaranteed seat.

A further benefit of the new 70min Flex is that it allows a change of journey (for a fee) if a customer has to travel more than 70min before or after the original booked train – so customers do not have to pay for a full price ticket once again.

The 70min Flex is also available during traditional “Peak times”, which means modern day flexibility for customers on lots of these trains where they would have otherwise been paying the maximum Anytime price.

These are real benefits for customers on those selected journeys and represents just what fare reform can do. These changes have been carefully thought through, and as part of the pilot we have agreed customer assurances to ensure value for money remains at the heart of our fares agenda. With that in mind, at least two thirds of all Standard Advance fares sold will be more than 50 per cent cheaper than the Standard Anytime.

Canvassing opinion

Fares reform doesn’t stop with Simpler Fares. Indeed, the pilot is two years, and we’ll use that time to listen and respond to customer feedback and make the necessary changes. In that respect, customer feedback is crucial to ensure Simpler Fares works for everyone.

We know that a change as big as this will take time to get used to and will mean a change in behaviour for some of our customers. Together we can ensure that Simpler Fares and the benefits it enables are felt by everyone.

Read critical analysis of LNER's fares reform in RAIL 1002, on sale February 7-February 20. What do you think to the reform? Let us know in the comments, below.

David Flesher, LNER's Commercial Director speaking in 2023 at York's annual LNER Forum.