UK: Avanti West Coast has expanded the availability of its Superfare tickets to 10 more destinations, saying the cheaper tickets have encouraged modal shift.
Passengers book a Superfare ticket for a specific date, with the choice of morning, afternoon or evening slots. The exact time of travel is then selected by the operator based on the availability of seats on quieter services, with the passenger given around 24 h notice prior to the day of travel.
From May 1 Superfare tickets will be available to purchase from eight weeks to seven days before travel. Availability has been expanded to include Rugby, Coventry, Nuneaton, Birmingham International and Wolverhampton to London at £9, and London to Oxenholme (£26), Penrith (£26) and Carlisle (£28). Superfare tickets are also available between Milton Keynes and Manchester (£18) and Preston and Glasgow (£12).
Superfares were launched a year ago, and more than 50 000 have now been sold. AWC said the majority of users surveyed said they would have not travelled without the fares or would have done so by a different mode.
‘For those with flexibility around when they travel, it’s a great way to grab yourself a bargain and we’re delighted to extend the Superfare ticket benefits to more destinations’, said AWC Commercial Director Sarah Copley on April 30.
