Pricehack launch brings split ticketing to Loco2
After years of hard work, UK split tickets are now available on Loco2. This monumental project has been on our roadmap for many years, and I’m delighted to finally bring it to train travellers across the country.
What’s split ticketing?
Split ticketing allows customers to save money on their train journey by purchasing two or more tickets instead of one.
For example, imagine leaving Swansea at 07:30, bound for Perth. You’re travelling during peak time so you know your ticket will come at a premium. It’s £228.30. This is a nine hour journey, and only 1.5 hours of it take place during peak time. That hardly seems fair.
Well, we can actually split this journey into six tickets:
- Swansea - Crewe: £22
- Crewe - Manchester: £9.60
- Manchester - Preston: £10.30
- Preston - Lancaster: £5.90
- Lancaster - Edinburgh: £29.80
- Edinburgh - Perth: £8.90
For a total of £86.50 + £1.50 commission That’s an incredible saving of £140.30.
Example from Swansea to Perth at 07:42 on 29 July 2019. Prices may change closer to travel.
What’s Pricehack?
Pricehack provides a way for Loco2 to bring split ticketing to the masses. Imagine for a moment that you’re not a train geek (I know, a tough ask). How would you know that you could save money by breaking up your journey? And even if you did, which stations would you select?
That Swansea to Perth journey has 29 stops, do you have the time or patience to search for every combination? I know I don’t. With Pricehack, you don’t have to worry about the details. We’ll do all of that complicated work for you, without you having to ask.
Pricehack works across classes, too. You won’t have to look hard to find a cheaper first-class ticket than the price you’d usually pay for standard class. Treat yourself, you deserve it.
Pricehack is the combination of cutting-edge software and intuitive customer experience.
Aside: Mobile tickets
In 2017, a football fan booked a staggering 56-ticket split journey; saving a total of £56. I can’t imagine the pain he would have gone through to do this manually, and having to juggle a handful of tickets makes the upfront work even less palatable.
Seasoned travellers might scoff at the notion of printing all of these tickets. And frankly, I wouldn’t blame them; the UK has lagged severely behind in adopting mobile technology for our rail travel. Thankfully we’re finally starting to catch up with the rest of Europe in our endeavor to support fully mobile tickets.
Whilst not all train-operating companies grant mobile tickets just yet, those that do will be available to you on Loco2 right now. With the Loco2 mobile app, your mobile Pricehack tickets are a mere swipe away. All 56 of them.
What about the rest of Europe?
Pricehack works by taking advantage of a very complicated UK rail fare system. Whilst some of these complications do exist in other countries, none are so glaringly apparent as to warrant complex technology like Pricehack.
We’re always on the look-out for chances to apply our technology to new problems though, and we’re actively looking at ways we can extend this software to make travellers lives easier.
In the meantime, Loco2 remains the best place to book your train journeys across the UK and Europe in a single booking. No fuss, no fees, and a supportive team of train geeks guiding your way.
As a software developer, projects like Pricehack don’t come along often. A truly complex and wonderful piece of technology that produces an unequivocal benefit to many thousands of people.
It’s been a long hard road (track?), but I’m incredibly proud of what the team has built and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this technology evolves.
Happy (price) hacking!