Southern offers cheaper rail tickets for rush hour to bring Sussex commuters back to Monday and Friday travel

The company made the announcement on Thursday, February 16, and said the aim is to ‘entice commuters back to the office at either end of the working week’.

GTR said that travel patterns have changed since people started working from home during the Covid lockdowns.

They said most people now head into the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

A spokesperson said: “On Monday mornings, around 40,000 fewer people (210,000 in total) catch rush-hour trains operated by GTR compared with the middle three days of Tuesday (250,000), Wednesday (230,000) and Thursday (240,000). On Friday mornings, which was always a quieter day, the number falls even further, to around 90,000 fewer (160,000 commuters) than the middle three days.

“In total, morning peak commuter figures sit at around 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.”

GTR has now launched a trial of Advance tickets on Southern peak trains (morning and evening) for a limited number of journeys in both directions between East Croydon, Clapham Junction and London Victoria, and stations south from Three Bridges, as far east as Eastbourne and as far west as Chichester.

These tickets will show up in Southern’s journey planner when people go to book up to 12 weeks in advance, and save up to 15 per cent when compared to the price of a standard peak fare Anytime Day Return ticket. They can be bought up to the day before travel. GTR said Advance tickets are normally available off-peak only.

The rail firm is also trialling a new loyalty scheme until spring. Customers can get points with every pound spent and work towards rewards like family days out and money towards cinema tickets.

GTR customer services director Jenny Saunders said: “Lower ticket prices coupled with Southern’s new loyalty rewards scheme will encourage people back to rail at times when we have more space on board, and they’ll help with the rising cost of living. We really hope both trials will be a success.”

Visit www.southernrailway.com.

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