With train fares set to rise over the next few months, commuters and businesses across the country will be looking for was to save money on the train. To help with this, the Trainline has launched the UK’s first ever train ticket price predictor.
The Price Prediction allows train travellers, including travel bookers and employees who regularly travel by train for work, to look into the future and see when advance ticket prices are set to increase over time.
Trainline customers currently save an average of 43 per cent on advance fares, however billions of price prediction data points show that if customers bought their advance ticket on the day they first searched for their journey, they would save an average of 49 per cent – and could save more by booking even earlier.
The handy new tool can be used for both business and leisure travel as the Trainline App’s business profile feature allows train travellers to separate their work and personal accounts with just one tap. By creating a business profile in the App, business travellers can bill business trips to a corporate account or company credit card and ensure digital receipts are sent direct to a work email, while keeping their leisure account separate.
How it works
Price Prediction uses billions of data points to predict when advance train tickets are set to increase in price over time. The new tool gives customers an at-a-glance snapshot of all the opportunities to save money when buying advance tickets in the months and days leading up to travel.
Why do we need it?
Advance rail ticket pricing is complex, and businesses can often miss opportunities to save. Most train companies release advance tickets around 12 weeks before the day of travel, and once available to buy, they almost always increase in price as the day of travel approaches, so delaying purchase can be costly. Price Prediction gives complete transparency on the price of advance tickets, helping professionals to choose the best price for their journeys, helping to drive cost efficiencies over time.
Jon Moore, chief product officer at Trainline says, ‘Our data scientists have used historical pricing trends from billions of customer journey searches to predict when the price of an Advance ticket will expire. We now share this information in our app to allow our customers to get the best price possible for their journey. We’re introducing more advanced machine learning every day so naturally our predictions will get increasingly accurate. Our mission is to make train travel as simple as possible and price prediction is the first in a long line of predictive features we have planned to help customers save time and money.’
How much you could save
A standard class advance single fare on this London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly route is £32 at 80 days before the day of travel, rising to £38 at 41 days before the day of travel, £42 at 13 days before, £87 at 2 days before and costs £126 on the day of travel itself.
A total saving of £88 could be made if booked 80 days before travel.
Further reading on train fares
