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Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern commuters are set to potentially save hundreds of pounds a week or month through weekly capping on this pay-as-you-go smartcard
Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern commuters are set to potentially save hundreds of pounds a week or month through weekly capping on this pay-as-you-go smartcard

Press release -

Commuters could save hundreds as UK's largest train company launches new weekly capping

  • Customers travelling with Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern can now benefit from weekly capping on rail fares – set to save them hundreds of pounds a week or month with pay-as-you-go keyGo
  • Weekly capping means post-pandemic commuters returning to the workplace are automatically promised the cheapest walk-up fare across a seven-day period.
  • Travellers that meet the weekly cap will qualify for FREE additional journeys.

Britain's largest railway operator, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), has just launched automatic weekly capping to customers using its pay-as-you-go keyGo service, helping thousands of post-pandemic commuters returning to the office save hundreds of pounds in rail fares.

The new tool means commuters unsure about how many days they will be working from home will never miss out on weekly season ticket deals if that is the cheapest deal.

Passengers between Brighton and London Victoria could save almost £125 every week and commuters between Bedford and London could save £65 every week*. The introduction of weekly capping will come as a huge help to people travelling into the office more frequently.

keyGo is available on GTR’s pay-as-you-go, tap-in, tap-out ticketing service, the Key Smartcard. The introduction of weekly capping means that customers using these GTR services will never pay more than the value of a weekly season ticket for multiple journeys between two stations in the keyGo network area within a week, potentially saving commuters, and regular rail-travellers alike, hundreds of pounds each week.

And any delays generate automatic notification of compensation claims, ensuring commuters get a fair deal.

Mark Pavlides, Interim Chief Customer Officer at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “Our simple tap-in, tap-out, pay-as-you-go keyGo system already guarantees our customers the cheapest walk-up fare of the day with none of the hassle of buying a ticket.

“The additional promise to never charge more than a weekly season ticket for travel between the same two stations means thousands of commuters returning to the office will never miss out on weekly season ticket deals, saving hundreds of pounds a week or month.

“And with automatically generated Delay Repay compensation claims, getting the best deal when travelling by train has never been simpler.

“With keyGo fares – applicable on our Key Smartcard – no matter how frequently you travel between the same two stations each week, you’ll never pay more than a weekly season ticket.”

Customers already using keyGo (approximately 30,000 on the database) immediately qualify for these potential savings, and GTR hopes to encourage thousands more to sign up to benefit from weekly capping.

All customers need to do to bank these savings is to register online for a GTR Key Smartcard, sign up to use the keyGo service and take a minimum of four same-route journeys within the week (pre-loaded season ticket holders will not be eligible).

Customers will only be charged up to the value of the best value weekly season ticket for their selected route, and will be notified when their journeys reach the cap. Thereafter, any further journeys made on their chosen route will be at no further cost, meaning that once the weekly cap is reached, regular rail-goers will be able to travel for free.

Customers can register for a Key Smartcard through the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern websites. Once received, users can log into their account, sign up to use keyGo and qualify for the weekly capping service within a few clicks**.

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

*Based on a customer making four journeys a week and being capped after the third day of travel, Monday-Sunday.

**keyGo promises the best day fares available on the day of travel for your pay-as-you-go journeys. Weekly capping will consider only journeys logged through keyGo on the Key Smartcard where a customer has tapped in and out at stations within the keyGo network upon departure and arrival. keyGo cannot be used in conjunction with flexi-season tickets. For full terms and conditions, visit https://www.southernrailway.com/tickets-and-payment-methods/ways-to-pay/keygo

https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/tickets-and-payment-methods/ways-to-pay/keygo

https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/tickets/the-key-smartcard/keygo

keyGo automatically generates Delay Repay compensation claims for customers to check and submit.

keyGo is valid on Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink services across almost all of the GTR network. Click here to see where you can travel.

SAMPLE FARES

Southern

Journey

Standard Class Anytime Day Return Ticket

Standard Class weekly Season Ticket

Saving

Brighton – London Victoria

£65.00

£135.80

£124.20

Brighton – London Thameslink

£52.60

£124.40

£86.00

Eastbourne – London Terminals

£78.50

£149.00

£165.00

Eastbourne – Brighton

£23.00

£69.00

£23.00

Haywards Heath – Clapham Junction

£47.60

£114.80

£75.60

Horsham – London Terminals

£58.10

£127.00

£105.40

Three Bridges – London Terminals

£33.80

£101.00

£34.20

Gatwick – London Terminals

£32.80

£98.70

£32.50

Redhill – London Thameslink

£25.70

£89.10

£13.70

East Croydon – London Terminals

£14.60

£55.30

£3.10

Thameslink

Journey

Standard Class Anytime Day Return Ticket

Standard Class weekly Season Ticket

Saving

Bedford – London Thameslink

£53.00

£147.00

£65.00

Bedford – East Croydon

£60.90

£151.70

£91.90

Radlett - Bedford

£36.30

£96.30

£48.90

Elstree & Borehamwood – Bedford

£41.20

£101.80

£63.00

Bedford - Brighton

£81.40

£194.60

£131.00

Luton – London Thameslink

£36.30

£131.00

£14.20

Harpenden – London Thameslink

£31.20

£119.80

£5.00

Elstree & Borehamwood – London Thameslink

£17.70

£60.10

£10.70

Mill Hill Broadway – London Thameslink

£11.30

£41.40

£3.80

Hendon – London Thameslink

£9.40

£30.90

£6.70

West Hampstead – London Thameslink

£8.00

£23.40

£8.60

Great Northern

Journey

Standard Class Anytime Day Return Ticket

Standard Class weekly Season Ticket

Saving

Foxton – London Terminals

£51.70

£150.10

£56.70

Royston – London Terminals

£44.10

£150.10

£26.30

St Neots – London Terminals

£51.70

£158.70

£48.10

Biggleswade – London Terminals

£40.10

£141.70

£18.70

Hitchin – London Terminals

£32.20

£123.70

£5.10

Potters Bar – London Terminals

£18.30

£67.60

£5.60

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For more information, contact the press office on 0203 750 2031.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:

  • Thameslink – cross-London services between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks
  • Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
  • Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
  • Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

www.southernrailway.com, www.thameslinkrailway.com, www.gatwickexpress.com, www.greatnorthernrail.com

Govia Thameslink Railway

United Kingdom