I love my Travelcard because it allows me to take multiple journeys anywhere I like whenever I like. For a one-off fee I can roam on all TfL modes of transport in my chosen zones. I can go to Woolwich, then West Ealing, then Wood Green if I so choose. I can change my mind mid journey and go somewhere else. I can travel in the height of the peak or the middle of the night. I have total transport freedom.
If I book a train to York it's the total opposite. My advance ticket allows me to make just one journey to one place at one time. I have minimal transport freedom.
And it struck me that transport freedom has its own hierarchy, a sliding scale from "go where you like" to "you will do this". So I've tried to devise a definition of Transport Freedom.
Imagine you've bought a ticket, locking in the available modes of transport. How free are you in the journeys you can now make? I'm keeping it simple but I reckon TF has three dimensions - how many, where and when.
HOW MANY?
WHERE?
WHEN?
First up, how many journeys can you make?
1) HOW MANY? a) any journeys b) some journeys c) one journey
a) At the top end of the hierarchy is "any", meaning you can make as many journeys as you like. My Travelcard lets me do this as does, say, a River Roamer on Thames Clippers, a West Midlands Day Ranger on the trains or a Bee AnyBus ticket in Manchester. 1a means unlimited journeys on your chosen mode(s) of transport in your chosen area. b) Some tickets let you make more than one journey but only up to a limit. The Hopper fare is a good example, allowing you to take two (or more) bus journeys within an hour of starting out. I might also include a PlusBus ticket, which is one return rail journey but unlimited buses at your destination. c) For most people on most trips your ticket allows you to make just one journey (plus perhaps one return). Take the coach to Cardiff or the train to Truro and that's it, your ticket is spent. I might also include 'tapping in' at one station and 'tapping out' at another, whatever you choose to do inbetween. One fare, one journey.
Secondly, where does your ticket let you go?
2) WHERE? a) anywhere b) somewhere c) oneplace
a) At the top end of the hierarchy is "anywhere", meaning you can go anywhere within the area your ticket permits. My Travelcard lets me do this, as does a Freedom of the Line ticket on the Severn Valley Railway or an AvonRider ticket on Bristol buses. 2a means total freedom on your chosen mode(s) of transport in your chosen area. 2a often comes with 1a, but not always. b) Your ticket might allow some flexibility over destination, for example a rail journey to 'London Terminals' or a two zone ticket on the Newcastle Metro. A particularly interesting example of 2b is the London bus, because one you've tapped in you have the option of disembarking at any stop along the remainder of the route. c) For most rail, bus and coach journeys across the country, you get to go where you've paid for. If your train ticket says Milton Keynes then that's where you're going. A trip on the Isle of Wight ferry fits this category, as does a plane flight to New York.
Thirdly, when can you travel?
3) WHEN? a) anytime b) sometime c) onetime
a) At the top end of the hierarchy is "anytime", meaning no restrictions on time or time of day. My Travelcard lets me do this, as does an Anytime fare to Glasgow Central, a London bus journey or a trip on the Dangleway. b) Some tickets are only allowed at certain times of day, generally off-peak. For example a Freedom Pass only allows free travel after 9am, ditto Off-peak returns after 9.30am, perhaps with additional restrictions between 4pm and 7pm. But within these windows you can still choose when you travel. c) For many journeys, particularly advance tickets, you can only travel at a particular time on a particular service. That £30 cross-country rail ticket or £7 coach pass or £250 air fare is only valid on the 14.45 service so woe betide you if you miss it.
So overall that's...
1 HOW MANY?
2 WHERE?
3 WHEN?
a)
any journeys
anywhere
anytime
b)
some journeys
somewhere
sometime
c)
one journey
oneplace
onetime
My Travelcard is 1a 2a 3a.
A London bus ride is 1b 2b 3a.
A plane flight is 1c 2c 3c.
This is not meant to be a rigorous framework immune to the nitpickiest pedant. It's a best fit thing, not an "ah but on Hull Trains they let you break your journey on a Day Saver" or "actually the Freedom Pass has no time restrictions at weekends" thing. It's meant to be a broad framework for high level comparison, not a tedious loopholing exercise.
Cost is clearly a driving force behind these categorisations. For example rail companies use category 3 to manage demand, so 3a tickets cost more than 3b tickets which cost more than 3c tickets. Some journeys are only a reasonable price if you book ahead, tying yourself down to 3c when the trip would have been more flexible/enjoyable/practical as 3b or 3a. The increasing 3c-isation of long distance rail ticketing is a disincentive to travel.
By contrast, maximising Transport Freedom is an incentive to travel more. I pay a lot for my Travelcard but it brings enormous privileges most travellers don't enjoy, like being able to linger on the system without fear of a maximum fare, or hopping on a bus for just two stops knowing it won't cost extra. Next year I should be able to get free travel with a 60+ card instead, but the downside is it'll be 3b instead of 3a.
One thing I'd like to emphasise is how the advance of Oyster and contactless has increased Transport Freedom for travellers in the capital. Before Oyster a single fare required purchase of a ticket with a specified destination or zone, so travel was at best 2b. Now when you tap in you could be going absolutely anywhere, it's only when you tap out that a fare is charged, so tube travel's now 2a. Likewise the Hopper fare was an excellent innovation because by chaining together more than one trip it changed London buses from 1c to 1b. And daily capping works like a Travelcard if you travel enough, again upping your freedom from 1c to 1b.
All this is one reason why rolling out 'tap and go' to further stations outside London has proved problematic. Rail tickets currently tend to be 2c - point to point and purchased before travel - which sits uneasily with the 2a-ness of contactless roaming. When the guard checks your card as the train hurtles across Essex, are you really only going to Ingatestone or are you actually intending to change at Stratford for the outer reaches of the Overground? Also how do you match peak times by rail to peak times on the tube - the 3b's don't always match.
And Transport Freedom goes wider than public transport. Hop in your car and you can drive anywhere anytime, because car drivers enjoy 1a 2a 3a travel. Switching to public transport is always going to look more restrictive, especially if the alternative is a 1c 2c 3c journey. The more 1b 2b 3b we can make it, even adding a scattering of a's, the more likely people are to be tempted out of their vehicles.
In conclusion, Transport Freedom may be something I've made up but it does help explain why public transport is or isn't attractive to potential users. Travelling around certain parts of the country on certain types of transport can be restrictively c, which people learn to put up with but which isn't beneficial to boosting travel. We're actually very lucky in London to have a system that's mostly b, sometimes a, and it's one reason I wouldn't live anywhere else.
