Train ticketing app Seatfrog has today launched a new ticket option offering passengers up to 50 per cent off journeys made across the Pennines.
Seatfrog’s secret fare option will offer passengers a new low-cost, flexible ticket option on selected journeys with TransPennine Express (TPE).
Unlike with other pre-booked tickets, customers will choose a slot in either the morning, afternoon or evening, but the time of the journey will be allocated 24 hours before departure.
Secret fare: TransPennine Express and Seatfrog have launched a low-cost, flexible train ticket
Tickets can be booked from approximately five months in advance to two days before travelling.
‘If you’re travelling on a specific day, but don’t mind what time you travel, then secret fare will find you the cheapest fare available,’ says Darren Higgins, commercial director for TPE.
‘Secret fare is innovative, budget friendly, and hopefully will encourage more people to take the train and travel in a more sustainable way.’
Seatfrog claims the offer will cut ticket prices in half, with tickets between Manchester to Newcastle starting from £10.
Passengers will also be able to travel from Liverpool to York from £7 and Newcastle to Leeds from £6.
The ‘secret fare’ is now also available on Avanti routes and Seatfrog said it is in talks with every train operator in order to roll out the budget-friendly ticket nationwide, network by network.
Iain Griffin, co-founder of Seatfrog, said: ‘Our vision is to redefine rail travel, crafting an experience for customers that’s both affordable and flexible. We are delighted to introduce secret fare to TransPennine Express customers.
‘It will not only provide customers with savings of up to 50 per cent on train journeys, but also make a significant environmental impact by hopefully reducing car travel. It’s a win for customers’ pockets, the rail industry and the environment.’
Launching in 2018, Seatfrog’s main focus was on its upgrade service, which allows users to upgrade any standard train ticket to first-class via an auction function or ‘buy it now’ price, similar to eBay. This can be done any time before departure.
The price of an upgrade will depend on demand, but ranges between £10 and £50.
More recently, Seatfrog launched its ‘train swap’ feature, which allows customers to switch to any train within 24 hours of departure in two taps.
Speaking to This Is Money earlier this year, Griffin said: ‘One of the big friction points is wanting to get an earlier train… or seeing a couple of mates that I haven’t seen for a while and wanting to get a few more beers, but I can’t get the later train… I have to either buy a whole new ticket, or stand in a queue in the station or call centre.’
‘One of the biggest problems in rail is that trains kind of get in the way of life, and they really shouldn’t do.’
TPE is the latest operator to offer train swap, joining CrossCountry, Northern and LNER.
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