[SA] PREMIER STATELINER: Same fare to go 1-Stop as for the 400 Km between Adelaide & Whyalla..?!?

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  Presence on 23/10/2018 - 06:50

  +6

  If you can't drive then moving to outback SA is not a good idea.

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  stirlo on 23/10/2018 - 08:36

  +5

  It costs the bus company almost the same to go one stop as it does to go the whole route. You're still stopping them taking a paying passenger that might sit in that seat the whole way and pay more. It's unlikely the bus company would find other people making different short trips that would use that seat so they have to charge almost the same as a long distance one. Of course setting the price the same as the full trip like this results in even less people considering taking short trips thus becoming self fulfilling.

  Whats more crazy is someone contemplating moving to a regional town without being able to drive. These bus services aren't designed for commuting.

  • 

    IVI on 28/10/2018 - 19:22

    Opportunity Cost: Bus co. is MISSING OUT on lotsa short trip fares.

    When I once rode the bus between Adelaide & the town she's thinking of moving to, there were very few (under 10) on board, incl. pick-ups along the way.

    Word of mouth can get friends aboard (for same Short Trip) next time, who knows how often recruits might ride same bus in future?

    Or… Maybe a 2md person pays a % Less wild help.

    Does Outback living have to be "at the mercy of" inflexible (almost No Advertised Discounts, she says) business models?

    Maybe a web prog' City slicker (or a Local p, who wants to Improve that business model, in that part of their World) will design an app to match short-trip folks to routes &/OR let those, who can flexibly schedule their trips, fill One Seat across a full-length trip, & do a deal [on their behalf] to cut their cost.

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  HighAndDry on 23/10/2018 - 09:13

  +3

  The feeling of being Overcharged is Worse
  when she visits family or friend “1 Stop away"

  This entitlement mentality. Why does she feel overcharged for the shorter trip, rather than undercharged for the longer trip?

  • 

    IVI on 28/10/2018 - 19:28

    -1

    Hardly an "entitlement mentality" IMO.

    For one thing, she"d likely want to take more Shorter Trips, so your "undercharged" alternative wouldn't apply. ;-)

    A Value for $$ Consumer, who's happy to pay on a pro rata model… She'd likely travel more often, if it were offered by Bus Co.

    Bus co. may ha e wrong-sized their buses (explaining the high number of Empty Seats.
    Why I Is the Bus Co. "entitled" to payment for more Km's than she'd be traveling?

    • 

      HighAndDry on 29/10/2018 - 09:39

      +1

      There's no "correct" charge per Km. So instead of feeling overcharged for the shorter trips, why not assume that they're charged at the right "per Km" price, and that longer trips have basically a volume/bulk discount attached?

      Why I Is the Bus Co. "entitled" to payment for more Km's than she'd be traveling?

      They're not. They're charging whatever their customers agree to pay. No one is forced to get on their bus and pay their fares after all.

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  donga100 on 23/10/2018 - 09:20

  +4

  Why doesn't she just shop locally instead of travelling over 300km (round trip) to Aldi? Whyalla has Coles, Woolworths, butchery, greengrocers, etc.

  • 

    IVI on 28/10/2018 - 19:34

    She's not yet picked her Town.

    (The bus schedule shows trips between endpoint: Whyalla & Adelaide.)

    Don't you think everyone likes a change of scenery, no matter where they live?

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  [Deactivated] on 23/10/2018 - 11:49

  Do you want a discount at McDonald’s if you don’t finish your fries?

  Are you “overcharged” if a small serve costs more per gram than a large serve?

  Do you want a refund at the zoo if you only look at half the animals?

  Are you ripped off if you travel 10 metres in a taxi and it costs $4.20?

  Fixed versus proportional charging is an arbitrary business decision. You unfortunately get to like it or lump it.

  Public transport in SA is also fixed fee per trip (for all intents and purposes) so the concept shouldn’t be an outrageous surprise.

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  IVI on 28/10/2018 - 19:37

  -1

  Fries example seems to support my argument.

  Bus.co.'s fare Now requires Everyone to Buy the Largest Size (fries or whatever):

  • One size / fare fits all.

  But One size Doesn't fit all… But only Macca's (of the 2 kinds of businesses here) offers Fairer pricing via multiple sizes.

  Taxi example works, eg for a disabled person or some1 in clothing or hairstyle that gets ruined by water, on a rainy day), but now of these examples quite fits the circumstances.

  I'd find it insulting to pay such a Large extra cost (calc"d by Km traveled), that I'd more likely avoid that Bus.Co. & let folks know why. In the long run,moth town(s) & bus.co.could lose some would-be residents & business.

  They obviously don't care about those losses, it seems.

  "Who cares? Wins." ;~)