New app that slashes rail fares will ‘take the sting out’ of UK cost of living crisis
A new app that uses a craft hack to slash rail fares has been launched amid the brutal cost of living crisis engulfing the UK.
The app, by Split My Fare, which has gone live today, uses a method known as split ticketing, which has been dubbed train travel’s best kept secret.
It uses a sophisticated algorithm to find the cheapest tickets, and will make it even easier for savvy rail customers to bag cheaper tickets by simply breaking their journeys up into multiple tickets but allowing passengers to stay on the same train.
Making use of ticketing has been encouraged by money saving guru Martin Lewis, as a way of simply and entirely legally reducing the cost of travel.
Since the Split My Fare website was launched by entrepreneurs Peter Walls and Tobias Biberbach, it has saved rail customers an average of 26% on their daily tickets. Some customers have even made savings of over 90%.
Co-founder Peter Walls explained why the UK-based tech firm decided to develop the new app.
He said: “Seeing how our customers benefited from the Split My Fare website, Tobias and I knew building an app was the next logical step. The goal is to take some of the sting out of the rising cost of living, which shows no signs of slowing down.”
Co-founder Tobias Biberbach added: “Split My Fare is putting money back into the pockets of consumers.
“While the cost of living is going up across the board, the app is cutting costs for one essential aspect of life - rail travel.”
Regulated train fares rose by 3.8% this year - the highest rise for nine years. Passenger groups fear that tickets could rise by as much as 12% next year as inflation continues to bite.
Researchers have found that customers can make hefty savings by switching from the ticket website Trainline to Split My Fare.
A single from Manchester to Bristolcosts £86.49 if bought through Trainline, compared to only £50.56 if bought through Split My Fare. Unlike their competitors, Split My Fare also doesn’t charge any booking fees or card payment fees.
In terms of big savings found with the App, a customer made a booking from Leicester to London Euston and saved 91% by splitting their ticket.
The Split My Fare app, which is available for Apple and Android users, allows customers to make fast and secure payments with Apple and Google Pay, and access e-Tickets when offline.