Do people really believe thousands of people ran to the station without a pre-booked ticket yesterday as soon as they heard about the new restrictions?

[Tellmetruth4]

Just that really. I keep seeing pictures on the news of busy London train stations yesterday. Does anyone truly believe that after hearing the news at 4pm, people managed to pack all of their stuff, turn up to the station without a ticket and find accommodation on the last Saturday before Christmas? Or do they think the people at the train station booked it some time ago to leave and stay with family after finishing work on Friday?

YABU - Yes they ‘fled’ when they heard the news
YANBU- No they’d booked trains when they thought households were allowed to mix and the news and government are trying to make it look like these people on trains yesterday were trying to get around the new rules.

I remember it well, if not fondly.

a load of my son's friends have.....but how is that any different to my son who has had to travel into london once a week for work? Potential to spread infection is no different

@cyclingmad

It doesn't matter what you or anyone else thinks because up until midnight on Saturday it was still legal to travel.

It doesn't matter where you think it was morally right or not because this strain of virus has been around since September! So since September you ahould also be blaming anyone travelling into and out of London and the Southeast.

Honestly threads like these are pointless.

Start a thread if its people fleeing London after Tier 4 started otherwise pipe down they didn't do anything illegal.

Oh and if London and the Southeast come out of Tier 4 first is that what you want us to tell you northerners - don't come down South.

It was not legal. London was in tier 3 on Saturday which is essential journeys only and no one is supposed to travel into or out of tier 3 areas unless for one of the legally defined exemptions (such as for education or work). Tier 4 has not changed the domestic travel rules.

@BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln

Because you know the reason why every single person travelling yesterday do you?

It was still legal within the conditions of Tier 3 yes. SO how many of those were workers?

How many of them are single people who are allowed to form a support bubble?

Who can honestly say how many people were travelling 'illegally'?

No-one can, your just assuming its hundreds, thousands of people. People deserting London.

@cyclingmad no I don't, but all those groups of people have been able to travel in whatever tier we have been in and can still travel now. There was no reason for mass groups of workers and single people travelling to see their support bubble to cause such congestion as was caused last night.

@BlackLambAndGreyFalcoln eh ok so if you travelled into London to work your saying they cannot leave? If their company requires them to have come into work and they live outside London your basically saying they cannot go home.

People had little choice with train companies already cutting back services so saturday was the day to go. People living alone and going to their support bubble - good fo them you don't know what state their mental health is in and whilst it might be two weeks of tier 4 noone can say for sure so if they needed to go I won't begrudge them.

As its been pointed out this new strain is already in many areas of England beyond London and the SouthEast.

You can travel today and for as long as we are in tier 4 for work and to see your support bubble (and for the other exemptions such as education). Tier 4 doesn't change that.

London during brexit= we want to be independent , London in covid in tier 4 = Not quite the same answer

Yes they fled, and even more drove out of London, the roads were still jammed at 11pm. I saw cars arriving here loaded up as late as 2am (I'm an insomniac) around 1/3 of our neighbours are second homes and we are tier 2.

More likely a mix of commuters going home via London Overground, some people going further and shoppers going home to the suburbs.
Doubt thousands of people all decided to up and go with a few hours notice.

@Glamflimfloogety The ones heading west drove. M4 was very busy for a Saturday night and I heard cars arriving late evening through into the night to the development that is mostly second homes

It's phycological warfare. The media is trying to vilify people.

Ditto young people in general around this Corona situation.

@daisypond

Are you serious?!. I live in the Midlands and have bought a ticket at the station on a Saturday evening many times. It costs a bit more than booking in advance but certainly not a huge fortune.

Are you buying your last-minute ticket at your Midlands station? It costs a fortune to buy a ticket from London at the station to go out of London than to do it in reverse.

Of course I don't buy it at a Midlands station. It wouldn't be a last-minute ticket from London if I bought it while I was still in the Midlands would it? It's an off-peak ticket on a Saturday. I've just looked now and if you wanted to leave London in the next hour it would cost £50 to get Crewe.

@Belladonna12 to be fair, tickets from London - to Midlands or Crewe are cheaper as there’s a budget operator that serves that route. It’s the journeys that are exclusively served by more premium operators (Avanti, lner, cross country etc) that posters are referring to. Eg a walk up anytime day single from London - Manchester is £180 whereas an advance single is £39.

[quote sofiaaaaaa]@Belladonna12 to be fair, tickets from London - to Midlands or Crewe are cheaper as there’s a budget operator that serves that route. It’s the journeys that are exclusively served by more premium operators (Avanti, lner, cross country etc) that posters are referring to. Eg a walk up anytime day single from London - Manchester is £180 whereas an advance single is £39.[/quote]
I appreciate that there are more expensive operators but as people don't have to use them the assertion that it would be impossible for people to buy them at the last minute is ridiculous. Even £180 would certainly not be out of reach for many people, if they wanted to get out of London.

No, I don't believe it. I can't believe so many are that spontaneous, although some would have been.

As matter of interest it's 21st December, I'm on way back from work - There are people getting on trains leaving London at Kings Cross. No questions are being asked, the police aren't there either, I haven't seen 1. At a London Mainline Station...

Amazing how this government consistently lies about having matters under control and they really, really don't. But people believe them so they get in power.

Tier 4 won't work.

@CheetasOnFajitas Because they are supposed to come into their office to collect client books if they are working from home. As they weren't going to be in town they couldn't and were asking, with the extreme circumstances, that one of the office juniors send over scans of certain things they needed.