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Premier League fans 'face being priced out by travel costs'

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments136

Football fans

Premier League fans face being priced out of the game before they reach the turnstiles, says a campaign group.

The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) has called on clubs to help their supporters tackle the "spiralling cost" of travelling to matches.

A CBT surveyexternal-link revealed 23% of football fans spend more on travel than a match ticket.

"Fans want something cheaper and better than traffic jams and overpriced car parking," the group said.

A football railcard, offering reduced fares for train travel, is one of the options the CBT puts forward to reduce costs.

Its findings suggest Premier League champions Manchester United appear to have conducted "no active travel planning with Trafford Council since it applied for expansion in 2004".

And the survey draws attention to Norwich City's websiteexternal-link promoting car travel and parking before public transport or other alternatives - despite Carrow Road sitting close to a mainline railway station.

It also highlighted Premier League clubs who have launched travel initiatives for their fans.

Newcastle United's Magpie Mover gives season ticket holders match-day use of public transport across Tyne and Wear for £10 for the season. A similar, though more expensive, option is available to Sunderland fans.

Arsenal have worked with Transport for London and others in an attempt to help fans leave their cars at home, with the percentage of supporters arriving by car falling from 30% to 10% since they moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2006.

Stoke, meanwhile, announced last month they will offer supporters free coach travel to all 19 of their Premier League away games this season.

CBT has written to the chief executives of all 20 Premier League clubs stating the average fan spends £55 on match day, with £13 going on travel, while train travellers spend £74, £26 on getting to the game.

"Our research found that, up and down the country, many fans spend as much money on getting to the ground as they do on buying a ticket for the game," said CBT sustainable transport campaigner Sian Berry.

"Clubs need to learn from other countries and work with train and bus companies to make travelling to the game an affordable part of the match-day experience.

"As well as saving fans a fortune, a few simple steps would also make football more accessible and could help to increase attendances."

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136 comments

  • Comment posted by John999, at 12:57 9 Aug 2013

    28.Steven
    5 Minutes ago
    This is rather amusing. I've just bought a season ticket for Man United... I have to travel from the Isle of Man. Plane or boat then train, possibly an overnight stay at times and then plane or boat back home. Any chance of United covering my travel costs??
    ----
    They may award you a cash prize for being the season ticket holder that lives closest to Old Trafford. :D

  • Comment posted by Alan Akbah, at 12:21 9 Aug 2013

    Stoke City should be applauded for their initiative in helping fans when they travel. It should pay off in terms of enhanced away support. Ultimately it could end up self finacing if it pushes Stoke to do better away.

    Liverpool really deserve to be acknowledged too. They've saved their fans a fortune by avoiding the need for expensive midweek European travel altogether.

  • Comment posted by U9264428, at 12:06 9 Aug 2013

    1. Introduce a wage cap.
    2. Develop a "Fit and proper persons test" that actually combats the appointment of reckless owners.
    3. Lower ticket prices.

    This isn't rocket science.

  • Comment posted by U15410283, at 16:27 9 Aug 2013

    One thing which should defintely be introduced......

    Sky should have to pay for the fans' travel everytime they are responsible for the date and time of a fixture being changed!

  • Comment posted by U15370961, at 12:56 9 Aug 2013

    PL clubs prices should have a ceiling for ticket prices for all games, home and away.

    Clubs should gain their revenue from advertising / merchandice / sponsor / tv deals / etc

    The loyal fans should be the ones to benefit from success, not pay extra from the priviledge.

  • Comment posted by U15410283, at 16:44 9 Aug 2013

    To be fair, its not just football. The whole of Britain suffers from a "rip-off culture", in which people charge the absolute maximim they think they can get away with.

    A Tory would probably say thats good business. Others think that it is about time concepts like value for money and pride in giving good service were re-introduced.

  • Comment posted by U15748407, at 15:21 9 Aug 2013

    So fans are being 'priced out' of Premier League games because of car park fees?! Yeah, that's definitely it - absolutely nothing to do with raising ticket prices to pay greedy players bcos fans will keep paying no matter what. If only the Prem could get a 70% increase in revenue, then all the clubs could reduce prices and subsidize travel and parking, bcos they care about the fans, right?!

  • Comment posted by U14477664, at 12:18 9 Aug 2013

    What arrogance - why should "reducing travelling costs for premier league fans" even be an issue when the real issue is the cost of public transport - whoever you are. Surely the Campaign for Better Transport should not be wasting its time on such a non-issue - public transport should be subsidised like it is other countries if they want us off the road, nobody excluded.

  • Comment posted by U15410283, at 16:03 9 Aug 2013

    Those promoting rail travel ahead of car use are totally off their heads! Have they got any idea HOW MUCH it costs to travel by train?!!!

    if there was a group of four of you, it would even be cheaper to get a TAXI the whole way rather than puchase four rail tickets!

  • Comment posted by U15735528, at 13:08 9 Aug 2013

    Football at the highest level in England is dictated to by Sky, BT etc. because of TV coverage.

    As a Raith Rovers supporter, I'm glad I never have to worry about a Sunday lunch time kick-off at the other end of Scotland for a game which is on the telly.

  • Comment posted by Only The Truth, at 16:57 9 Aug 2013

    Once upon a time football specials, organised by the supporters clubs, used to be run to away matches. These seem to have vanished into the mists of time.

    There must be loads of spare capacity on the rail network at the weekend, you'd think some marketing man somewhere would be looking to utilise it. A train full of football fans, properly stewarded, could make money, even at low fares.

  • Comment posted by Drasticus Maximus, at 16:50 9 Aug 2013

    97 Tanglefoot

    Careful there mate. Those are revolutionary ideas. Surely you don't expect anything to interrupt the flow of naked self interest and profiteering that has become celebrated in our culture as the highest achievement you can aspire to?

    Next you'll be asking for things like human dignity, compassion for others, community spirit. No place for that in the 21st c*ntury :D

  • Comment posted by Skybluestar, at 11:29 9 Aug 2013

    What about the travelling Coventry supporters have to do every 'home' game? A 70 mile round trip to Northampton... A disgrace really.

  • Comment posted by U15695886, at 16:22 9 Aug 2013

    why is just about the Premier League fans all the time? what about the whole 92 clubs for a change.. the Premiership aren't the only fans in this country..

  • Comment posted by U15756744, at 15:56 9 Aug 2013

    I'd genuinely prefer Cardiff in the Championship. Actually feels like football waking up on a Saturday to play Burnley rather than spending all my pay on going corporate stadiums like the Emirates. I hate the bitterness from glory hunters in the EPL aswell, people who don't even go to games ripping into teams that are going down.

  • Comment posted by Chris LP, at 15:51 9 Aug 2013

    Ticket prices are the problem : This just looks like another way to make an away day like a school trip ! "Travel on official coaches please, no booze no pubs and service station stops only" - no thanks.

  • Comment posted by U15733695, at 15:37 9 Aug 2013

    Fans are taken for granted by premier league teams because the majority of their income is from TV, why do you think that league games kick off at 12 noon it isn't so the fans can get home early for their tea.

  • Comment posted by deebodumpling, at 14:32 9 Aug 2013

    The game is dying a relatively quick death. We are in the midst of a deep recession where many fans cannot afford the price of a ticket for their 'home' team (too many do not support their home town team!) never mind the cost of travel to an away match. TV money merely lines the pockets of the foreign mercenaries whilst the standard of the home interntational teams freefall. Time for change.

  • Comment posted by Andy, at 14:10 9 Aug 2013

    Norwich are quite right to promote car use for away travel. The train service from there is predominantly for travel to or via London. No doubt this report was written by some metropolitan worthy addicted to tube travel. Sorry chum, most of the country drives when they want to travel.

  • Comment posted by BoneStarr, at 14:00 9 Aug 2013

    This is stupid, clubs will never do this, you don't expect the O2 arena to pay for your travel to a concert or the Theatre, or any other event for that matter. You make a conscious decision to attend to an event you should include the travel costs into the equation it's been like that for everything else why not football?

    What does need to happen is they need to reduce the price of tickets!

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