Flexible tickets are finally here.

The new tickets offer travel for two or three days a week rather than a full week in response not only to the changing pattern of rail use but also wider alterations to working life.

The Government press release on flexible tickets says: “New national flexible rail tickets, matching modern working habits and saving passengers hundreds of pounds, will be available to commuters across England from next week.”

But news organisations are full of stories that the savings are more likely to be just pence rather than “hundreds of pounds”.

The Guardian has found a commuter from Brighton who claims they will save £7 a year.

A commuter from Worthing in West Sussex told the BBC he would also save £7 annually using flexi-tickets.

Alice Ridley, a spokeswoman for the Campaign for Better Transport, says: “This rail ticket offer falls well short of the savings we wanted and commuters deserve – and in some cases it might even prove more expensive.”

The biggest worry is that the savings will be so small that travellers will look at alternative means of transport such as using their car because rail travel doesn’t offer sufficent financial incentive. That would be a shame given the efforts to encourage people to switch from private to public transport.