Yes, this was a lame attempt at an April Fool.
So, last night I spent an hour or so in The Albert pub on Victoria Street. While I was there I was joined by a press officer from TfL, whose headquarters are next door. The conversation inevitably drifted towards the incredibly complex fare structure in the zonal area and what might be done about it. I have to say I was quite stunned by what I learnt. TfL and the Department for Transport have agreed to harmonise rail fares in zones 1-6 at the next annual fares round in January 2017. The hated mixed mode surcharge on journeys including zone 1 will disappear along with all the different fare scales listed on my single fares page. The replacement will be a simple zonal structure for all rail journeys. Precise details are obviously hard to predict at this stage, but if the new scales were in operation today they would look something like this:
| Zones | Peak fare | Off peak fare |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | £2.50 | £2.50 |
| 1-2 | £3.00 | £2.60 |
| 1-3 | £3.60 | £2.70 |
| 1-4 | £4.20 | £2.90 |
| 1-5 | £5.00 | £3.10 |
| 1-6 | £6.00 | £3.40 |
| 2,3,4,5,6 | £2.00 | £1.60 |
| 2-3,3-4,4-5,5-6 | £2.50 | £1.80 |
| 2-4,3-5,4-6 | £3.00 | £2.00 |
| 2-5,3-6 | £3.50 | £2.20 |
| 2-6 | £4.00 | £2.50 |
There are obviously some pretty steep increases on a lot of the TfL set routes, but I understand that the effects will be partially offset by freezing all the daily caps at this years rates. Passengers from the outer zones will be further helped by the re-introduction of the zone 2-6 cap at £8.10/day.
Here at Oyster Rail we are thrilled that fares will finally be understandable throughout London whether you travel from Epping or Epsom Downs.
What about 7,8,9 and Watford Junction?