Contactless News – Oyster Fares Central

Overcharging at Farringdon

24/04/2023 by Mike

Further to earlier posts about Farringdon and the initial lack of validators to start/end a PAYG journey on the Elizabeth line when using a ticket on Thameslink services, a new issue has cropped up which results in some users being charged for an incomplete journey. Between the southern (back) end of the northbound Thameslink platform … Read more

Warning! Redhill via Gatwick Airport

20/02/202310/01/2023 by Mike

Note: Some of the details below will change on March 5th. Redhill will no longer be included, and caps will no longer apply if using the Express service to get to Horley, Salfords or Earlswood. Last September I posted about a change to fares between Victoria and Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords and Horley when travelling via … Read more

Fares Change on March 1st Again

22/02/202214/02/2022 by Mike

I’ve finally managed to get confirmation that most of the 2022 pay-as-you-go fares will be implimented on Tuesday March 1st. All fares within zones 1-9 are set to rise, along with daily/weekly caps and weekly/period travelcards. The average rises will be 3.8% on National Rail and 4.8% where TfL set the fare. As always there … Read more

Kidbrooke now re-connected

26/08/202120/10/2020 by Mike

It appears that the connection issues at Kidbrooke station have finally been fixed. All my journey history has updated to show the correct touches. I travelled via Kidbrooke this afternoon and initially it didn’t seem ok as there was no sign of the touches half an hour after making them (it’s usually updated within 5 … Read more

Equipment Failure at Kidbrooke

26/08/202130/09/2020 by Mike

UPDATE: Southeastern say that a fix has been applied today after they received an email yesterday. FURTHER UPDATE: It hasn’t been fixed as touches are missing from yesterday (Sun 4th). After hearing reports about a serious equipment malfunction at Kidbrooke station in Southeast London I visited the station last night. It seems to be related … Read more

Brief Updates

26/08/202121/04/2020 by Mike

While the government stipulates that only essential travel by key workers should be undertaken, there is not a lot going on to report here. However, there are some things still happening and this is a summary of key points: London Buses are now centre door only to protect the driver from contact with passengers who … Read more

Bye Bye Oyster Deposit

26/08/202114/02/2020 by Mike

As exclusively revealed on this website two months ago, TfL are phasing out the Oyster card deposit from February 23rd. Cards purchased before that date will still retain the £5 deposit which can be cashed in when returning or cancelling the Oyster card. From Sunday 23rd onwards an Oyster card will cost a £5 fee. If the card is retained then that £5 will be added to the PAYG credit balance on the first anniversary of purchase. Unused credit will still be refundable at any time, along with the deposit on older cards.

The main reason for making the change

Contactless to Welwyn Garden City

26/08/202128/11/2019 by Mike

The final PAYG extension for the year, covering Welham Green, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City went live on Tuesday. As with Luton Airport Parkway, only contactless payment cards and devices are accepted, not Oyster cards of any variety. The full range of paper tickets are also still available and may well work out cheaper at … Read more

New Fares for 2020

26/08/202119/11/2019 by Mike

In amongst all the election stuff and other sensational news stories, the Mayor released his decision on fares for next year. It’s pretty much as expected – bus, tube, dlr, most London Overground, most TfL Rail and National Rail inter-available single fares all frozen for the 4th year. Other National Rail fares and caps/travelcards all … Read more

TfL Rail to Reading – No Oyster

26/08/202127/09/2019 by Mike

Yesterday TfL announced their initial plans following takeover of the GWR suburban services between Paddington and Reading on December 15th. In contrast to any other TfL takeover, neither Oyster nor contactless will be available on day 1. To ensure a smooth introduction, contactless PAYG will be introduced from January 2nd 2020.

The big news though is that Oyster PAYG will NOT be valid between West Drayton and Reading. This means that adults with railcards, 11-15 and 16+ zip card holders will not be able to make use of PAYG. And holders of Apprentice, 18+ Student and Jobcentre Oyster cards will not be able to seamlessly transition between using a travelcard stored on the card to PAYG. On the plus side, under 11s accompanied by adults will be able to travel free, but only on the TfL Rail services.