A day travelcard from outside zones 1-9 is one return ticket from the origin station to the boundary of zone 6 and then unlimited travel within zones 1-6. If it has the route description “AAA LDN ZONE 7-9” then it is also valid for unlimited travel in zones 7-9. Once you have entered the zones you can no longer use the outward part of the return, so while you can start within the zones, you can only go to the origin station, not return from it. If you want to start in the zones and make a return trip outside then you need to use boundary zone tickets from the edge of zone 6 in conjunction with a standard zones 1-6 travelcard. There are no boundary tickets from zone 9, sadly. You can also buy tickets from the last station that the travelcard is valid, and there is no need for the train to call at that station.
Daily caps sweep away a lot of the complexity of the above, and if you don’t end up making enough journeys to hit the cap then you will only be charged for the journeys you have made. The caps work both ways, so no need for boundary tickets, and you can make as many journeys between the same origin and the zones as you want. If you decide to make journeys from one side of London to another (say Tring to Sevenoaks) the system will work out the cheapest combination of a cap for one end and extension fares for the other end. If you just cross London in each direction then it’s unlikely that you’ll reach the cap, but you can do some sightseeing on the way confident that the system will keep your fares down.
A weekly travelcard allows unlimited journeys between the origin and the zones, and unlimited travel within the appropriate zones. It can start on any day of the week. If you want to head out in another direction then boundary zone tickets can be used, as above.
A weekly cap is similar, but can only apply from Monday to the following Sunday. It has the benefit that you only pay the cap if you actually make enough journeys, so no worries if you get sick part way through the week. As with the daily cap the system will calculate extension fares if you decide to go somewhere else using pay as you go (PAYG).
Finally, a cap (day or weekly) is not a travelcard, so if you want to go somewhere that doesn’t accept PAYG you will need to touch out at the end of your PAYG journey and use a ticket from that station for the rest of the journey. You cannot combine caps with boundary zone tickets.
So you’re planning a trip to London and intend to hop around the capital on buses and tubes, are you better off buying a travelcard or using PAYG and relying on the cap? Sadly the answer is, it depends. Most of the Project Oval daily caps are a little cheaper than the equivalent travelcard, which surprisingly isn’t being publicised as widely as I would expect. In some cases the cap might be more expensive than the travelcard, or the time you can start using the (off-peak) travelcard might be earlier. The table at the bottom of this page lists all stations beyond zone 9 and indicates (by bold text) whether the cap or the travelcard is cheaper. If they are the same then neither is in bold.
In the table there are three comparisons. Firstly the Anytime fares which you will need on weekdays if you start before the off-peak is valid. Then you have the off-peak fares which are generally available after 0930 and at weekends. Finally there are the weekly fares which apply between Monday and Sunday for capping, but travelcards can start on any day of the week.
I will also be including other information (zones included from each station and early starts to the off-peak cap) as soon as I have confirmation exactly what these are. The currently available information has some anomalies which are being checked out.
| Station | Anytime Daily Cap | Anytime Travelcard | Off-Peak Daily Cap | Off-peak Travelcard | Mon-Sun Weekly Cap | Weekly Travelcard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apsley | £34.60 | £35.60 | £24.80 | £25.50 | £146.50 | £146.50 |
| Ashford Surrey | £31.30 | £32.20 | £21.50 | £22.20 | £97.20 | £97.20 |
| Basildon | £31.10 | £32.00 | £26.40 | £27.10 | £134.00 | £134.00 |
| Bat & Ball | £38.10 | £39.20 | £21.80 | £22.40 | £137.50 | £137.50 |
| Bayford | £32.30 | £31.60 | £24.50 | £24.60 | £122.00 | £113.20 |
| Beaconsfield | £41.00 | £42.20 | £28.20 | £29.10 | £132.40 | £132.40 |
| Benfleet | £34.60 | £35.60 | £29.40 | £30.20 | £156.40 | £156.40 |
| Berkhamsted | £37.80 | £38.80 | £27.80 | £28.60 | £160.90 | £160.90 |
| Bletchley | £58.80 | £60.50 | £29.10 | £29.90 | £179.90 | £179.90 |
| Bourne End | £43.50 | £43.50 | £26.70 | £27.50 | £138.80 | £138.80 |
| Bricket Wood | £32.30 | £32.50 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £131.50 | £131.50 |
| Brookmans Park | £32.80 | £32.80 | £19.90 | £19.90 | £114.90 | £114.90 |
| Broxbourne | £32.30 | £32.30 | £24.50 | £24.50 | £122.00 | £122.00 |
| Burnham (Bucks) | £34.50 | £34.50 | £21.70 | £22.40 | £119.10 | £119.10 |
| Chafford Hundred | £32.30 | £27.00 | £24.10 | £23.00 | £117.00 | £116.60 |
| Chalkwell | £34.60 | £35.60 | £29.40 | £30.20 | £156.40 | £156.40 |
| Cheddington | £41.00 | £42.20 | £28.70 | £29.50 | £171.80 | £171.80 |
| Cookham | £41.90 | £41.90 | £25.30 | £26.10 | £137.10 | £137.10 |
| Datchet | £36.60 | £37.70 | £25.40 | £26.10 | £123.20 | £123.20 |
| Denham | £29.10 | £29.90 | £19.50 | £20.00 | £82.50 | £82.50 |
| Denham Golf Club | £30.40 | £31.30 | £19.80 | £20.30 | £95.10 | £95.10 |
| Dunton Green | £37.20 | £38.30 | £19.70 | £20.20 | £118.00 | £118.00 |
| Earlswood (Surrey) | £40.00 | £37.10 | £26.80 | £20.60 | £138.90 | £113.40 |
| East Tilbury | £32.30 | £32.00 | £26.40 | £27.10 | £134.00 | £134.00 |
| Egham | £35.40 | £36.40 | £24.40 | £25.10 | £117.70 | £117.70 |
| Eynsford | £31.80 | £32.70 | £19.70 | £20.20 | £111.50 | £111.50 |
| Furze Platt | £40.20 | £40.20 | £23.70 | £24.40 | £133.40 | £133.40 |
| Garston | £32.30 | £32.50 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £121.40 | £121.40 |
| Gatwick Airport | £40.90 | £42.00 | £26.80 | £23.20 | £138.90 | £129.40 |
| Gerrards Cross | £33.30 | £34.20 | £24.20 | £24.90 | £115.00 | £115.00 |
| Grays | £32.30 | £27.00 | £24.10 | £23.00 | £117.00 | £116.60 |
| Harpenden | £42.00 | £42.00 | £32.70 | £32.70 | £153.20 | £153.20 |
| Hatfield | £34.40 | £34.40 | £26.30 | £26.30 | £129.80 | £129.80 |
| Hemel Hempstead | £36.00 | £37.00 | £25.60 | £26.40 | £154.20 | £154.20 |
| Henley on Thames | £50.30 | £50.30 | £30.40 | £31.30 | £151.80 | £151.80 |
| Hertford East | £32.30 | £32.30 | £24.50 | £24.50 | £122.00 | £122.00 |
| Hertford North | £32.30 | £31.90 | £24.50 | £24.40 | £122.00 | £124.20 |
| High Wycombe | £45.00 | £46.30 | £31.70 | £32.60 | £144.70 | £144.70 |
| Horley | £40.00 | £37.10 | £26.80 | £20.60 | £138.90 | £113.40 |
| How Wood | £32.30 | £32.80 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £134.70 | £134.70 |
| Iver | £27.10 | £27.10 | £18.80 | £19.40 | £91.50 | £91.50 |
| Kempton Park | £29.90 | £30.80 | £20.60 | £21.20 | £90.80 | £90.80 |
| Kings Langley | £32.30 | £33.20 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £136.10 | £136.10 |
| Laindon | £31.10 | £32.00 | £26.40 | £27.10 | £134.00 | £134.00 |
| Langley (Berks) | £30.20 | £30.20 | £20.10 | £20.70 | £97.90 | £97.90 |
| Leigh on Sea | £34.60 | £35.60 | £29.40 | £30.20 | £156.40 | £156.40 |
| Leighton Buzzard | £49.60 | £51.00 | £29.10 | £29.90 | £178.70 | £178.70 |
| Luton Airport Parkway | £48.10 | £48.10 | £36.20 | £36.20 | £171.10 | £171.10 |
| Maidenhead | £39.50 | £39.50 | £23.70 | £24.40 | £128.80 | £128.80 |
| Marlow | £45.60 | £45.60 | £29.30 | £30.20 | £143.00 | £143.00 |
| Merstham | £40.00 | £37.00 | £26.80 | £20.60 | £138.90 | £106.20 |
| Ockendon | £32.30 | £27.00 | £24.10 | £23.00 | £117.00 | £116.60 |
| Otford | £38.10 | £39.20 | £21.80 | £22.40 | £137.50 | £137.50 |
| Park Street | £32.30 | £32.80 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £136.20 | £136.20 |
| Pitsea | £32.60 | £33.60 | £27.60 | £28.40 | £144.20 | £144.20 |
| Potters Bar | £31.60 | £31.60 | £19.90 | £19.90 | £102.40 | £102.40 |
| Purfleet | £32.30 | £27.00 | £24.10 | £23.00 | £117.00 | £116.60 |
| Radlett | £32.80 | £32.80 | £21.50 | £21.50 | £109.80 | £109.80 |
| Reading | £71.30 | £71.30 | £34.40 | £35.40 | £177.80 | £177.80 |
| Redhill | £40.00 | £37.10 | £26.80 | £20.60 | £138.90 | £113.40 |
| Rye House | £32.30 | £32.30 | £24.50 | £24.50 | £122.00 | £122.00 |
| Salfords (Surrey) | £40.00 | £37.10 | £26.80 | £20.60 | £138.90 | £113.40 |
| Seer Green & Jordans | £36.10 | £37.10 | £25.20 | £25.90 | £129.40 | £129.40 |
| Sevenoaks | £38.10 | £39.20 | £21.80 | £22.40 | £137.50 | £137.50 |
| Shenfield | £40.00 | £40.00 | £26.80 | £26.80 | £138.90 | £138.90 |
| Shepperton | £33.10 | £34.00 | £22.80 | £23.50 | £106.20 | £106.20 |
| Shiplake | £49.00 | £49.00 | £30.40 | £31.30 | £150.30 | £150.30 |
| Shoeburyness | £36.10 | £37.10 | £30.80 | £31.60 | £165.90 | £165.90 |
| Shoreham Kent | £36.60 | £37.70 | £21.10 | £21.70 | £129.70 | £129.70 |
| Slough | £31.20 | £31.20 | £20.70 | £21.30 | £113.40 | £113.40 |
| Southend Central | £35.50 | £36.50 | £30.00 | £30.90 | £160.90 | £160.90 |
| Southend East | £35.50 | £36.50 | £30.00 | £30.90 | £161.00 | £161.00 |
| St Albans Abbey | £33.30 | £34.20 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £142.50 | £142.50 |
| St Albans City | £38.00 | £38.00 | £29.10 | £29.10 | £144.10 | £144.10 |
| St Margarets (Herts) | £32.30 | £32.30 | £24.50 | £24.50 | £122.00 | £122.00 |
| Staines | £32.30 | £33.20 | £22.40 | £23.00 | £110.00 | £110.00 |
| Stanford le Hope | £32.30 | £32.00 | £26.40 | £27.10 | £134.00 | £134.00 |
| Sunbury | £31.20 | £32.10 | £21.50 | £22.20 | £93.90 | £93.90 |
| Sunnymeads | £35.80 | £36.80 | £24.60 | £25.30 | £122.40 | £122.40 |
| Taplow | £37.70 | £37.70 | £23.00 | £23.70 | £125.00 | £125.00 |
| Thorpe Bay | £36.10 | £37.10 | £30.80 | £31.60 | £165.80 | £165.80 |
| Tilbury Town | £32.30 | £27.00 | £24.10 | £23.00 | £117.00 | £116.60 |
| Tring | £40.20 | £41.30 | £28.20 | £29.10 | £170.30 | £170.30 |
| Twyford | £46.20 | £46.20 | £28.10 | £28.90 | £146.30 | £146.30 |
| Upper Halliford | £31.50 | £32.40 | £21.80 | £22.40 | £96.40 | £96.40 |
| Virginia Water | £36.30 | £37.30 | £25.00 | £25.70 | £124.40 | £124.40 |
| Ware | £32.30 | £32.30 | £24.50 | £24.50 | £122.00 | £122.00 |
| Wargrave | £47.40 | £47.40 | £29.30 | £30.20 | £149.60 | £149.60 |
| Watford Junction | £32.30 | £32.30 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £117.00 | £117.00 |
| Watford North | £32.30 | £32.50 | £24.10 | £24.10 | £118.20 | £118.20 |
| Welham Green | £32.80 | £32.80 | £19.90 | £19.90 | £121.60 | £121.60 |
| Welwyn Garden City | £36.30 | £36.30 | £26.30 | £26.30 | £137.00 | £137.00 |
| West Horndon | £26.30 | £27.00 | £22.40 | £23.00 | £116.60 | £116.60 |
| Westcliff | £35.50 | £36.50 | £30.00 | £30.90 | £160.90 | £160.90 |
| Windsor & Eton Central | £34.50 | £34.50 | £22.30 | £23.00 | £121.40 | £121.40 |
| Windsor & Eton Riverside | £36.70 | £37.80 | £26.00 | £26.80 | £123.70 | £123.70 |
| Wraysbury | £35.10 | £36.20 | £24.20 | £24.90 | £119.50 | £119.50 |