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I understand that TfL only fares aren’t changing where it’s the traditional mode that doesn’t include the Elizabeth line east of Stratford or West Anglia services on London Overground, but I take it NR only and mixed mode are still going up?
Hi Martin,
I would imagine so, yes. I was somewhat surprised to see this news, then I remembered what was happening in May.
I travel regularly from Sevenoaks, Kent to Bletchley, Bucks through central London. I travelled off-peak Wednesday November 29th and paid £25.85 with a Senior Railcard. With little more than a few posters around the station, when I did the same journey again in early January the published fare has increased to £37.55 that is a massive 45% increase almost literally overnight and without any consultation.
The increase is the “Project Oval” scheme smuggled out just before Christmas by the DfT which applies the TfL Contactless charging scheme to 53 stations previously outside the PAYG zone but without any capping or concessions. When contacted both SER and WMT stated that the rules were agreed by TfL and DfT and they were required to implement them.
Subsequently I got a suggestion from a TOC to use an off peak daily Travelcard and a return from the boundary of Zone 6 to Bletchley. This does indeed magically bring the fare very close to the previous off peak fare. However, any luckless traveller who lacks any interest in the details of rail fares will buy a ticket from a TVM or website at the massively inflated new price. It is a rip-off of the innocents!
The penultimate insult is that if I catch the same trains but travel from Tonbridge to Bletchley and back (an extra 14 miles) then I can save myself £7.20 as the Tonbridge-Bletchley fare is only £30.35.
The final insult is that contactless is supposed to make things easier. They clearly haven’t.
We need TfL capping and concessions NOW.
Hi Roger,
I’m guessing that one journey was made during the afternoon peak, requiring the anytime single fare for that direction coupled with the off-peak single fare in the other.
The changes were introduced on December 3rd, so you just missed the change at the end of November. This is very much being driven by the Department for Transport. I’m not sure that they fully understood the implications for people travelling in the afternoon peak. They were supposed to happen at the same time as the contactless rollout, but that got delayed until the Spring.
When contactless does get rolled out I would expect the fares to be capped at the cheaper of (a) Sevenoaks to zones 1-6 travelcard and 2x extension fares to Bletchley, or (b) Bletchley to zones 1-6 travelcard and 2x extension fares to Sevenoaks. Unfortunately the DfT are being ultra secretive about exactly how the extension fares will be set, and TfL are complying with the instruction not to discuss this publicly. It is very frustrating.
Even worse for people like you is that concessions are not due to be implimented until phase 2 of project Oval, and that may be quite a while away given that phase 1 is now very late.
Can I share another absurd feature of the Project Oval scheme as it is currently operating.
I travelled with the family from Sevenoaks to Windsor & Eton Riverside (WNR) travelling out around lunchtime and back on the 18.53 from WNR and then on the 20.11 from Waterloo East to Sevenoaks. Both of these trains are “off peak”, WNR-WAT (inbound to Zone 1 in PM peak) and 20.11 (WAE to SEV) after PM peak. However, booked as a through ticket on a TVM or TOC website it is currently charged as a peak journey – presumably because one leg starts before 19.00 despite it being an offpeak journey.
It seems to me absurd that two offpeak journeys are charged as a peak fare on a through ticket.
When PAYG arrives, will TfL’s back office system recognise that it is impossible to catch a peak train from Zone 1 if a passenger catches the 1853 at Windsor?
Is anything known about delivery of Phase 1 which I take to be PAYG, Phase 2 is presumably provision of concessions.
Hi Roger,
It seems to me absurd that two offpeak journeys are charged as a peak fare on a through ticket.
That is generally how PAYG works. The problem is getting significantly bigger now the area is expanding.
When PAYG arrives, will TfL’s back office system recognise that it is impossible to catch a peak train from Zone 1 if a passenger catches the 1853 at Windsor?
It depends how the peak charging is set up from Windsor. Currently if you travel east from the GWR mainline west of West Drayton (including Windsor & Eton Central) you are charged off-peak all evening no matter how far you go. The detail of how charges will be set up for the Project Oval expansion is not yet being made clear. This is sadly typical of this governments approach to transparency.
Is anything known about delivery of Phase 1 which I take to be PAYG, Phase 2 is presumably provision of concessions.
Phase 1 was due to go live last December but was pulled at the last minute. It’s now supposed to be this Spring, but no date is yet known. Phase 2 will include more extensions, as well as provision for concessions. As with everything, detail is conspicuous by its absence.
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