How do bus journeys interact with the zone caps?

Hi, so I live close to Albany Park station (Zone 5 NR) and commute to South Kensington (Zone 1). I have a railcard with my Oyster, and I start my journey after 9:30 (so off-peak) and come back during the afternoon peak hours, meaning I end up hitting the £10.15 off-peak zone 1-5 cap every day I commute.
Now, I noticed that there’s a reasonably close bus stop for the 132, and I could potentially take the 132 all the way to North Greenwich station (Zone 2/3) and then take the Tube to South Kensington, and then do the same thing in reverse when coming back from work. This would save me money if I use my Oyster for the bus and train rides, but I’m not sure how much:

– If both the Albany Park-North Greenwich and North Greenwich-Albany Park bus rides fall under the Zone 1-2 off-peak cap, then I pay £5.90 (Z1-2 cap) every day.
– If the North Greenwich-Albany Park bus ride, but not the Albany Park-North Greenwich bus ride, fall under the Zone 1-2 off-peak cap, then I pay £5.90+£1.75=£7.65 every day.
– If neither bus ride counts, then I don’t hit the cap and pay £3.50+£1.90+2*£1.75=£8.90 every day.

Basically, I’m not too sure how bus fares interact with zone caps, and I’d like some clarification on how it all works.

• This topic was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by A Fellow Human.
• This topic was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by Mike (admin). Reason: change zone 1-6 to zone 1-5