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I haven’t used an Oyster card which generates statements for a while, but I’ve just tried to set my current card up and the stupid website kept chucking me off.
It depends. If the touch in is at a gate then it will be fine. If the touch in is at another validator then it may be treated as an exit. If the whole journey you eventually make is covered by your travelcard then there won’t be an issue. If travelling beyond the zones covered and both starting stations have validators and are within the zones covered by a travelcard then it might be safer to touch in on a bus (and get straight off). This will ensure that the second touch in is treated as a touch in and buses are always free with any travelcard.
Hi Andyboy,
Immediate same station exit doesn’t work at validators, only gates. With validators you need to wait until 2 minutes has passed at which point the cheapest single fare from that station will be charged. However, if the station is within the zones covered by your travelcard then there is no penalty for not touching out, you can just leave the touch in there. Finally, if the reason for not travelling was disruption or no service then the helpdesk will refund the entry charge if one had been made.
Hi Mark,
Benfleet is outside zones 1-6 so it’s not possible to combine that with another destination outside zones 1-6. Your best option is to get an Amersham to zones 1-6 travelcard which is routed “AAA zones 7-9” and use that with a Benfleet to boundary zone 6 return. If you can be certain that both journeys will be via Upminster then you can buy Benfleet to Upminster which can be bought online. The boundary zone ticket cannot be bought online.
They indicate if you’ve gone via a particular route and are eligible for a different fare. They are generally only needed if you don’t need to change from one station to another (eg NR-LU).
I think TfL have misunderstood the situation. There is no difference in charge between taking trains operated by different companies over the same route. The fact that they use different platforms at Clapham Junction is irrelevant.
For this journey (Epsom to Perivale) the avoiding zone 1 route is defined by changing at Shepherds Bush so you don’t need to worry about doing anything other than changing trains at Clapham Junction.
Touching a yellow reader would end your journey and could have serious revenue implications.
Hi,
Yes you can buy tickets from West Drayton, though beware that they also offer fares via London which you obviously don’t want. You will be able to book a seat from Paddington, but you’ll probably need to do that at a station once you have the tickets.
1) If they know about it, probably, but would they know?
2) I would have thought so, but I don’t know for certain.Two potential issues come to mind:
1) If there are staff around at Stratford it might look fishy switching platforms immediately.
2) If you are delayed you’ll get two max fares which might be difficult to justify.I’ve also heard that Kennington will be dual zoned, but as I said the problem is the Kennington to Elephant stretch. It’s the first time a journey will be possible along a boundary where the fares are different in each zone.
Whitechapel to Bethnal Green Overground is crying out to be an OSI. Initially I suggest writing to (emailing) the Oyster helpdek. If enough people do they may consider it. I have some other plans but these have been largely put on hold by the pandemic.
Hi Chris,
I’m not aware of any potential OSIs with Nine Elms. Battersea and Battersea Park is likely.
As for zone 1, it’s a nightmare. The developers who are part funding the extension demanded that it be in zone 1, but I’m fully expecting a new dual zoned sausage like the Stratford arrangement. Kennington to Elephant & Castle has to remain in zone 2. The problem of course is that 2 or 3 is the same fare in the Stratford area, whilst 1 or 2 is most definitely not.
Arrival at Wimbledom 62 minutes after touching in for a tram will trigger an incomplete rail journey. As no end to end tram journey takes more than an hour, I believe that this is effectively a maximum journey time for trams. I’m not aware that it’s publicised anywhere, but if you’re still on a tram after that much time then it would be difficult to claim that you were acting legally unless there had been serious disruption.
As for buses, I didn’t think there was a maximum journey time. When the RPI boards the bus they log in to the bus reader and download the cards that have touched in during that journey. Only those cards will pass the inspection. This may explain why the driver didn’t say anything. It does appear that there may be a maximum to cover the eventuality that the bus doesn’t properly clear it’s database at the end of the journey. I’ll have to make some enquiries about this. Certainly 2.5 hours would seem to be enough for an end to end journey in all but the most extreme cases.
I’m not the voice of TfL, but you won’t have a problem at Reading. Your Veterans Oyster Card is your ticket and if you show it to gateline staff they will let you out/in.
Hi Simonas,
It is all touch ins within an hour of the first (charging) touch in. Once touched in you can travel as far as you like because there is no touch out required on buses or trams. The special touch out at Wimbledon doesn’t do anything except open the gates.
Hi Laurence,
Yes, that is correct. My understanding is that the veterans scheme is treated like the disabled freedom pass which is still valid at any time on TfL services. Between West Drayton and Reading you will have to use the TfL Rail services, so no hopping on a fast Great Western express.
Hi Barry,
This is not an area I generally get involved with. If it is causing a problem then maybe RSTL need to liaise with TfL to arrive at a solution. Failing that, maybe a union would take up barriers to obtaining a legitimate benefit.
I’ll try and answer as best I can. Information on the various types of travelcard is one thing I must add at some point, and odd-period versions is high on the list.
In terms of the cost you can make a rough calculation as follows: Divide the monthly price by 30 to get the daily add-on and then multiply that by the number of odd days beyond whole months. Add on the monthly rate for each whole month and that is roughly the price of the ticket. The whole months run from the date it starts to the day before the monthly anniversary (eg 15th-14th). This does mean that the price for a 44 day season will vary depending on how many days are in the month that it starts in. A zone 2-4 monthly travelcard is £117.90 and the rough daily add-on is £3.93. If you start on July 15th then the month takes you to August 14th (31 days) and you need 13 extra days so that is £51.09. Add on the monthly and you get £168.99. The official calculation is a little more complex using multiples of 5 extra days plus odd days above that, and the result is rounded to a multiple of 10p, but £169.00 is likely to be close.
The situation regarding where to purchase is sadly becoming quite restricted. The ticket system required to add travelcards to an Oyster card is gradually being phased out at National Rail stations. I’m trying to get a grasp of the current situation at the moment. Ticket machines will only sell fixed period tickets, so there are only two reliable sources left: Heathrow, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Piccadilly Circus and Victoria Visitor Centres; and online.
Online has been known to be problematic for overseas residents in the past, but I’ve just checked again and the address entry does now allow you to select a country. If you can set up an online account and add your Oyster card to it then you can order odd-period travelcards which will be downloaded to your card when you use it within 3 days of ordering.
Yes, use it in early-mid August and if still not there try in early-mid February.
The home page of the site is under review and may change as time goes on; thanks for the feedback.
Hi zero,
Don’t panic. Take a look at https://oysterfares.com/refunds-of-5-oyster-card-fee/ which is under Latest News. You’ve got six months to collect the refund automatically. Note though that a single bus journey will not actually work, you’ll need to make a second one a while later to actually pick up the refund. Half an hour should be enough.
The helpdesk may be able to tell you when the other card was purchased, depending on whether it was registered by your friend or not.
Hope this helps.
You can only begin to think about adding PAYG credit to either a 60+ Oyster or Freedom Pass when the times of operation are co-ordinated. Even with the am-peak restrictions because of the pandemic it is still 0900 for TfL services and 0930 for most NR services.
