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Hi Alan,
No, off-peak day travelcards are not valid on anything before 0930.
The confusion may be because buses count towards the off-peak cap at any time, though I don’t think they should.
Hi Noor,
The exact route depends on which Bow station you start from, but in each case the alternative route will avoid zone 1 and bring the peak single fare down to £5.10.
Rather than avoiding Canada Water or Whitechapel you need to change there and touch the pink validator before picking up the train to Clapham Junction. You then change there for an SWR service to Surbiton.
Hi Michael,
1) An RPI is entitled to ask for the railcard expiring on the date recorded against the discount. If that is the railcard then it would be advisable to have it to be sure of no problems.
2) Some staff will expect the gold record card to set the discount, but they can easily see the travelcard and it’s expiry date on the Oyster card. If you want a guaranteed hassle free experience then have the record card with you.If you don’t want to have to carry the railcard with you, you can ask them to update the expiry date to be the annual travelcard.
Hi Chris,
TfL have confirmed that there was a problem earlier in the week. They didn’t divulge how big it was. Everything is expected to be rectified overnight tonight, if it hasn’t already been so.
Thanks Chris (and Phil),
It would appear that your return to contactless has co-incided with an almighty glitch at the TfL end. I’ve asked some questions. I would say that this is unlikely to be repeated and is not necessarily an indication that earlier problems are still around. I fully understand your nervousness though.
Hi Michael,
Sorry for the delay replying. I don’t know for certain, but I’d expect in this case that the additional premium would apply. If you make the journey, perhas you could let us know.
Hi Matthew,
When you switch from one cap (zones 1-2) to a further out one (Gatwick) then the journey that takes you there will be charged in full, until you reach the new cap.
It is just possible that in the second case (Underground and Thameslink journey) the back office calculation might recognise that the Underground part ought to be treated as part of the cap. If this happens then contactless will charge the rail only fare straight away, while Oyster will queue an adjustment to be credited back the next time you use the card, but only if it’s a normal adult card. The reason I can’t say for certain is that the extension fares charged by GTR have been fiddled to avoid an unintended consequence of the really cheap fare between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport. If you have the time then it’s always worth stepping back a train at East Croydon so you can touch out and back in again and split the journey into two journeys.
Hi Chris,
This is not good. Have you asked TfL what is happening? Perhaps send them a screenshot of your pending transactions. You could also ask your bank whether there is anything they are aware of, just in case it’s at their end. I’ve never seen anything like this occur on my card. Can you disclose who you bank with and whether it’s a debit or credit card?
The 10p authorisation is a separate issue. As you say, it’s made when the card hasn’t been used recently for TfL travel. Usually it is replaced by the correct figure for the whole day. I am aware of an annoying glitch with Curve where the 10p gets treated as a transaction and the full amount is reduced by 10p at the end of the day.
As you say, if it’s happening with people travelling from Reading then it could be a serious drain on funds until it drops off.
The extension facility is available to most NR stations in the South East. Not all stations will sell to all destinations, but if there are direct services then you’ve a much better chance. I’d expect Gatwick to be available widely.
In reverse you need to buy a ticket to boundary of zone X. These are available at ticket offices, many ticket machines and some online retailers.
Popped into Bond Street just now. Yes it’s possible.
Select travelcard extensions on home screen.
Touch Oyster card.
Enter station name (just an M will offer Maidenhead).
Add Railcard selection.
Select single or return and pay.Hi Colin,
Outside the zones PAYG fares are not generally cheaper than paper tickets. They are also much more expensive if you have a Railcard because you can’t add a discount to a contactless card.
You also can’t use contactless in conjunction with a travelcard, so please don’t try what you suggest. You must use the same card or device at both ends of a PAYG journey.
Hi Michael,
Yes, I believe that is possible. I’ve not done it myself, but I’ve seen mention of National Rail tickets available and the ability to buy extension tickets for an Oyster card with a travelcard loaded on it.
I’d be interested to know how it works if you do use that. I’d go for Bond Street personally as that has direct trains to Maidenhead.
Hi Alan,
This is news to me.
I’ve just tried to place a top up order on my Oyster card and nowhere did it mention any fees to be charged or deducted. I don’t want to actually do a top up because I rarely use the Oyster card these days.
I also tried using the Oyster app and that seemed to confirm that the new PAYG balance would be increased by the amount of the top up.
Can you explain in a bit more detail what you are seeing and when. Also, where are you picking up the order?
Hi James,
Thanks for the update. I’m beginning to wonder what they’re trying to hide with these extension fares. I’m planning on making a trip to Marlow in the evening peak soon, so I might be able to see things from the other way round. I’ll update when I can.
Hi James,
For off-peak capping all journeys after 0930 count. If you did split at say Slough in one direction then that would be counted as two journeys, Marlow to Slough and Slough to the appropriate zone boundary. This could then put you nearer the cap for Marlow which will apply as the absolute maximum.
I’ll be interested to see what they say about the peak journey. It won’t matter whether the train called at Hayes or not, within the zones the calculations are all based on zones used.
Hi,
Sorry for the delay, I’ve been trying to work out how these have been calculated. The second one is relatively easy. You’ve been charged £5.50 each way for Marlow to West Drayton or Hayes & Harlington and a zone 1-5 daily cap of £13.90.
The first one is a complete mystery. I can only assume that the peak extension fare from Marlow to zone 6 does not equal the single fare to West Drayton. This does sometimes happen and TfL are remarkably cagey about what the extension fares actually are. This may be at the insistance of the TOCs and/or the DfT, but it’s a poor show in my opinion.
If we take the cap as £13.90 again and the return extension as £5.50, that would make the peak extension £12.85 which seems too high. Remember that the bus will be included in the cap. As the person who actually made the journeys it would be interesting to see what response you might get to an enquiry as to how the charges were calculated.
As to your final question, yes I think it would be sensible to allow earlier touch in at stations on the Marlow branch. I suggest contacting GWR and asking them to request it with TfL.
Hi Ollie,
That’s got me stumped too. Is it possible for you to paste the actual journey history into a reply? If you’d prefer you can send it via email to mike at the site domain name. If you can include the previous travel day as well that would help.
Just checking you hadn’t missed the Elmers End option which is £12.15. Going to Gatwick it’s cross platform at the front at Lewisham but you will have to cross the bridge at Elmers End.
Yes, sadly the two projects are being driven by different areas with different aims. The contactless extensions are a DfT desired project aimed at making paying for rail travel easier and cutting back on paper tickets. The withdrawl from the day travelcard scheme is being driven by the Mayor as part of his requirement to make savings such that TfL becomes self funding. It does ultimately come down to the DfT, but there is no joined up thinking with this government, so we have to make do with what we get.
Hi,
Where you say Canada Water, do you mean Surrey Quays?
1) Yes and no. Canada Water definitely works the same as Surrey Quays. I think Whitechapel may also do.
2) Yes there are pink readers at Whitechapel. You’ll pass them when changing between Elizabeth Line and Overground.
3) You’ll be charged for 3 separate journeys. Slade Green to Elmers End, a tram and East Croydon to Gatwick Airport.
At some stations there are validators with signs simply stating that Oyster users should touch here. One such place is Stratford walking away from DLR platform 4. The reason those validators are there is usually to allow NR ticket holders to start or end a PAYG journey. They have to react sensibly if someone touches one when they don’t need to.
I doubt readers at a station can be configured differently. The cover over the normal reader is probably to stop you heading towards the closed building. I’ve alerted my contact at TfL so hopefully something will be done.
Hi Felix,
That’s an easy one. The validators at Kentish Town are set to continuation exit because ordinarily they are inside a gated station. Of course they aren’t at the moment because of the rebuilding work. Because Kentish Town West also has validators they can’t tell which way you’re going so with an open continuation exit the system assumed exit.
Do let me know whether TfL respond appropriately with a refund.
Small point: you had an incomplete journey charge rather than a penalty fare.
