Michael Tsang

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Viewing 25 posts - 51 through 75 (of 82 total)
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  • in reply to: Extension fare not the same as extra zonal fare #5345
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    I made a through journey from Central London to Heathrow Airport (National Rail). The fare charged was £3.00 during evening peak with my Travelcard.

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Michael Tsang.
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Does this cap also apply if your Oyster card has an Annual Gold Card discount loaded into it?

    in reply to: Overground (ELL) to Liverpool Street #5327
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    The default route is assumed to be Southern to London Bridge, Thameslink to Farringdon and Tube to Moorgate (this stretch of tube line is dual-scaled).

    in reply to: Extension fare not the same as extra zonal fare #5324
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    I have tried Gatwick Airport to Willesden Green and the fare charged was expected – the same as Gatwick – Balham (Zone 3) which was £4.80 off-peak with National Railcard discount and Zones 1-2 Travelcard loaded.

    I’ll fly from Heathrow next time and will report my finding if I use my Oyster card for a through journey.

    in reply to: Extension fare not the same as extra zonal fare #5185
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Do you know if the Elizabeth line Heathrow premium applies with a Zones 1-2 Travelcard making a through journey?

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    The GWR from Paddington only runs every half an hour with an additional change, which means it is unlikely the extra change will be worthwhile compared to a through journey running every 15 minutes on the through Elizabeth line train when the expected waiting time is taken into account.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Thanks. I will take some photos and publish them to my blog if I can do that. A Google Image Search has produced picture procedures for c2c (from the official c2c website) and South Western Railway machines (from a hiking group website).

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Just to update you that the touch has registered in the app. It seems that the communication was delayed.

    in reply to: Kentish Town OSI error #5092
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Sorry but this is insane. The instruction for such pads should say, like the notice shown at Highbury & Islington Northern City Line / Victoria Line interchange (not the exact wording):

    National Rail ticket holders only

    If you are travelling with Oyster / Contactless pay as you go and using another ticket for the remainder of the journey, touch here to start or end your pay as you go journey in order for the correct fare to be charged.

    Furthermore, all the promotional materials for PAYG users specify that only touch the yellow reader at the start and the end, and all pink readers en-route, so it should be clear enough that yellow readers should not be touched during the journey.

    The existence of continuation exits, which puts the card in a state of both inside and outside the system, solves nothing that can’t be solved by prominent signage, but creates so many problems that even RPIs are confused.

    in reply to: Kentish Town OSI error #5090
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    This is a serious issue. Why does a continuation exit allows continuation of the journey? Isn’t the point of a continuation exit solely to help customers who don’t know if the station is gated or not?

    Can you give me some legitimate examples where a continuation exit reader is used other than to exit the station where the reader is located?

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    What is the reason the same reader is used for in and out, unlike some other countries where different readers are used? This causes massive confusion when taps are missed / not registered, and creates a conflict point in passenger flow when exiting and entering passengers trying to touch the same readers.

    This is not a technical problem as gates are already directional.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    So if the place I return is somewhere deep in zone 6 rural Surrey without any TfL bus service, is there no way to start a PAYG journey before the outward journey timed out and I had to buy another paper ticket to return?

    in reply to: Touching out in zone 6 #5001
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    There are some near the stairs on c2c platforms but they are normally out of use. Westbound the best bet is to use the platform level gateline.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    AFter taking the train timetable into consideration I will make the journey using only TfL services changing at Whitechapel, avoiding the problem.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    I have contacted GTR customer service. The response was that I would need zone 3 for my Travelcard. I then asked again about the route I intend to take and the response was that the ticket “isn’t expected to be valid” through Waterloo and Clapham Junction, which means a “loophole” has been brought to attention.

    I am not responding further and depends on price difference, I’ll try to avoid this route or buy a ticket from West Hampstead Stations to avoid the problem.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Hi Mike,

    Is the extension fare always calculated as “the fares for the zones not covered by the Travelcard, on the same scale applicable to the whole through journey” within zone 1-9? Is it the same outside zone 1-9 as well?

    For example, my card has National Railcard discount and a 1-2 Travelcard loaded, if I make a journey from Victoria to Gatwick Airport on a Southern service, will I be charged £4.80, which is the fare from Wandsworth Common to Gatwick Airport? If my through journey is Oxford Circus to Gatwick Airport, will the extension fare become £6.10 instead (the same as a Tooting Bec to Gatwick Airport, which is a zone 3-14 mixed mode fare)?

    If I make a through journey across zone 1-2, but with both ends outside zone 1-2, will two extension fares (or the through fare if less), or just one be charged? For example, if my journey is Cricklewood to Streatham (zones 3-2-1-2-3), will I be charged £2.15 for the through journey, or just £1.65 as a single extension fare?

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Although I always keep some positive PAYG balance on my Oyster card for extrazonal travel, it is always less than a Gatwick Express fare. What will happen if I present such card at the Gatwick Express barrier?

    For southbound direction, I always take the first train out of Victoria so there is a high chance that I can avoid the problem, by taking a Southern service before it, but if the first departing train is a Gatwick Express service to Brighton, how should I get through the barrier?

    However, what will happen if I take a northbound Gatwick Express train all the way to Victoria, with my Brighton to St Pancras ticket and my Oyster card with Travelcard and a small amount of PAYG loaded? What should I put in the barrier in such circumstances?

    Or should I put a large amount of PAYG balance on the card to get through the barrier, and reclaim the cost from TfL afterwards? I plan to do this frequently, multiple times per month throughout the summer.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Getting back onto the same train won’t be possible if I have to touch out and in.

    Is there really no way to obtain the much cheaper TfL fare in the southbound direction, or in the northbound direction if the first northbound arriving train is a Southern train, without waiting for the next train?

    Also, does it take much longer if I travel through Whitechapel instead of London Bridge coming from Farringdon, or change at Canada Water going back to West Hampstead? By touching the pink reader at these stations the fare will become on the TfL scale.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    On a Sunday with National Railcard Oyster Card:
    10:28 Willesden Green – 10:54 Victoria (Underground)
    11:22 East Croydon (Tram)
    12:44 Lloyd Park
    19:56 Bus 302

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    No such possibility. There was a trip to Brighton in between!

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    As Thameslink was problematic I ended up making the following journeys:

    Willesden Green to Victoria (Underground): £1.80
    Tram: £1.75
    Tram: £1.75
    Bus: £0.00

    Total capped at £5.30

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    I’ll probably use a paper ticket between Stratford and Shenfield (which is £8.75 return) with Oyster west of Stratford (£1.80 peak + £1.05 off-peak), which bring down the total to £11.60 and allow me to use a non-stop train between Stratford and Shenfield.

    Further splitting is available on stopping trains.

    in reply to: Longest distance on £1.60 fare #4620
    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    Maybe we can reword the question to be a journey on £1.60 fare, where the minimum required distance to use the fare is the longest among all possible journeys.

    So Stratford – Whitechapel won’t qualify as the distance is calculated direct on the Elizabeth line.

    Anything longer then Clapham Junction to Stratford in this case?

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    It was after the EL opening as I travelled from Canary Wharf to London Fields in less than 20 minutes.

    Michael Tsang
    Participant

    I have emailed them before and got a stock reply.

    I’ll think about how I can effectively FOI them about this issue.

Viewing 25 posts - 51 through 75 (of 82 total)