[x-posted to uk.transport.london]
[original thread on uk.railway]

On Feb 6, 10:55*pm, Barry Salter wrote:

On 06/02/2010 11:38, Mizter T wrote:
Confusingly, I understand that there can be different prices for
boundary zone tickets for season Travelcard holders and for Day
Travelcard holders.

The disparity between extension prices for One Day/Weekend/Family
Travelcard and Travelcard Season holders was removed several years ago.

Under the "old" system, Day Travelcard holders could only obtain an
extension as a Cheap Day Return, which was generally the difference in
price between the price of the "in-boundary" Day Travelcard for the
zones they'd chosen and the cost of an "out-boundary" Day Travelcard
from their destination.

Travelcard Season holders, meanwhile, could obtain the full range of
tickets for the journey in question, generally for less than the Day
Travelcard holder's CDR.

These two different levels of pseudo-excess fares often meant there was
no consistency between what passengers were being charged, even within
the same Ticket Office, so eliminating the disparity mostly solved the
problem in one go.


Thanks v much for that info Barry - sounds like an eminently sensible
change was made. Some accounts I've heard from yesteryear almost
seemed to suggest that prices for some boundary zone extensions were
picked at random! I don't make any repeat journeys regularly enough
using the requisite combinations of tickets that would have thrown
this change into the spotlight, and even if I did I probably wouldn't
have been paying enough attention to notice! (Indeed I only ever knew
that differential pricing existed for boundary zone tickets after
reading about it on uk.r or utl.)

I'm wondering whether, as a result of this change, there are now some
'bargains' to be had for Day Travelcard holders on certain routes
(i.e. buya Day Travelcard plus extension cheaper than a normal point-
to-point ticket) - I'm guessing the original intent of the policy was
to address some obscure anomalies that might otherwise arise?

"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

I'm wondering whether, as a result of this change, there are now some
'bargains' to be had for Day Travelcard holders on certain routes
(i.e. buya Day Travelcard plus extension cheaper than a normal point-
to-point ticket) - I'm guessing the original intent of the policy was
to address some obscure anomalies that might otherwise arise?

Looks like there are still some anomalies when going from one side of
London to the other.

CDR West Drayton - Brentwood 14.60

Zone 1-6 Off Peak Travelcard 7.50
CDR Boundary Zone 6 - Brentwood 3.50 (Total 11.00)

Out-boundary travelcard from Brentwood - 12.50

Peter Smyth

On 7 Feb, 16:41, "Peter Smyth" wrote:

Looks like there are still some anomalies when going from one side of
London to the other.

CDR West Drayton - Brentwood 14.60

Zone 1-6 Off Peak Travelcard 7.50
CDR Boundary Zone 6 - Brentwood 3.50 (Total 11.00)

Out-boundary travelcard from Brentwood - 12.50

Peter Smyth

It isn't only Travelcard add ons that are anomalous. Try this:
Hertford East to Southampton Airport, is shown as £43.80 off peak
standard class return on both thetrainline.com and nationalrail.co.uk,
but ask the booking clerk at Hertford East for the cheapest return
fare and it comes out at only £38.00, purchasable on day of travel
too!

In other words, rather than buying this ticket online from
thetrainline.com you can save yourself £5.80 (about 13.25%) by getting
it at the station - and since you've got to go there anyway to get the
train it's not taking you out of your way.

There's a nasty smell of ripoff here methinks.

In article
,
(Mitdish) wrote:

On 7 Feb, 16:41, "Peter Smyth" wrote:

Looks like there are still some anomalies when going from one side of
London to the other.

CDR West Drayton - Brentwood 14.60

Zone 1-6 Off Peak Travelcard 7.50
CDR Boundary Zone 6 - Brentwood 3.50 (Total 11.00)

Out-boundary travelcard from Brentwood - 12.50

It isn't only Travelcard add ons that are anomalous. Try this:
Hertford East to Southampton Airport, is shown as £43.80 off peak
standard class return on both thetrainline.com and nationalrail.co.uk,
but ask the booking clerk at Hertford East for the cheapest return
fare and it comes out at only £38.00, purchasable on day of travel
too!

In other words, rather than buying this ticket online from
thetrainline.com you can save yourself £5.80 (about 13.25%) by getting
it at the station - and since you've got to go there anyway to get the
train it's not taking you out of your way.

There's a nasty smell of ripoff here methinks.

OTOH, just go to National Express East Anglia's web site and you are
offered a £38 fare for an "Off-Peak Return Any off-peak train. Return
within 1 month". They are the relevant TOC and therefore the site I would
start with.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On Feb 8, 6:07*am, Mitdish wrote:

On 7 Feb, 16:41, "Peter Smyth" wrote:

Looks like there are still some anomalies when going from one side of
London to the other.

CDR West Drayton - Brentwood 14.60

Zone 1-6 Off Peak Travelcard 7.50
CDR Boundary Zone 6 - Brentwood 3.50 (Total 11.00)

Out-boundary travelcard from Brentwood - 12.50

It isn't only Travelcard add ons that are anomalous. Try this:
Hertford East to Southampton Airport, is shown as £43.80 off peak
standard class return on both thetrainline.com and nationalrail.co.uk,
but ask the booking clerk at Hertford East for the cheapest return
fare and it comes out at only £38.00, purchasable on day of travel
too!

In other words, rather than buying this ticket online from
thetrainline.com you can save yourself £5.80 (about 13.25%) by getting
it at the station - and since you've got to go there anyway to get the
train it's not taking you out of your way.

There's a nasty smell of ripoff here methinks.

Sorry, but no there isn't - thetrainline.com and nationalrail.co.uk,
and indeed the East Coast site, all offer a £38 Off Peak Return and a
£35.50 Off Peak Day Return.