View Single Post
  #7   Report Post  
Old August 24th 11, 01:32 PM posted to uk.transport.london
Mizter T Mizter T is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity at LondonBanter: May 2005
Posts: 6,077
Default Travelled from Harrow and Wealdstone to Hackney via Willesden Jn on oyster and was charged a zone 1-6 fare


"tim...." wrote:

"Mizter T" wrote:

The 'default' fare for Harrow & Wealdstone to Hackney Central is via
zone 1 - this can be seen by checking the TfL single fare finder he
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tickets/fa...inder/current/


Frankly that makes no sense.

Why would anyone make a journey involving two changes if they could make
one? It's not as if they are avoiding the (relatively) low frequency NLL
by doing so, they've always got to make some of the journey on this line.
Nor are the connections nice, the "wrong" way connection at Oxford Circus
is a longish walk as is the route from the Vic to the ground level
platforms at H&I (or am I confusing this with FP?)

And it can't be "quicker" this way. If it was, the default route from
Willesden to Hackney would be via Z1, but it isn't.


Yes, I get where you're coming from.

Maybe instead of working on the basis of Bakerloo-Victoria-NLL, the
default fare is instead based on taking a fast train from H&W to Euston,
then Vic line to H&I, then NLL to Hackney? (Though yes, that would
inevitably entail passing through ticket gates in zone 1 twice at Euston NR
& LU.)

Indeed, whilst the NR journey planner suggests travelling via a change at
Willesden Jn and then the NLL for nearly all journeys, the TfL Journey
Planner alternately suggests that route and the fast train to Euston route -
and the latter is shown as being faster at around 45 mins compared to 55
mins for the former.

Thinking aloud, I dare say that 'default fares' are generated by some sort
of routing algorithm, and it takes a bit of human intervention to alter them
(which hasn't happened here)? Given the need to pass through gates in zone 1
if travelling via Euston (which would inevitably mean a via-z1 fare being
charged), I think it'd be fair enough to change the default fare so as to
assume the non-z1 route, i.e. changing at Willesden Jn.

Maybe if the OP raises a ticket with Oyster CS this might possibly get fed
back?