"Neil Spellings" wrote in message
k
According to the 2005 prices on the TFL website, for the "average"
Zone 4 commuter it is now cheaper buying Oyter pre-pay every day on
the tube than it is buying a monthly or annual travelcard.

Let me explain....

The average person would travel to work 236 days a year. That figure
comes from 265 "working days", minus 8 bank holidays, and 21 days
average annual leave.

The daily cost from a Zone 4 station for a variety of ticket types is
as follows :

Oyster-pre pay singles : 5UKP (2 x 2.50)
Monthly travelcard : 5.94UKP (116.80 * 12 / 236)
Annual travelcard : 5.16UKP (1216 / 236)

This doesnt include any days taken off sick (most people have a few
per annum) or any travel taken at weekends (which a travelcard would
cover), but overall, travelcards for Zone 4 tube travel are no longer
the cheapest option!

I wonder if TFL have spotted this anomaly?!

I think it's now also the case that Oyster pre-pay is cheaper for a
return trip from Zone 4 to 1 than a one-day off-peak travelcard (which
has gone up 10.6% in 2005). And that's even if you return before 7pm.
So, for a simple return trip, with no extra bus journeys, etc, Oyster
pre-pay seems to be generally the best value for most Underground
journeys.

This can't be an accident -- it does look like it's a deliberate policy
to promote Oyster cards.