Nick wrote:
"Dave Arquati" wrote in message
...

...

I fail to see how an uncomplicated system which people can actually
understand is a problem. Zones are essentially distance-based, but take
into account a need to be flexible with travel plans, the fact that
central London is much busier than outer London, and keep people happy
when they can easily understand what fare they will pay.

...


Plus, this idea that fares need to be "simple" is far too overplayed IMO.
So what if some cheaper fares are a little more complicated to undestand the
restrictions of?

For people who travel to London occasionally or tourists, I can see the need
for a fairly simple ticketing scheme, be it zonal or whatever, and our
existing Travelcard fits the bill nicely.

But for the vast majority of us, hardened London commuters who know our
routes very well indeed, we can surely be exposed to a little choice in our
ticketing range so we can opt to spend less and restrict our ticket
availability to match our modes of transport?

I understand that if you're a regular commuter then you want a little
choice in your ticketing range. However, I highly doubt that TfL are
going to abandon rail-only seasons - if they do, then you have my
support to protest extensively as the cheaper price of rail-only seasons
encourages people not to change to the Underground if it's not
necessary, avoiding extra overcrowding. I'm sure TfL are intelligent
enough to recognise that too.

We are talking about single/return fares. Now, any single fare that
involves through Tube-train travel will almost certainly be cheaper
under the TfL zonal mechanism than the current fare, as that extra £2 or
more for the Tube journey will be absorbed. The same probably applies
for CDR+Tube as it's an extra £4 that's being added for the Tube.

For rail-only journeys outside Zone 1, TfL fares will also probably be
cheaper - they're a maximum of £1.80 under Oyster for longer journeys or
£1.30 for shorter ones.

All that's left are day return journeys to London terminals, which would
unfortunately be more expensive under this system. Single would be £2.50
from a Zone 4 station, return would be £4.70 (capped to the price of a
Travelcard).

If we take Crystal Palace as an example, a single to Victoria would be
£3.10 now, or a return would be £3.60. On the plus side, you get free
bus and tube travel "thrown in". I guess it all depends what proportion
of day-returners arriving at London terminals don't use any other
transport during the day.


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7
www.alwaystouchout.com - transport projects in London