"Phil Richards" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 19:21:52 GMT Neil Williams
said...

(snips)
As for gbp2 single on the Tube zone 1, it's a complete rip-off,
blatently targeted at visitors and tourists.

I wouldn't say the increase targeted at visitors & tourists as many would
tend to opt for Travelcards, the ODTC for Zones 1 & 2 for example is
going up only by 10p for example.

The biggest hike has got to be for those that regularly Travel in Z1 only
especially the Weekly Travelcard & Carnets. I think the biggest outcry
will come from those that live & work or whatever in Z1.

Looking at the prices, a pre-pay Z1 single is £1.60 - but the Carnet is
£1.50 and the normal weekday single is £2.00! So does that mean it's cheaper
to buy a paper-based Carnet than use Oyster, or will you be able to load a
£1.50 Carnet onto an Oystercard?

I also thought that the system would just charge you for a Travelcard if the
cost of your journeys that day exceeded £4.20 (new Z12 price) - so if I make
two tube journeys and two bus journeys all in Z1, I get charged for a
Travelcard and not two Carnet tickets and two Saver tickets. But some people
seem to be saying this will not be the case because the system will not
handle Travelcards?

My personal reaction to the new fares as an occasional traveller on both bus
and tube mainly in Z1 is that I will probably use the buses a lot more and
the tube less in 2004 as compared to last year. (Although it might pay to
buy a few Carnets before January!) I'm also hoping the prepay Oystercard
will work well for me.

I'm quite interested by the weekend pre-pay prices (flat fare of £1.80 for
any journey passing through Z1). Previously, when making any journey to the
outer zones it would be cheaper to get a travelcard than two single
tickets - but now that's not the case.


--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7