A Transport for London spokesman said: "Our zonal boundaries are set
up to provide a simple and fair framework for setting distance based
ticket prices.

Zones are unfair because most people only use unlimited travel within the
central part of the system and not at the extremes. It also makes no
sense to pay more to travel one stop in one direction than the other just
because it takes you over a zone boundry. I don't buy the simplicity
argument either, you turn up, ask for a ticket and get told how much it
is. You can accept or decline, just like in other walks of life!

I'm sure Oyster could as easily cope with point to point mileage based
fares as it can with zonal, the calculation of distances between each
station would only need to be done the once.

I've had seasons for around 10 years from Potters Bar and am typical
commuter, one route in and out, with occasional weekend shopping and
social stuff taking me around Z1-2 maybe a few times a month. I managed
to save £400 a year by buying a season ticket for zones 1-4 and then a
point to point from there to Potters Bar. It serves all my travel needs
and I'm not paying for zones 5-6 in bits of London I never go to. Even
then the saving would more than pay for any occasional travel.

I imagine this loophole will vanish once seasons go zonal, but hopefully
by then the rail companies will have a pre-pay system going.

Cheers,
Dave