On 22 Sep, 16:32, "Michael R N Dolbear" wrote:
MIG wrote
* * * * [...]

Kings Cross from Finsbury Park etc etc - in all of these cases (and
many others) where one must exit and re-enter through gates the
Oyster
system merely counts it as a continuation of the original journey.
This kind of progress and integration more and more shows up the

unfairness and illogic of buses still charging per vehicle instead of
per journey.

After 1900 and at the weekends I can make a journey across London on

three different systems: NR, LU and DLR, that is cheaper than catching
two buses, let alone how many it would take to cover the same distance
in a slower and less comfortable way.

Given the £3.00 Bus cap this isn't a big deal.

It's currently double the price for the slow, uncomfortable journey,
when the quick and easy version is £1.50.

I am often in the situation where I've had to make a DLR/LU journey in
the morning peak, with no chance of hitting the peak cap, and make the
return by two buses if it's before 1900, but much quicker by LU/DLR if
it's after 1900, saving 30p each time (and potentially up to £1.50 a
day, depending on how many buses). It soon adds up.

(And the buses I have to use before 1900 are generally more
overcrowded than the trains I'd be using otherwise.)


However the problem will be rather more visible when tube 9:30-16:00
counts as Off-peak from January 2009 :

==http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=18677
Visitors and Londoners on lower incomes will also benefit from the
introduction of a new daytime off-peak and reduced fare on the Tube,
from 9.30am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday.
==
*but it's difficult to fix without requiring bus interchangers to touch
out and/ or effectively charging extra when a bus journey took more
than 60 minutes or you didn't touch in on another within 30 minutes.
Using a "2 hour for the journey" rule like the tube have be much the
same problem given the large variance in timing for journeys by bus.

There certainly are problems, particularly now that the pay per
vehicle rule is imbedded, but there are systems around the world that
deal with it, and also integrate bus and metro systems as part of a
single journey.

There are plenty of excuses for how it currently works, but they don't
make it fair or logical.