Roy Stilling wrote:
I've just seen the thread about the imminent arrival of Oyster Pre-pay
and I've just looked up the 2004 fares and want to know if I've made a
mistake somewhere.

I can either walk, get a bus or take the tube between Victoria and my
workplace in Jermyn Street and which mode I use depends on the time,
my mood, the weather, any sign of a 38 that's not terminating short at
Green Park, etc. This means that a season ticket doesn't really suit
my needs so I carry tube Carnet tickets and bus Savers to use as I
need. I was looking forward to Oyster Pre-pay as being ideal for my
needs.

So first off it seems Pre-pay won't be available on buses for a while.
Disappointing, but not a show-stopper for me as the new Saver price
will work out as the same fare per journey as the Oyster fare.
However, the info I found on the TfL website suggests that the 2004
Carnet fares will work out at £1.50 a journey, yet the Oyster Pre-pay
fare will be £1.60 per journey. As far as I can see there's no
Carnet-like functionality on the Oyster.

Have I got this right: will it still be cheaper to buy paper Carnets
than use Oyster Pre-pay for unpredictable usage like mine? If so,
seems to me TfL have missed the point a bit.

Exactly the question I was about to ask this morning...
It also pays to note that if you buy a Carnet (or several) at the £11.50
price before January, it will remain valid for the whole of the
following year...


Admittedly, once Oyster Pre-pay is available on the buses I'll
probably get one just for the convenience of it. Anyone got any ideas
how long before it will be available?

Roy

My personal guess on bus validity is as soon as they've distributed
hand-held readers to conductors.

--
Dave Arquati
Imperial College, SW7