Rupert Candy wrote:


I couldn't agree more, though I think solarpenguin's point was that if
(like me and many others) your nearest tube station is 8 miles away
(despite only being in zone 4), you currently either have to commit to
starting your journey with a long bus journey (then stay within the
PAYG-enabled system), or assume that you might want to use a train at
some point that day and buy a paper travelcard. For large swathes of
south London, PAYG is currently nothing more than a glorified one day
bus pass.

Exactly. It's a point I've made many times before. At present, PAYG is
_only_ really useful for those people who just happen to live near a
Tube/Overground/DLR/etc. station. (Does anyone know if they're the
majority of Londeners? I don't think so, but it would be interesting to
see some statistics.) But for the rest of us, PAYG is currently just an
inconvenient form of cheap bus ticket.

This is a pretty obvious statement, but each time I point it out, I get
accused of talking nonsense.