"Andrew Heenan" wrote in message
...

Divvying up fares between operators has been done without problems for 150
years; the issue that's different is the fact that TfL's customers have
been paying lower fares (with the zonal system) than National Rail
customers (except in SE London, where TfLs fares have often been higher).
So the fighting has been about resolving that without rioting TfL
passengers - or rioting NR passengers - or TOCs lowering their fares as
they face bankruptcy.

It's not the zonal system that has made TfL's prices lower that NR's it is
the substantial Oyster discount. I suspect Ken's desire to bring in lower
fares was a significant driver for Oyster as it allowed him to do so under
the cover of encouraging Oyster.

Even now there are mid-week off-peak return journeys within the zonal system
that are cheaper on NR than TfL/Oyster; there were a lot more before the
introduction of off-peak Oyster fares in the middle of the day.

Comparing single fares on TfL and NR ignores the substantial discount that
NR gives on off-peak day return tickets which are unavailable on TfL.

Dave.