In wondering about what happens with shared barriers, ambiguous
platform readers etc, I looked up fares from Greenwich and Lewisham,
both boundary zone 2/3, to Euston LU (random zone 1) on the TfL Fare
Finder.

It seems at a glance that it's cheaper from Greenwich than from
Lewisham, but the same from Greenwich as from Lewisham DLR.

(Unlike some, Greenwich doesn't offer separate DLR and NR options in
the drop-down, presumably because of a shared entrance. Are any of
the readers dedicated, eg the one on the DLR platform that's also the
NR platform?)

I also note that it's more expensive from Deptford to Euston than
Greenwich to Euston.

Could it be that DLR is assumed? If you click on "plan this journey"
it tells you to go via London Bridge NR, with no warning about fares.

If you click on the button to check if there are CHEAPER fares/routes,
it then offers via London Bridge NR (and other NR) as being at the
same price as from Lewisham or Deptford, ie more EXPENSIVE.

So, presumably in practice you'd be told the DLR fare, with no warning
that there's a more expensive fare, and be advised to travel via
London Bridge, and then find yourself deducted the higher fare?

MIG wrote:
In wondering about what happens with shared barriers, ambiguous
platform readers etc, I looked up fares from Greenwich and Lewisham,
both boundary zone 2/3, to Euston LU (random zone 1) on the TfL Fare
Finder.

It seems at a glance that it's cheaper from Greenwich than from
Lewisham, but the same from Greenwich as from Lewisham DLR.

(Unlike some, Greenwich doesn't offer separate DLR and NR options in
the drop-down, presumably because of a shared entrance. Are any of
the readers dedicated, eg the one on the DLR platform that's also the
NR platform?)

I also note that it's more expensive from Deptford to Euston than
Greenwich to Euston.

Could it be that DLR is assumed? If you click on "plan this journey"
it tells you to go via London Bridge NR, with no warning about fares.

If you click on the button to check if there are CHEAPER fares/routes,
it then offers via London Bridge NR (and other NR) as being at the
same price as from Lewisham or Deptford, ie more EXPENSIVE.

So, presumably in practice you'd be told the DLR fare, with no warning
that there's a more expensive fare, and be advised to travel via
London Bridge, and then find yourself deducted the higher fare?

I was wondering this when looking at fares from Bromley South to Balham.
The default fare is via Brixton & Stockwell, but the 'Plan this journey'
button merrily suggests routes via Victoria (and SN to Balham). It's a
shame the two parts of the system don't seem to talk to each other (see
DB's HAFAS for an example of how it could be done).

With all my prepay shenanigans today, I was however rather impressed
with the following. I arrived at Shepherds Bush (Central) having touched
in at West Drayton. The gate deducted the correct Z6-5 fare. I then
touched in at the Overground gateline, changed my mind and walked out
again, noticing that the LO gate appeared to deduct another £1.30. When
I checked at a Tube machine (didn't seem to be possible on the LO
machine) it had refunded the £1.30 when I touched in at the LO gateline,
presumably because the Shepherds Bushes are an OOSI and was treating
this as a continuation of my West Drayton journey. When I changed my
mind, the £1.30 was taken off again and my journey was re-closed. I'm
quite impressed it coped with all that
--
Current nearest station: Paddington

In message , Paul Corfield
writes

The button only says Alternative Fares - that does not mean cheaper. In
many cases I have looked at the alternative fares can be cheaper or more
expensive or even have several sets of more expensive options.

There's also the difficulty that the Alternative Fares often don't show
practical alternatives that can be both cheaper and faster, unless you
know exactly what to type in.

For example, Lewisham (DLR) to Bank is £2.30 (£1.80 off-peak), but the
considerably faster SouthEastern service from Lewisham (NR) to Cannon
Street is cheaper at £2.10 (or £1.70 off-peak).
--
Paul Terry

On 4 Jan, 18:28, Paul Terry wrote:
In message , Paul Corfield
writes

The button only says Alternative Fares - that does not mean cheaper. In
many cases I have looked at the alternative fares can be cheaper or more
expensive or even have several sets of more expensive options.

There's also the difficulty that the Alternative Fares often don't show
practical alternatives that can be both cheaper and faster, unless you
know exactly what to type in.

For example, Lewisham (DLR) to Bank is £2.30 (£1.80 off-peak), but the
considerably faster SouthEastern service from Lewisham (NR) to Cannon
Street is cheaper at £2.10 (or £1.70 off-peak).

The button itself says "alternative fares". The text next to it says
"Alternative Oyster single fares, which may be cheaper, are available
for this journey".

That doesn't suggest to me that the obvious route, which their planner
is about to suggest, is more expensive than the fare shown, so the
information is simply false, whatever the excuse.