Neil Williams wrote:

...which TfL get to keep and earn interest on.

Remind me, Neil - how much interest were you going to get on this fiver
that TfL are getting to keep?

Hint: Look down the back of your sofa. You'll probably find the mythical
lost interest there, and more besides.
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p12119124.html
(150 134 in blue with a bag to keep the snow out of the coupler, 2005)

Neil Williams wrote:

Unless ticket machines are replaced with Oyster issuers, and even if
they are in some cases, people will still, quite reasonably, want
singles. This is not an excuse to rip them off.

No, but if people do gravitate across to Oyster in sufficient numbers,
it will quickly become disproportionately expensive to maintain the
infrastructure to handle these tickets, won't it.

--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p11857686.html
(Both gone: Hastings DEMU 1035 under Charing Cross's glass roof, 1980)

In message , at 09:38:36 on Wed, 5
Oct 2005, TKD remarked:
Out of interest, does anyone recall how much a Zone 1 tube single cost
when Ken was first elected? If it was that much less than £1.50 then
I'd be very much surprised. If so, this all strikes me as a very good
deal - especially with the flexibility of Pre-Pay.

It was £1.50 at January 2000.

What was the carnet price? I have an idea it was £1.10 (£11 quid for 10
tickets). As an infrequent traveller, that was my solution at the time.
--
Roland Perry

Thanks - so in real terms a fare cut. Won't see the Standard running on
that one.

Neil Williams wrote:

And gbp3 is an absolute insult. Off-peak, you can get a ticket for
unlimited train travel throughout Greater Manchester for less than
that, for example. gbp2 is too much for a Zone 1 single, IMO.

I'm born and bred in Rochdale myself and I've had many GM Rail Rangers,
but I would still say that a One Day Travelcard (which is still paper)
or even Oyster Pre-Pay capping is better value due to the huge network
it is valid on. The equivalent to the One Day Travelcard in GM is the
System One Bus and Train ticket which is 4.00 or the Bus, Train and
Tram Daysaver which is 6.50.

An all day System One Bus only Daysaver (GM) has now just gone up to
3.50, whereas the equivalent in London will still only be 3.00 from
January (with Oyster).

On Tue, 4 Oct 2005 22:36:33 +0000 (UTC), Mike Bristow
wrote:


ODTs can be bought at "Ticket Stops" (ie, newsagents) on Oyster these
days... can't they?

Nope. An Oyster loaded with pre-pay automatically acts as a ODT.
Except that most National Rail stations within the ODT zone won't read
it :-(

Laurence Payne wrote:
On Tue, 4 Oct 2005 22:36:33 +0000 (UTC), Mike Bristow
wrote:


ODTs can be bought at "Ticket Stops" (ie, newsagents) on Oyster these
days... can't they?

Nope. An Oyster loaded with pre-pay automatically acts as a ODT.
Except that most National Rail stations within the ODT zone won't read
it :-(

Lawrence, you've misunderstood the situation somewhat. An Oyster card -
when used in it's Pre Pay guise - will be capped at the price of a ODTC
if it's used enough during a particular day - but it does *not* become
an ODTC, and can only be used on National Rail routes that accept Pre
Pay (and the majority of NR routes in London don't accept Pre Pay).

See this official 'Ask Oyster' answer:
http://snipurl.com/capping_and_ODTC

Next year the levels for a daily capping will be set 50p below the
'equivalent' prices for a ODTC, so that might help people understand
the difference. It's also fairer as with a capped Pre Pay Oyster card
you can travel on less routes than you could with a ODTC, as most
National Rail routes don't accept Pre Pay.


People who may be travelling on National Rail services during their day
out in London will therefore find that in most situations a ODTC is the
most appropriate ticket for them. ODTC are available, as they always
have been, from both Tube and NR ticket offices and from 'Ticket Stop'
newsagents, and they come as a printed ticket (and no, you can't get an
ODTC on Oyster).

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
They will for overnight stays. These include tube travel in central
London to work when I have to buy tube singles, currently £2 (Zone 1)
or £2.20 (Zones 1 & 2).

In which case you can pay less (and the fares will actually *decrease*
from 2006) if you use Oyster pre-pay for those singles.

So I have to get an Oyster for what is in fact just two tickets so far
this year.

If you want to avoid the fares increase, yes.

asdf wrote:
On 4 Oct 2005 14:57:10 -0700, "Paul" wrote:

How about installing Oyster readers in all London train stations?
*Then* TFL can start shoving oysters down people's necks.

They already are installed at every station in London that has
barriers (except Romford). At stations without barriers, they would
serve no purpose anyway (you don't need to touch in/out if you have a
Travelcard season).

But there are many stations without barriers.

If you use a travelcard on national rail stick to a paper ticket. With
Oyster you pay *more* money. What a con.

If you buy your Travelcard on Oyster from South West Trains (not sure
about other TOCs) they give you the same discount for poor performance
that you'd get with their paper version.

How many SWT stations in London have the facility to sell Oyster cards?
It's only 2 or 3. Same for SET.

--
Paul

In message , Roland
Perry writes

In message , at 17:52:40 on Tue, 4 Oct
2005, Paul Terry remarked:

My job takes me into London (via SWT and tube) only occasionally, for
which I use one-day travel cards.

How would Oyster benefit me, bearing in mind that it is not accepted
by SWT?

But how do highly priced cash fares dis-benefit you, given that you
have a travelcard?

They don't. I am merely pointing out that Oyster is of no benefit to me
or Londoners like me who now work largely from home and only go into the
office one or two days a week using NR + tube. At least, it is of no
benefit until it becomes London-wide and encompasses the entire railway
system in the capital.

--
Paul Terry