Nicholas wrote:

On Sun, 8 Oct 2006 20:51:49 +0100, "Tim Roll-Pickering"
wrote:

(snip)

Furthermore the discount is 30% off weekly or longer travelcards when many
students would benefit much more from a discount on daily tickets

Agreed this does seem strange as there are discounted Oyster PAYG
rates for 16-17 and Child Oyster photocards. At least you now entitled
to Travelcards and not 'LT Cards' in the first few years of the scheme
which was a major limitation (not valid on National Rail).


I've also noticed and pondered on why Student Oyster cards don't give
the user discounted PAYG fares. It would of course be helpful for
students who can have odd travelling patterns (not needing to go to uni
everyday etc).
However I guess one could look at it from the TfL revenue perspective -
Travelcards and bus passes are money in the bank, whether the student
uses them heavily or not, and a Student Oyster isn't a ticket itself
but instead an incentive to buy a discounted period pass - a purchase
the student might not otherwise make. So in this sense TfL are acting
like the many companies that try and part students with their cash.

Whilst there may be an element of the 'parting the student from their
money' logic at work here there's also the philanthropic element as
well - cheaper travel for students watching their budget.

Compare it to to many of the other discounted student travel schemes
elsewhere in the country, where a whole term or year of travel needs to
be paid for up front. At least with the Student Oyster you can buy on a
week to week basis.

Mizter T wrote:

I've also noticed and pondered on why Student Oyster cards don't give
the user discounted PAYG fares. It would of course be helpful for
students who can have odd travelling patterns (not needing to go to uni
everyday etc).

More of a reverse in a sense - many students living within walking distance
(or a single bus journey) of the university *and* taking local jobs.
Comparitively few are commuting on a daily basis on a scale where the
discount becomes significant.