Dave Arquati wrote:

Michael R N Dolbear wrote:
Mizter T wrote i
..
Just noticed that TfL has launched a new facility on the fares
section
of their website - a "Single fare finder".

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/fares-tickets/fare-finder/

You input your start and finish station - the fares finder is replete
with a javascript auto-complete function - then select adult or child
and and click on "Show fares".

The applicable fares are then listed - the far cheaper Oyster fares
comes first (both the peak and off peak fares are listed if there's a
difference), followed by the pricey cash/printed ticket fare.

It's basically just a friendly front end to a simple database that
lists which stations are in what zones.

Err, that wouldn't work. The fare finder has to know how many zones
have to be crossed for a reasonable route from A to B and whether this
includes zone 1

I recall it being noted on this NG that some Oyster fares assume a zone
one route is taken. A simple lookup for fares would have 20,000+
entries, making all the contiguous stations on one line in one zone one
entry would chop this down a good deal.


I'd seen this before but not thought much of it - however, as you
mention, it does actually show what routes are set as the default for
certain journeys. For example, Shepherd's Bush (Central) to Stamford
Brook is routed via Z1, but to Turnham Green is routed via Z3.
Similarly, to Rayners Lane it is routed out of London (via Ealing
Broadway and Ealing Common) but to West Harrow, it is routed via London
(e.g. Notting Hill Gate/Baker St or Bond St/Finchley Rd)



I'm feeling stupid today, I hadn't quite clocked the significance of
what Michael said - this tool is basically your pass "through the
looking glass" into the heads of those TfL ticketing policy planners
who determine which route an A to B journey will take, for charging
purposes at least. That does presuppose that the information presented
by this tool is exactly the same as that used on the Oyster system
(though that's a fair enough supposition in my mind).

I assume that in every case the more expensive presumed route via zone
1 can be overridden by validating your Oyster at the interchange point,
or exiting and re-entering the gates - i.e. for Shepherds Bush to West
Harrow you would validate your Oyster card at Rayners Lane.

Such mid-journey Oyster validation shouldn't be termed touching-in, nor
touching-out - perhaps touching-within? No, that sounds a tad too kinky
for a public transport network, even if that same public transport
network keeps insisting everyone tucks in and gets hooked on their
Oysters.

Er, anyway, back on topic I've spotted two mistakes in the database of
station names. Highbury and Islington is just plain Highbury, and
Totteridge & Whetstone is just called Totteridge - at least according
to the 'single fares finder'. It doesn't lop off the second half of
other station names that contain an ampersand ("&") though, such as
Chalfont & Latimer and Elephant & Castle (despite the fact that us lazy
south Londoners call it "the Elephant" coz we can't be bothe...)