I have a 9 am start in Tolworth on Friday. Given the price of a Peak
Travelcard from Cambridge and so I don't have to get up so early, staying
in Putney at my mother's seems the best. But ticketing seems confused.

I have a choice of a Saver Return to King's Cross at £16.50 (with Network
Card discount) plus £1.50 Oyster (after 19:00) or £19.15 for a Saver to
Zones 1 & 2 which would get me to East Putney on Thursday night. I can't
use either of these on Friday morning to get to Tolworth because (a) it
will be the next day and (b) it will be before 10am so the Network Card
won't be valid.

So I can get a single from East Putney to Tolworth for £3.80 or from
Putney to Tolworth (via Clapham Junction) for £2.90. Why such an enormous
(in percentage terms) premium for the shorter route via LU?

For the return I seem to have a choice of Tolworth to Clapham Junction at
£2.70 with the Zones 1 & 2 Saver or Tolworth to Vauxhall at £3.80,
followed by Zone 1 Oyster at £1.50, with the King's Cross Saver.

So the alternative totals for King's Cross and Zones 1 & 2 savers seem to
be £16.50+£1.50+£2.70+£3.60+£1.50=£25.80 and £19.15+£2.70+£2.70=£24.55,
assuming I go from Putney to Tolworth via Clapham Jcn. Perhaps the
Putney-Tolworth and Tolworth-Clapham Jcn singles could be a
Putney-Tolworth return at £4.70, saving 70p and reducing the Zones 1 & 2
saver total to £23.85. I assume a Putney-Tolworth return wouldn't be
valid to Vauxhall on the return leg, despite it also being in Zone 2?

Or have I got this all wrong?

--
Colin Rosenstiel