ThisIsLondon / the Evening Standard have the following story of
interest, of which there is an extract below. Unfortunately the story
isn't precise on what the plans are to be - so I'll add my own
comments underneath the quoted text.

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http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...ils/article.do
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*Cost of season tickets to soar under new system*
Jason Beattie, Chief Political Correspondent - 12.11.07

Thousands of rail commuters face a huge rise in the cost of season
tickets, the Standard can reveal.

Some travellers could pay as much as £600 more for an annual pass,
campaigners claim.

From 2010 the cost of a season ticket will be based on which zone the
starting station is in rather than its distance from the central
London terminus.

About 50,000 people - such as those at the inner edge of a zone - will
be hundreds of pounds worse off, although the same number could see a
small reduction in the cost of their season ticket.

Zonal pricing for single and day return fares was introduced at the
beginning of this year. Although some passengers saw their fares fall,
others, such as those who travel from Kingston and Surbiton, had to
pay 35 per cent more.

Campaigners now fear the cost of an annual or monthly pass will rise
by the same rate when zonal pricing for season tickets is introduced
in 2010. That would equate to a £630 rise for a £1,800 annual pass.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the
Government is preparing for a backlash from the travelling public. A
memo sent to the Transport Secretary from the working group
responsible for introducing zonal prices admits some passengers will
see a "significant" increase in fares. It says the changes will need
"careful media handling".

The memo says zonal pricing will simplify London's ticket pricing
structure and is a necessary step towards introducing Oyster cards
across the capital.

But it continues: "To arrive at zonal fares without losing revenue,
some fares will increase and others decrease. The fact that some
individual fares at the margin will increase by a significant
percentage ... means that the media will need careful handling to
ensure that the 'simpler rail fares for London and no fares increase
overall' message is effectively communicated."

The Association of Train Operating Companies said the condition of
introducing zonal pricing was there would be no overall increase in
revenue from fares. All rail companies, except South Eastern, are also
limited to a rise of retail prices index plus one per cent - which
this year equated to 4.8 per cent.

However, this does not prevent rail firms from increasing fares for
stations as a result of zonal pricing. For commuters in Kingston, the
price of a ticket used to be based on its 12-mile distance to central
London. But as the station is in zone 6, the cost has risen to tally
with other stations in that zone - taking a day return fare from £6.80
to £9.20.

[continues...]
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For the rest of the article follow the link above.
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So here are my comments on this...

Since beginning of this year all point-to-point *non-season* tickets -
i.e. single and day returns - for journeys wholly within London (i.e.
zones 1-6) have had their prices set on a zonal basis (although they
are still issued on a named origin and destination basis and
validity). At the time we were told that season tickets would also
eventually also be priced on this bases.

The main thing that the report lacks clarity on is whether rail-only
season tickets are to be withdrawn completely and commuters moved over
on to Travelcard seasons, or whether rail-seasons might continue to
exist, albeit priced on a zonal basis.

Reading between the lines the report would appear to presume the
former course of action - i.e. withdrawal of rail-only season tickets
altogether. I say this because it states that a Surbiton to London
annual season ticket would rise in price by £630 to £1800. AFAICS the
current price of a rail-only season ticket is £1280, whilst the
current price of a zone 1-6 ticket (Surbiton being on zone 6) is £1720
- that's actually a price difference of £440 at current prices, so
perhaps the Standard calculator is broken, they know next years fares
already, or I'm stupid and have got it all wrong.

Nevertheless given this price difference the presumption in the
article is that rail-only season tickets will go. I wonder if this has
a basis in fact or not? It'd certainly be a very controversial move,
given that many rail-only commuters would end up paying more. The
counter argument to any grumbles from rail commuters could be to
compare the situation with that which Underground commuters encounter
- they already have to pay up for a season Travelcard, as there aren't
Underground-only season tickets these days (and haven't been for a
long while).